A Tennessee bill that sought to
prohibit students in public schools from using the bathroom that does
not conform to his or her gender at birth died on Tuesday.
A week after a House subcommittee
approved the controversial bill, it was killed by the House Education
Administration and Planning Committee.
“I just don't think it's appropriate
nor do I think it's necessary,” state Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, a
Democrat from Ripley, is quoted as saying by The
Tennessean.
Two Republicans on the panel said they
had decided to withdraw their support for the bill after learning
more about the issue.
“We open up a big door of confusion
here. How do we protect all people,” said Rep. Mark White, who
voted for the bill last week. “Let's leave this up to the local
schools.”
Hedy Weinberg, executive director of
the ACLU of Tennessee, credited the transgender students who spoke
at the hearing with changing hearts and minds.
“The powerful voices of transgender
students and their families who spoke out against this bill truly
increased understanding of what it means to be transgender and moved
legislators to recognize that this legislation was extremely
harmful,” she said. “Every child in Tennessee deserves to be
treated with respect and dignity, which is why today’s vote is so
important as we work to move Tennessee forward and ensure that all
Tennessee children are treated equally under the law.”
Republican Governor Bill Haslam
expressed opposition to the bill, saying that the state could lose
federal funding if it became law.
(Related: Kesha
says she's “not OK” with anti-transgender bills.)