The Tennessee HB600 Bill Drama heats up

After Gov. Haslam signed HB600, folks came out swinging. Abby Rubenfeld, an attorney in the Nashville area, says a lawsuit is on the way.  

"Yes, you can expect a lawsuit," Rubenfeld said. "We're working on it."
She wouldn't provide details but said a New York-based national firm would be assisting local attorneys in the suit. She also said they are finalizing plaintiffs and backers.

Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project states:

"We are disappointed that the majority in the General Assembly and the Governor have given their assent to SB632/HB600, which overturns a Metro non-discrimination ordinance, prevents any city or county in Tennessee from adopting a similar law, and redefines "sex" in the Tennessee code to the detriment of transgender people. You can't create jobs by allowing discrimination. And you can't say you're for smaller government when you take away the power of citizens to determine how their local tax dollars are used in government contracting. All Tennesseans deserve to be free of job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and we will continue to work toward that goal."

As I said in an earlier post,  many people expressed their anger towards this bill. Even, Deb Woolley, president and CEO of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry withdrew its support of this mess.

But According to Gov. Haslam, he was only doing the right thing for small businesses. See his statement:

"Through the legislative process, he expressed concerns about the state telling local governments what to do, but he also had concerns about local governments telling businesses what to do, especially the potential burden on small businesses. Ultimately, he felt the Metro ordinance went farther than federal law in regulating business policies."

This is only going to get interesting.

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