On the floor of the state House yesterday, the Republican leadership honored GOP Reps. Joe Carr, who is leaving the House to lose a U.S. Senate primary, and Richard Floyd, who is retiring.

Carr's moment(s) of recognition were relatively uneventful, with the usual talk of his hard work and dedication, and no references to Davy Crockett. Then it was Floyd's turn.

GOP Caucus Chairman Glen Casada hailed Floyd as a straight shooter, who never leaves you wondering what he thinks of you. Majority Leader Gerald McCormick told the story of the first time he met Floyd, and how his popularity in the community made him a sure winner as a candidate. Then he said this:

"He is a person who, if you're having a hard time in your life, I know this from personal experience, you show up in his office or at his home or wherever he happens to be, he's gonna support you and help straighten you out. He's done that for me and I'm so appreciative of him for that. Now, he might threaten to stomp a mudhole in you, but if he does, you need to listen to him, and do what he says because he's a great man and I'm so honored to have served with Richard Floyd, and certainly not just for the state of Tennessee but especially the people of Hamilton County, we love Richard Floyd and thank you, Richard, for all you've done."

You can watch a video of the resolution honoring Floyd here:









If you're new to Tennessee politics, and / or don't know anything about Richard Floyd, the "mudhole" bit would seem like some sort of light-hearted remembrance of an old man's southern-isms. Indeed, that's how it played on the House floor, with members laughing, and Casada doubling over with amusement. But they're not new to Tennessee politics, or to Richard Floyd.

They know that McCormick's quip about how he "might threaten to stomp a mudhole in you" is a reference to a comment Floyd made in 2012, when he was sponsoring a bill would have prohibited transgender people from using public bathrooms and dressing rooms that don't match the gender on their birth certificate.

From a Chattanooga Times-Free Press article, after the Senate version of the bill had been withdrawn:

Floyd said earlier Thursday he introduced the bill after reading a news article about a Texas woman who said she was fired from Macy’s after stopping a male teen dressed as a woman from using a dressing room. “It could happen here,” Floyd said. “I believe if I was standing at a dressing room and my wife or one of my daughters was in the dressing room and a man tried to go in there — I don’t care if he thinks he’s a woman and tries on clothes with them in there — I’d just try to stomp a mudhole in him and then stomp him dry. “Don’t ask me to adjust to their perverted way of thinking and put my family at risk,” he said. “We cannot continue to let these people dominate how society acts and reacts. Now if somebody thinks he’s a woman and he’s a man and wants to try on women’s clothes, let them him take them into the men’s bathroom or dressing room.”

About two weeks later, Floyd had no regrets about the statement, as he told Pith:

I’m not anti-anything. I’m just pro-family. They can say anything they want. If they want to talk about violence, I’ll let them read the emails I’ve gotten. I never said anything about violence. I said what I would do personally if my family was involved, and I meant every single word of it. I’ve had a few phone calls with death threats. It is what it is. Do I regret saying it? No, I don’t regret saying it. Would I do it? Yes I would. Or try. It would just be a bad hair day if somebody approached me.

If black Americans had been target of Floyd's violent sentiments, would they be recalled with laughter on the floor of the House? Would Glen Casada be physically unable to control his laughter at the reference if the original statement had been aimed at women in general? Is it safe for us to venture a guess?

Casual amusement at the suggestion of violence against transgender people would be bad enough if it were just hypothetical. But it's not. A study released by The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 2011, for instance, found that 41 percent of respondents reported attempting suicide and 61 percent were the victim of physical assault.

Floyd may now regret what he said, or at least that he said it out loud. McCormick, if you're feeling generous enough to give him the benefit of the doubt, was in all likelihood intending to make light of Floyd's penchant for speaking his mind, not actually wishing suicide or assault on transgender people. But that distinction surely makes little difference to groups of people about which this sort of amusement is deemed acceptable. That the context of Floyd's violent comments could be so easily dismissed, and the threat he made so casually guffawed over speaks volumes about the climate of the legislature.

So does this: While his violent anti-transgender statement was the source of laughter, left un-commended during this brief ceremony was Floyd's recent emotional plea on behalf of the children of undocumented immigrants. And a few minutes later, the chamber gave a hearty applause to a parting bit of wisdom that he says is his most cherished: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."