Lawmaker kills Tennessee's transgender bathroom bill

NASHVILLE — The House sponsor of a controversial bill that would require students in public K-12 and higher education institutions to use the restroom that corresponds with their sex at birth is delaying action on the bill until next year.

Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, told The Tennessean on Monday that she plans on effectively killing her own bill so she can study the issue further.

"I have learned that our school districts are largely following what the bill says," she said. "I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I'm going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues."

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The announcement comes as competing groups descended on the State Capitol on Monday to continue the battle over the bill, while a panel of senators delayed taking action on the controversial legislation.

On Monday, about 30 pastors from the conservative Tennessee Pastors Network joined the head of the Family Action Council of Tennessee at the Capitol to show  support for the controversial bill.

Around the same time, two transgender high school students – Henry Seaton and Jennifer Guenst – headed to Gov. Bill Haslam’s office to deliver more than 67,000 signatures from Tennesseans, including nearly 6,000 people from who identified as clergy or people of faith, who are opposed to the measure.

Proponents, including the Alliance for Defending Freedom and the Family Action Council of Tennessee, as well as the bill's sponsors — Lynn, and Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville — say the measure is necessary to protect the privacy of students.

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Opponents argue the bill is discriminatory in nature while also pointing to the legislation's fiscal note and a recently released opinion from Attorney General Herbert Slatery both of which suggest the state could be jeopardy of losing more than $1.2 billion in Title IX funding.

In advance of the Senate finance meeting, the group of pastors stood behind FACT President David Fowler, a former Republican state senator, at a Legislative Plaza news conference in which he downplayed the potential loss of convention business and federal education funding and corporate opposition to the bill.

"Today we call upon our legislators and governor to make that same kind of principled stand relative to the protection of the young people who attend our public schools and colleges when it comes to intimate settings like bathrooms, locker rooms and showers," Fowler said, while attempting to differentiate between the Tennessee bill and a broader North Carolina law that has attracted national attention and which applies to restrooms at public facilities.

"Ours only applies to the bathrooms and locker rooms in our public schools and colleges that may be used by young people," he said.

As Fowler and the pastors led their event, Seaton and Guenst, who have both spoken against the measure in front of Senate and House committees, were joined by representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and the Human Rights Campaign, all of which have been highly critical of the proposed legislation.

“I’m a boy – I live my life as a boy, my friends know me as a boy, my parents accept me as a boy. I shouldn’t have to use the teacher’s bathroom because some politicians feel uncomfortable with who I am,” Seaton said in a statement, adding that the legislation would “legalize bullying” and “stigmatize and humiliate” transgender students.

“That’s not what laws should do,” he said. “Personally, I think our elected officials should spend their time making sure that every student can be safe and feel welcome.”

Guenst said the current system, which allows schools to offer accommodations to students on a case-by-case basis, is working.

“I have been a public school student for two years and haven’t had any issues using the same restroom as other students – it’s this bill that would create a lot of problems for me and my friends,” she said.  “It means a lot to me to be carrying this message of opposition from thousands of people to lawmakers.”

In recent weeks, opposition to the legislation has continued to mount. Last week, executives from 60 businesses, including Cigna, Hilton Hotels, Dow Chemical Co. and Alcoa Inc., signed a letter that was delivered to the Republican leaders of both chambers expressing their concerns about the bill that has garnered national attention.

The letter was the latest warning against the legislation. In addition to company executives, elected officials, musicians and businesses, including Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Viacom and Miley Cyrus, have also criticized the measure.

The debate over bathrooms comes as the legislature began what is expected to be its final days of the 2016 session, which has featured a variety of "culture war" issues.

During the House floor's Monday evening calendar, the East Tennessee sponsor of a bill designating the Bible as the official book of the state will serve formal notice of his attempt to override Gov. Bill Haslam's veto of the bill last Thursday.

The actual override attempt is not expected to occur on the House floor until Wednesday.

In addition, the governor is still trying to decide whether to approve or veto a third controversial bill, giving counselors authority to deny their mental health services to people if serving them would violate their "sincerely held principles."

Rick Locker contributed to this report. 

Follow Joel Ebert on Twitter: @joelebert29.