(ConservativeFreePress.com) – The Tennessee House has passed a bill that is going to restrict pride flag displays in public schools. The bill has resulted in a lot of debate between the Democrats and Republicans over parental authority as well as the rights of the LGBTQ community.
The bill was endorsed by the Republican majority. According to House Bill 1605, public schools can only have on display either state flags or United States flags. However, there is an exception made in the bill for official school flags and Pow/MIA banner flags which will still be allowed to be displayed. While it is not stated explicitly the bill is believed to be targeting the pride flags.
Rep. Gino Bulso, R-District 61, the primary sponsor of the bill had claimed that the legislation was going to help safeguard parental rights and cited that constituents had previously complained about the pride flags that were found in classrooms.
The Democrats on the other hand have opposed this move arguing that this bill would only be marginalizing LGBTQ families, and it would encourage further discrimination against them, and especially LGBTQ students.
This is part of a greater national debate that is focused on inclusivity in education. Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-District 51, has slammed the bill claiming that it would hinder community representation, while Rep. Jason Powell, D-District 53, spoke up about having LGBTQ visibility in schools.
Powell has also pushed an amendment that would limit flag bans to only those that caused significant disruption. However, the bill has failed to gain the necessary traction.
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