Bill to ban pride flags in Tennessee schools fails in state Senate
In a rare show of bipartisan opposition, Tennessee Senators on Tuesday blocked a bill that sought to prohibit display of political and ideological flags, including the pride flag, in public schools.
Senate Bill 1722, sponsored by Sen. Joey Hensley, R-hohenwald, would have prohibited the display of any flags that “represent a political viewpoint, including but not limited to, a partisan, racial, sexual orientation, gender, or other ideological viewpoint.”
“There were some parents in my district that felt like flags were being displayed the public school classroom that did not coincide with their values, and they felt like their children should not be indoctrinated in the school,” Hensley said. “That’s where this bill came from, so every child would feel loved and needed in the school and nobody would feel singled out.”
Before a final vote on Tuesday, Senators approved an amendment offered by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-chattanooga, that would have barred display of any flag other than the U.S. Flag or the Tennessee State flag on school property.
But the bill failed in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon in a vote of 13 to 6, failing to receive the required 17 votes needed for a constitutional majority.
Lt. Gov. Randy Mcnally, R-oak Ridge, joined five Democrats who were present to vote against the bill, while 8 other Republicans present for the session on Tuesday took a walk to skip the vote.
“While Senator Gardenhire’s amendment language was a significant improvement, I believe comments made early in legislative process caused irreparable constitutional damage to the bill in my view,” Mcnally said in a statement to The Tennessean. “Several members expressed interest in studying the subject of the bill over the summer in order to avoid a likely constitutional challenge. Because an adversarial first amendment ruling against the state would be a near certainty if the bill passed, I voted no.”
Three members, Sens. Richard Briggs, R-knoxville, Todd Gardenhire, R-chattanooga, and Ken Yager, Rkingston, were present but did not vote on the bill.
Sponsored by Rep. Gino Bulso, Rbrentwood, the bill passed the House of Representatives in a party-line vote in February, despite constitutional concerns and outcry from the LGBTQ+ community. Bulso said he brought the legislation on behalf of parents in his district concerned about display of pride flags in Williamson County Schools.
Senators who were at the State Capitol for session on Tuesday but did not participate in the vote on Senate Bill 1722 are: h Sen. Paul Bailey, R-sparta h Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-gallatin h Sen. Becky Massey, R-knoxville h Sen. Bill Powers, R-clarksville h Sen. Shane Reeves, R-murfreesboro h Sen. John Stevens, R-huntington h Sen. Page Walley, R-savannah h Sen. Bo Watson, R-hixson
Vivian Jones covers state politics and government for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com or on X at @Vivian_e_jones.