'It's harmful, it's violent': Memphians rally against anti-LGBTQ+ bills
Despite the cold and a steady rain, more than 100 people crowded in front of the OUTMemphis Community Center for a Friday afternoon rally opposing the anti-LGBTQ+ bills in this year's Tennessee legislative session.
"We have known for generations that love is for everyone, that drag is for everyone and that public health is for everyone," Molly Quinn, the executive director of OUTMemphis, told the crowd. "LGBTQ people find ourselves again, again, in the crosshairs of an aggressive and deadly campaign by social conservatives emboldened by extremists, fascists, showing up in the highest offices in this country. What we face today is a singular assault on bodily autonomy, which is an assault on the dignity of all Americans."
As of Feb. 24, the American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 26 anti-LGBTQ bills in Tennessee during the 2023 legislative session. The rally in Memphis follows a week that saw two anti-LGBTQ bills pass the Tennessee House, one that looks to restrict drag shows and one that bans gender-transition healthcare for minors.
The Tennessee House passed a bill on Thursday that prohibits "adult-oriented" entertainment from public property and restrict it to age-restricted venues in legislation filed after a flurry of controversies over drag shows across the state. The legislation will return to the Senate for a procedural vote before final passage.
The bill classifies "male and female impersonators" as adult cabaret performers and bans "adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors," as defined in Tennessee's obscenity law. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, has repeatedly implied or outright said that drag shows were inappropriate for minors.
"It's shameful that our elected officials have made a deliberate decision to use our state's drag performers, our trans youth, their families and the relationships that they have with their doctors as political pawns," said Shahin Samiei, the Shelby County Committee chair for the Tennessee Equality Project. "They have shown zero respect for expert testimony, zero respect for the testimony of performers, business owners, youth and families who bravely put themselves in the spotlight and scrutiny of being in front of the general assembly."
People in the crowd held signs that read "bigotry is a real drag," "trans justice can't wait" and "protect trans youth."
Also on Thursday, the House Republicans overwhelmingly passed a ban on gender-transition health care for minors, which will require transgender children to end their current medical treatment by March 2024. The bill will soon be sent to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's desk and, if passed, would prohibit children from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgical procedures. People who received the treatments as minors would also be able to sue parents, guardians and physicians for authorizing the care under a statute of limitations under the legislation.
"These bills in this legislation, it's harmful, it's violent and, if I'm quite honest, stupid as hell," said Lacretia Carroll, an assistant professor with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and an OUTMemphis board member. "We are allowing legislatures in the exam room. At what point do we stop that?"
The rally also focused on a decision by the state in January to forgo several pots of federal dollars for HIV-related programming. Advocates and nonprofits worry that the repercussions of this decision will be especially sever for Shelby County, which has a transmission rate high enough to qualify it for extra federal funding for HIV testing and surveillance.
"Memphis is a predominantly proud, Black city," Quinn said. "A Black city where over 7,000 people live with HIV, the vast majority of whom are African American. We're also home to the state and the region's longest running queer organizations, one of which you are standing in front of right now, believe it or not. It is one of the things that makes me proudest to be a Memphian, to live in this blue community in this very red state and increasingly red country."
Activists urged community members to visit the Tennessee Equality Project at tnep.org/blog to find the campaigns for the week of Feb. 27.
"They are trying to exterminate us," Samiei said. "I do not say that lightly, I do not say that hyperbolically. They are trying to exterminate us and we have to fight back."
Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901-232-6714.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis rallies against anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed in Tennessee
