Tennessee has been in the news recently for its new law allowing therapists with religious objections to turn away LGBT clients and its (withdrawn, for now) anti-transgender "bathroom bill." But in the state that nurtured blues, rock, and country music, there has been a cacophony of homophobia coming from some extremists for decades. While the state has been more progressive in some ways than its Southern neighbors — Tennessee courts, for instance, struck down the state's sodomy law several years before the U.S. Supreme Court's Lawrence v. Texas ruling — there are plenty of incidents to fill a history book of Tennessee homophobia just from this century, including attempts to nullify marriage equality, a "don't say gay" bill, and an invalidation of LGBT-inclusive city nondiscrimination laws, years before North Carolina enacted a similar measure. Click through to learn more.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
