NASHVILLE - Republican state Sen. Todd Gardenhire on Thursday accused all three Democrats vying to challenge him in November of being "afraid" to address the Obama admistration's controversial directive that public schools accomodate transgender-students' bathroom preferences or risk losing federal funding.
Citing the 1960s hit song "Silence is Golden," the Chattanooga lawmaker said in a statement that "the sudden silence of the democrats on such a sweeping decree from their party's president is notable."
The "safety of our citizens – including our children – must be the priority," Gardenhire said. "Creating a legal loophole for sexual predators who might use the bathroom identity loophole as a way to access their victims must be prevented."
Democratic candidates Khristy Wilkinson, Nick Wilkinson and Ty O'Grady did not respond immediately to Times Free Press requests to reply to Gardenhire's charges.
"Silence and no actions is taking a stand and we can see it," Gardenhire said earlier in the statement. "These three are afraid to take a stand for the children of the 10th district and are afraid to come out against a narrow, but very vocal minority that control the Democrat Party."
He called students wishing to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender preferences "gender confused."
Democrats see the outspoken Gardenhire as vulnerable in Senate District 10, which includes much of Democratic-leaning Chattanooga but also has GOP-leaning areas like East Ridge and Collegedale, as well as solidly Republican portions of Bradley County.
Republican strategists say the district overall leans Republican.
Never one to shrink from controversy, Gardenhire is hoping to strike a blow with the volatile social issue even as the three Democrats vie among themselves in the Aug. 4 primary to become the nominee tackling Gardenhire.
The bathroom issue has been roiling Tennessee Republicans for months, beginning in this year's legislative session where a bill was introduced seeking to require students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their biological sex at birth and not gender identification. It was shelved by the House sponsor before it reached the House floor in the waning hours of the session.
But the issue continued to percolate over the summer and erupted last week after U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and U.S. Education Secretary John B. King issued a directive and guidance to public school systems across the U.S. Officials said federal civil rights laws on sex discrimination extend to transgender students and that their preferences must be accomodated or schools risked loss of federal funds.
Other developments, including an American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee's letter calling on federal officials to take action against Sumner County schools over its transgender policy, continued to inflame Republicans and other critics.
Then on Wednesday, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, a Republican appointee, joined with 10 other states to sue the Obama administration, charging among other things in the filing that the executive branch had no authority from Congress to compel schools to do anything on the issue.
Gardenhire, meanwhile, taunted his would-be Democratic challengers in his statement, saying "the three Musketeers have had over a week to take a stand on the Obama administration's 'directive' to our local school districts of allowing Transgender people the right to use bathrooms and showers in our schools that they choose because they are 'gender-confused'."
Earlier this week, Nick Wilkinson, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke's deputy administrator for economic development, sought to put Gardenhire on the defensive.
The issue was Gardenhire's 2015 votes against Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's proposed Insure Tennessee plan to expand the state's Medicaid program to an estimated 280,000 low-income people through Obamacare.
Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell of Nashville, who opposed Insure Tennessee and is under fire at home as a result, has established a GOP-dominated panel to look at alternatives. The road show was in Chattanooga this week. Wilkinson said Gardenhire skipped the meeting "and continues to ignore the concerns of the people. The 10th district deserves better and I have the experience and the compassion to fight for them in Nashville."
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on twitter at AndySher1.