Singers Miley Cyrus and Ty Herndon are
speaking out against two proposed bills in Tennessee that target the
LGBT community.
House Bill 1840 would allow counselors
to refuse mental health services to clients based on their religious
beliefs, while House Bill 2414 seeks to prohibit students in public
institutions from using the bathroom that does not conform to their
gender at birth. Both bills advanced on Wednesday.
(Related: Tennessee
bill banning transgender bathroom use advances.)
Cyrus, who was born in Franklin,
Tennessee, criticized House Bill 2414 in an Instagram post.
“For a moment a few weeks ago, it
seemed like lawmakers in Tennessee had really heard the brave
testimony of a transgender young person and her parents,” Cyrus
wrote.
“A mother's simple ask to legislators
about what they would do if it was their child who was transgender
hit a nerve, and the anti-transgender bill was sent to a summer study
session, seemingly killing it for this year. But that was two weeks
ago – a lifetime ago, it seems, in light of all that has happened
since – and that bill is back.”
Last year, Cyrus
helped launch the Happy Hippie Foundation, which is dedicated to
helping homeless and LGBT youth.
Herndon, a
country singer who came out gay in 2014, called on Republican
Governor Bill Haslam to veto House Bill 1840, though the legislation
has yet to reach his desk.
“Join me in calling on #Tennessee
Gov. @BillHaslam to veto #HB1840,” Herndon, who lives in Nashville,
tweeted. “Discrimination is ALWAYS wrong.”