For all the wonderful things Tennessee has going for it, the state's to-the-right-of-Attila-the Hun legislature is not one.
And this week, Gov. Bill Haslam, normally a moderate Republican, isn't making the Volunteer State look too good, either.
Haslam announced Friday that he has signed into law the controversial "natural and ordinary meaning" bill - a bill aimed at forcing judges to define marriage as occurring between only a man and a woman, never mind what the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.
In signing the bill, Haslam ignored thousands of LGBT advocates who had asked him for a veto, including Tennessean Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff of the historic Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage across the country.
Haslam's reasoning?
"The natural and ordinary definition that is part of that legislation is really what the state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court has used for years, actually, for centuries. I'm not certain we've plowed any new ground with the legislation that was passed with this. Again, we said all along we were going to defer to the will of the Legislature and they passed it really on a three or four to one margin, so it wasn't like it was a close vote in the House or the Senate."
Translation: The majority of the General Assembly wanted it, but the law of the land is the law of the land.
Talk about natural and ordinary definition -
Ginger Moss shouts during a protest of a state bill that opponents say could harm the state's LGBT community held at Ross's Landing on Saturday, May 6, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. About 20 attended the demonstration, which also protested a religious liberty executive order by President Donald Trump.But it doesn't stop there.
The law's sponsors, Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, and Rep. Andrew Farmer, R-Sevierville, both said the legislation was not about targeting the LGBT community. But the head of the group that so heavily pushed the legislation, Chattanooga's David Fowler of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, has repeatedly said the legislation was an attempt to force judges to define marriage as occurring between only a man and a woman.
You know, words matter. Remember the conventions canceled in Nashville and the California travel ban to Tennessee after we passed a law allowing Tennessee therapists and counselors to reject gay, lesbian and transgender clients?
But the religious right aren't the only folks clamoring to be heard.
On Saturday afternoon, Chattanoogans rightly came out to Ross's Landing to protest both the actions of our state's so-called "LBGTQ Erasure Bill" and our president's so-called protection of "religious liberty."
Hedy Weinberg, the ACLU-TN executive director, criticized Haslam.
"We are extremely disappointed in the governor's decision to sign this discriminatory bill. LGBT Tennesseans and their families are due full recognition and equal treatment under the law, just like everybody else. ACLU-TN is ready to challenge any unconstitutional, discriminatory practices that occur as a result of this narrow-minded legislation."
The Human Rights Campaign also issued a statement.
"Governor Haslam has chosen to put pure politics ahead of Tennessee's women and LGBTQ people," said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. "This draconian measure will open the state up to many expensive legal challenges and divert state resources to defending an unnecessary, unconstitutional measure. The Governor should be ready to answer for the fallout signing this bill will cause."
Of course, this is the state that wanted to make the Bible our state book. Haslam did veto that one, saying he felt that such a classification would belittle the Word.
And our state slight of the LBGT community comes on the heels of President Donald Trump on Thursday giving churches and religious nonprofit groups a green light to become active in political campaigns - something they have previously been forbidden to do if they wanted to keep their tax-exempt status. But even Trump steered clear of attacking the LBGT community in that particular religious right-pushed executive order, though in it he did tell federal officials to consider changing health care regulations to stop insurance coverage of contraception.
You know - it's best to keep girls barefoot and pregnant.
Heaven help us - that's sure to be Tennessee lawmakers' next target.
Speaking of the "natural and ordinary meaning" of things, since when did faith require a political party? Since when did the Golden Rule need defining?
Answer: Since the Republican party decided that government should stay out of everybody's business except when it involves anything pertaining to women's wombs and anything remotely close to a bedroom or bathroom.