"Anybody But Gays Can Adopt" bill Morphs into "Ozzie & Harriet Can Adopt First" bill

Republican Rep. Chris Clem revised his “Anybody but Gays Can Adopt” bill. The new version mandates that preference will be given to married couples. In Clem’s words, the new bill will ensure that the “heterosexual Ozzie-and-Harriet-type family” is first on the list. The “Ozzie & Harriet Can Adopt First” bill passed the House Domestic Relations Subcommitee with only three democrats voting against it (Sherry Jones, Beverly Marrero, and Mike Tuner).

Clem said he had not discussed his revised bill with Sen. Bryson, who sponsors the senate version of the bill. Given that the senate is a body dominated by white ultra conservative men, whose idea of tolerance is not aiming their rifles at you, the original bigoted version may pass as is.

If that happens, we can expect yet another round of the annual Drama on the Hill, led by white conservative male legislators who would have us believe that they actually know something about children and gays. The people who do know something about children – women - are only 17% of the TN General Assembly. The people who do know something about gays – LGBT persons - are 0% of the legislative body (as far as we know).

Legislators will huff and puff and battle it out over the Ozzie & Harriet bill vs. the Anybody but Gays bill. It’s likely the whole affair will come to nothing other than a lot of wasted tax-payer funded hours and yet more explanations for why Tennessee ranks as one of the most dysfunctional state governments in the entire nation.

Every minute that legislators devote to the project of banishing gays and lesbians and resurrecting Ozzie & Harriet, is a minute they are not devoting to the project of solving some of Tennessee’s potentially catastrophic problems. Hmm, maybe the most serious potentially catastrophic problem in the state is the TN General Assembly.