Chris Sanders

The worst anti-LGBT bills filed in 110th General Assembly are not obviously so; that's by design.

Chris Sanders is executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project.

News of the return of the anti-transgender bathroom bill and the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act by Sen. Mae Beavers and Rep. Mark Pody has spread fast.

Many have even heard of the artificial insemination bill by Sen. Joey Hensley and Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver. Word of overt attacks on the LGBT community gets around.

While never easy to defeat such bills, the loud public backlash makes the task a little easier. But I want the public to understand that subtle is the new hatred. Some of the worst anti-LGBT bills filed in the 110th General Assembly are not obviously so, and that is by design. In fact, it is a strategic decision by opponents of equality. It allows the obviously anti-LGBT bills to receive all the attention while the subtly worded bills glide through the Legislature and do their damage.

I can illustrate the point with a couple of bills that are advancing right now. Senate Bill 127/House Bill 54 by Sen. Mark Green and Rep. Jason Zachary is a good place to start. The bill recently passed in the Senate despite some amendments and delays.

The bill masks itself as a pro-business bill that prevents state and local government from discriminating against businesses and nonprofits based on their non-discrimination and benefits policies. The fact that the sponsors are more concerned about discrimination against businesses than discrimination against Tennessee residents should have been everyone’s first clue.

What the bill really does is prevent the State of Tennessee or local governments in our state from giving preference to companies and nonprofits with good non-discrimination policies or inclusive benefits or, indeed, just basic health insurance in their grant-making or contracting or procurement processes.

The bill extends the notorious HB600 from 2011 that nullified Metro Nashville’s contractor non-discrimination ordinance. But it goes further. Neither the State of Tennessee nor any city or county could include whether a company offers health insurance in their criteria for offering tax credits. If we want to attract good jobs to our state, this bill is a major hindrance. Taxpayers will not be getting their money’s worth, all to satisfy a desire to attack LGBT people.

Senate Bill 1085/House Bill 1111 by Sen. John Stevens and Rep. Andy Farmer is another example. According to the bill summary, it “requires that undefined words be given their natural and ordinary meaning, without forced or subtle construction that would limit or extend the meaning of the language, except when a contrary intention is clearly manifest.”

What’s anti-LGBT about that? It replaces Senate Bill 30/House Bill 33, which uses the same language, but drops the words “mother,” “father,” “husband,” and “wife,” while having the same effect.

The bill, which recently passed the Tennessee House during a session when debate was prematurely cut off, could jeopardize the legal status of same-sex couples when they seek a marriage license, attempt to divorce, or attempt to establish custody.

Proverbs reminds us that “Open rebuke is better than secret love.” It is time for allies of LGBT people to be open in their rebuke of these sneaky discrimination bills.

Chris Sanders is executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project and Tennessee Equality Project Foundation.