Two pending measures in Tennessee reveal the stark contrast in how religious conservatives view the role of government.

First in Nashville, the Metro Council has voiced its “support for extending workplace protections to gays, lesbians and transsexual people working for city contractors.” The measure comes up for a final vote on March 15.

Some churches in Nashville are up in arms over the measure.

[Rev. Maury] Davis, pastor of the Cornerstone Church, a Pentecostal congregation in Madison, said the exemption doesn’t go far enough, and the proposal tacitly endorses homosexuality. He’s advising congregation members against doing business with Metro government.

“If I am a sole proprietor of a business, who I hire is not the government’s business,” he said. “How would I know if someone is gay unless they made an issue of it?”

Rev. Davis is basically asking for a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays and lesbians in the workplace, and we’ve seen how this kind of government policy has worked with the military. There are plenty of problems with this. First, as someone who has been closeted at work before, it gets tiring avoiding pronouns or simply not talking about what you and your partner did over the weekend for fear of being “found out.”

Also, I’ve discovered that co-workers actually respect you more when you’re open and honest about your sexual orientation, even if they don’t agree. If you can’t be trusted to be honest and open about who you are, your co-workers tend to not trust you overall. So, being open about who you are is not making “an issue” out of your sexual orientation—it’s about being an authentic, honest human being—something pastors ought to encourage in everyone, whether they agree with them or not.

Rev. Davis’ objection to government intrusion into private businesses also is reminiscent of those who defended Jim Crow laws in the South. Those business owners, too, thought they had a right to serve whomever they pleased and bar whomever they hated. But, if you’re a business open to the public—no matter how private your ownership—you must be open to the entire public. This is the basis of “equal treatment” and the government has a right to enforce that.

So, Rev. Davis and his cohorts want the government to butt out where business is concerned. But, when the issue is that of children—bring on Big Brother!

A proposed bill sponsored by Tennessee Republicans Sen. Stacey Campfield and Rep. Bill Dunn would prevent children in elementary and middle schools to talk about homosexuals. The bill, introduced as House Bill 229 or Senate Bill 49, says in part that “No public elementary or middle school shall provide any instruction or material that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.”

Despite the fact that no curriculum for children in grades K-8 mentions homosexuality, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill would prevent teachers from even saying the word to children before high school. In essence, the place where children should be learning about life is barred from actually talking about the reality of some of the children in the classroom. Some of those children may have gay or lesbian parents, or be struggling with reconciling those feelings in themselves. Their adult role models, teachers in this case, will be barred by the state from even uttering the word “homosexual” or talking about how many people live happy, healthy lives as homosexuals.

The bill also has implications for anti-bullying efforts. If teachers are muzzled on the gay and lesbian issue, how can they ever help children who are facing bullying because of their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation?

Conservatives love this kind of “government intrusion.”

”You’re looking at legislation that is going to make sure that when you are talking about sexuality with students that it is age appropriate,” said Matthew Parsons, a father of seven children and founder of the group “Something Better.” “If we’re talking about homosexuality, we are talking about specific acts that are going to be unhealthy for anybody to engage in outside of marriage.”

Again, the depth of the ignorance is startling. I was a lesbian long before I ever engaged in a “specific act.” When we talk about heterosexuality we’re not merely talking about what a man and a woman do in bed, but that’s where conservatives go all the time when they talk about gays and lesbians. In their minds, we are what we do, not who we are. Remind me again who the perverts are? Aside from the ignorance and intolerance, these two cases are a perfect example of how conservatives want to use government. When it has to do with their property and their money—government can buzz off. But, when it comes to controlling other people’s morality—we need all the government we can get.