Tennessee State Senator Stacey
Campfield has denied assertions by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam
that Campfield's 'Don't Say Gay' bill is dead.
The bill stalled out in the House after
passage in the Senate earlier this year.
The proposed legislation would outlaw
the discussion of sexual minorities in Tennessee's public schools
before the ninth grade.
In an interview with Nashville
alternative The City Paper, Haslam said the bill was doomed.
“The 'Don't Say Gay' bill didn't pass
and probably is never going to pass,” Haslam
said, and later added: “'Don't Say Gay' is real sexy and yada
yada yada. It's not going anywhere.”
“I disagree with the governor saying
that it is not going to pass,” Campfield told Knoxville
CW affiliate WATE. “Families across the state believe this is
something that should be discussed with young children in the home,
not with some radical in the classroom.”
Campfield's bill has been widely
parodied in the media. The
Daily Show's
Jon Stewart, the gay
rights group FCKH8 and Star
Trek
alum George Takei have taken swipes at Campfield's proposal.