Tennessee lawmaker Sen. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville), sponsor of the “don’t say gay” bill that would prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality in kindergarten through 8th grade classrooms, said Thursday that homosexuality is a learned behavior.
Appearing on the David Pakman show, Campfield said, “Well, so far I haven’t seen anything that’s proven there’s a gay gene, that has not been proven to me. […] I just haven’t seen anything that proves it’s anything but a learned behavior.”
Pakman also asked Campfield is he was concerned that the bill would create a hostile environment for LGBT youth, or lead to an increase in anti-gay bullying or teen suicide.
“Well, I think it could do just the opposite, actually. If a teacher’s advocating against the lifestyle, it’s saying what that is is dirty, it’s filthy, it’s wrong, it’s an abomination … I think my bill would stop that.”
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The measure, SB49, was approved last week by a Senate committee.