Tennessee Governor Concerned About Anti-Transgender Student Restroom Bill

[stephaniec]

Tennessee Governor Concerned About Anti-Transgender Student Restroom Bill

http://www.lecanadian.com/headline-news/2016/03/12/tennessee-governor-concerned-about-anti-transgender-student-restroom-bill.html

The Lecanadian/posted on Mar. 11, 2016, at 3:58 p.m.By Dominic Holden

"Gov. Bill Haslam is worried that if lawmakers pass a bill to ban transgender students from certain restrooms, public schools could lose federal funding, his spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam worries that public schools in Tennessee could lose federal funding if lawmakers pass a bill to ban transgender students from school restrooms that correspond with their gender identity, a spokesperson for Haslam told BuzzFeed News."

[BeverlyAnn]

The problem with all this...he is worried about money, not people.  From what I've read from Marissa, the fact these are witch hunts, a search for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist doesn't seem to bother him at all.

[Tysilio]

It's conceivable that he does care about people, but it's politically dangerous for him to say so.

Gov. Daugaard of South Dakota used the same "losing federal funding" line when he vetoed the bathroom bill in that state, but it was clear that he was very influenced by meeting and talking with a group of trans people; that seemed to get him to understand that we're not scary and have the same rights as everyone else.

[Sydney_NYC]

He's all about the money. When the University of TN made a big announcement last year about gender identity inclusion with a campaign, he threatened to take away personal (his business) money he has given to the University. They renamed a building after him with all the money he's given. (Glocker Building is now Haslam Center.) While the University remains trans supportive, they killed the campaign. If the billed became law it would affect University Students as well.

Side note: He has a lot of business interest in the state and has for many many years as well as most of his family. They probably own a good chunk of the state.

[Devlyn]

Surely the Governor knows his state is home to the Largest Transgender Support Site On The Planet?  

[suzifrommd]

These folks need to be educated before the bill advances. Waiting until after it passes is too late.

[gennee]

Unfortunately that's all politicians care about.

😊

[Eva Marie]

Unfortunately that's all politicians care about.

😊

True. A politician that will do the right thing without regards to financial consequences is a rare bird indeed.

But I think that he knows that a lot of voters will care if this legislation passes because it is likely that they will wind up having to reach into their pockets to pay for it. Supporting bigotry can be very costly as some states are now beginning to figure out.