David Plazas

USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee

Lawmakers have filed a half dozen pieces of legislation aimed at restricting LGBT people's rights.

The bills revolve around marriage, defining gender roles and bathroom access.

Our opinion is that these bills are antithetical to individual liberties of all Tennesseans.

Tennessee lawmakers have proposed bills on "natural marriage," religious exemptions for counselors and state-defined gender restrictions that all attack the human dignity of people who do not conform to traditional norms of society, which had been until recently repressive against those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Judicial decisions, like last year’s narrow Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, affirmed the rights of any adult couple to marry, but it also welcomed a wave of reaction, fear and alarm that the rights of previously “unoppressed” individuals would somehow erode.

The reality is that it simply leveled the playing field on marriage.

Nevertheless, fights escalated in places like Indiana over whether a pizza parlor or bakery could refuse to serve someone based on sexual orientation with the approved, signed and then amended Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Tennessee lawmakers considered a special session last year to address the court’s decision with proposals like the Pastor Protection Act, aimed at shielding religious ministers from any legal sanction should they refuse to marry a same-sex couple.

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Our state and federal constitutions already contain clear and strongly worded protections for religious freedom that are regularly upheld by the courts. We have no need for legislators to restate the obvious.

Yet, as the saying goes, “It’s not over.”

In the 2016 legislative session Tennessee legislators have sponsored bills that stoke the fear further, particularly useful in a contentious presidential election year, where voters are responding to fear as a means to embrace or reject a particular candidate.

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This is a summary of some key discriminatory legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly:

Natural marriage bill:House Bill 1412 / Senate Bill 1437

Sponsors: Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, and Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon

This bill proposed would “defend natural marriage between one man and one woman regardless of any court decision to the contrary.”

It had a major obstacle, however: The potential for the state losing $8.5 billion in federal dollars for choosing to discriminate against people in violation of U.S. law.

Status: The bill failed in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee.

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Lawmakers realized it was not worth the cost. A better rationale should have been that it was an indignity to a portion of the population.

Other bills do not invite the same economic pain but serve as low-hanging fruit for people who shun or loathe non-heterosexual, non-cisgender people, for whatever reason.

Counselor protection bill: House Bill 1840/Senate Bill 1556

Sponsors: Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, and Rep. Dan Howell, R-Georgetown

This bill would allow therapists and counselors to turn away clients who express “goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with sincerely held religious beliefs,” in violation of the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics.

Mental health professionals have expressed their objections to the bill that was proposed because someone told Johnson it was needed.

People who are depressed, suicidal or suffering another mental illness should be able to depend on professionals to heal them regardless of their personal views.

Status: Passed in the Senate 27-5, it will be heard by the House Health Committee on Tuesday

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Bathroom restriction bill:House Bill 2414/Senate Bill 2387

Sponsors: Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, and Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet

This bill would restrict access to locker rooms and bathrooms in public schools, colleges and universities based on the sex to which they are assigned. In other words, if a person was born a man, he could only enter a bathroom or locker room assigned to males.

That seems like a no-brainer, but the legislation clearly targets transgender men and women, who were born a different sex from how they identify.

It opens children and adults up to humiliation, discrimination and harassment. It also plays into people’s fears about who transgender individuals are.

Last year voters in Houston rejected protections for transgender people to enter bathrooms of their choosing based upon fears that nefarious individuals would prey upon and endanger people.

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Status: Assigned to the Senate Education Committee and the House Education Administration and Planning Subcommittee

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Birth gender bill: House Bill 2600/Senate Bill 2275

Sponsors: Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, and Rep. Mike Sparks, R-Smyrna

This bill, for the purposes of vital records, would require that the terms husband and wife be used only for people who were “natural born” males and females.

It empowers the state to encroach upon people’s individual liberty and personal struggles.

Status: Assigned to the House Health Subcommittee and the Senate Judiciary Committee

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Marriage solemnization: House Bill 2379/Senate Bill 2462

Sponsors: Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, and Rep. James “Micah” Van Huss, R-Jonesborough

This bill would prohibit public officials, like judges, from performing people’s marriage ceremonies and leave that task solely to religious authorities.

This is a real threat to religious liberty. As Article I, Section 3, of the Tennessee Constitution states: “… that no man can of right be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any minister against his consent.”

Status: Assigned to the House Civil Justice Subcommittee and the Senate Judiciary Committee

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But, that’s not all.

Rep. Lynn also sponsored House Joint Resolution 0529, expressing the sense of the General Assembly that it opposes the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges same-sex marriage ruling in 2015.

One could argue that the Nashville Metro Council should have refrained from passing a resolution calling on the city's legislative delegation to oppose anti-gay marriage bills.

The difference is that Lynn’s resolution sends a message that it is OK to restrict rights, while the city council is looking to protect people’s rights.

If HJR 0529 passes, it would go to Gov. Bill Haslam for his signature. If it does get to his desk, hopefully, he would see through it and veto it.

That seems logical in a state whose Constitution gives so much power to the people and their individual liberties.

Opinion Engagement Editor David Plazas wrote this editorial on behalf of The Tennessean Editorial Board. Call him at 615-259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.