Click the image to contact him.
The former House Republican Caucus Leader who was spurned by his caucus for the position of Speaker is a consistent voice against anything that would help the cause of equity or equality, unless its for a business interest. Despite this, people in Williamson County keep sending him back to Nashville. One can only suspect that they do this to keep him out of Williamson County.
The man who last year blamed the jobless for not trying hard enough to get jobs in an environment where over 10% of the population is unemployed, and used that argument to try an cut unemployment benefits.
Who worked to dismantle workplace protections for teachers, who has introduced an anti-living wage bill, and make it illegal for certain people to act on their associations, wants to enshrine discrimination in the Tennessee Code.
The Special Access to Discriminate Act is another example of the Republican Majority overreaching into social issues instead of dealing with one of the biggest crisis’ facing the state, the lack of jobs, or even a plan for jobs.
What does the bill do? It adds a whole new part to Title 7 Chapter 51 of the Tennessee Code which would say:
7-51-1802.
(a) (1) No local government shall by ordinance, resolution, or any other means impose on or make applicable to any person an antidiscrimination practice, standard, definition, or provision that shall deviate
from, modify, supplement, add to, change, or vary in any manner from:(A) The definition of “discriminatory practices” in § 4-21-102 or deviate from, modify, supplement, add to, change, or vary any term used in such definition and also as defined in such section; or
(B) Other types of discrimination recognized by state law but only to the extent recognized by the state.(2) Any such practice, standard, definition, or provision imposed or made applicable to any person by a local government prior to the effective date of this act shall be null and void.
(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to employees of a local government.
Basically, Small Government Glen Casada wants the state to interfere with a decision the Nashville Metro government finalized last week.
So the question that needs to be asked:is
Why will it be good for Tennessee to pass a bill that would endorse discrimination?
I thought we got over this when all the Jim Crow laws were stripped from the books, but I guess not.
Glen Casada wants to make sure there’s still some group of people, other than the poor, that he can discriminate against. Old habits die hard I guess.
In the process, Casada wants to make sure that no County, or City government is more inclusive than his narrow world-view. That no local government does anything unless the state says so. Makes you wonder how long until Casada proposes to end Home Rule charters and just run everything from the state level.
Just another “Small Government Republican” in action.
The bill comes up in the Commerce Committee tomorrow morning at 9am. Give the members a call or send them an email, and sign this petition while you’re at it.
Tell the members of the House Commerce Committee that legislating discrimination is not a Tennessee value.