A controversial bill that would ban pride flags in Tennessee classrooms failed to receive the necessary 17 votes needed to reach a constitutional majority for passage in the Senate Tuesday.
The vote included a rare show of bipartisanship with Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, joining the five Democrats in voting against the bill. Eight other Republicans skipped the vote altogether, ensuring that it’s done for the legislative session.
Bill sponsor Senator Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, said the idea behind the legislation comes from concerns from parents in his district.
“There were some parents in my district that felt like flags were being displayed in the public-school classroom that did not coincide with their values and felt like their children should not be indoctrinated in the school. So that’s where this bill came from – so every child would feel loved and needed in the school and nobody would be singled out,” said Hensley.
The bill hasn’t had as easy of a time advancing in the Senate as its House counterpart. The bill narrowly managed to advance out of the Senate Education Committee by one vote in February with concerns from both political parties about potential consequences.
As the bill advanced through both the House and Senate, supporters made revisions that only allowed the following flags in classrooms:
- United States of America flag.
- The official Tennessee State flag.
- A flag that contains a memorial and cannot be distributed or altered.
- POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing in Action) flag.
- A flag that represents a Native American tribe.
- A flag that represents a city, county, metropolitan government, or other political subdivisions of the State of Tennessee.
- Flags that represent a unit, branch, or other divisions of the armed forces, including ROTC.
- A flag that represents a country or a political subdivision.
- A college or university flag.
- A temporary flag displayed as part of a bona fide course curriculum.
- An official school flag
- The flag of an organization authorized to use a public-school building when the organization is using the building.
Senator Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, successfully attached an amendment Tuesday that would revert the bill back to its original version that only allowed the Tennessee State flag or the United States flag to be displayed in the classroom.
“What I want to do is bring this bill back to a neutral position, where we don’t take sides about any flag except the United States flag or the Tennessee flag,” said Gardenhire.
Opponents of the bill have argued that it’s unconstitutional and some have raised concerns that Nazi or Confederate flags would still be allowed.
