Stacey Campfield

Campfield, appearing on the Michelangelo Signorile Show on Sirius XM radio last week, claimed that HIV originated in the gay community by an airline pilot who had sex with monkey, and that it was “virtually impossible” to contract the disease through heterosexual sex.

“I hope that Stacy Campfield now knows what if feels like to be unfairly discriminated against,” wrote Boggs of the incident, on her restaurant’s Facebook page.

“He’s gone from being stupid to dangerous,” she told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “It’s just my way of standing up to a bully.”

Campfield (R-Knoxville) has made national headlines as sponsor of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which he prefers to call “don’t teach gay.”

The bill would prohibit public elementary and middle school teachers from providing instruction, material or counseling that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality. Campfield claims the bill is necessary because homosexuality is a “learned behavior.”

The bill passed the state Senate last year, and is now awaiting a vote in the Tennessee state House.

David Luttrell, Metro Pulse

Stacey Campfield

Appearing on the Michelangelo Signorile Show on Sirius XM radio, State Senator Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) — author of Tennessee’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would prohibit teachers from mentioning homosexuality in kindergarten through 8th grade classrooms — also asserted that the lifespan for gays and lesbians is “very short,” telling listeners to “Google it yourself.”

“Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community — it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall.”

“My understanding is that it is virtually — not completely, but virtually — impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex…

[...]

“What is the average lifespan of a homosexual? It’s very short … Anybody out there who’s listening – your twelve listeners on your show, you have them Google ‘average homosexual lifespan.’ It’s very short.”

Defending his remarks in an interview with WBIR-TV on Friday, Campfield said, “I’m not a historian on AIDS, but I’ve read and seen what other people have read and seen and those facts are out there.”

Dr. Jacques Pepin, author of the book “The Origin of AIDS,” called Campfield’s assertions “kind of funny,” in the sense of being strange and not fully factual, reported the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Pepin said that it is generally accepted that the initial transmission of AIDS from chimpanzees to humans occurred in Central Africa, probably 1921, when a hunter who killed a chimp contracted the virus while butchering the animal for food.

In parts of Africa, Pepin noted, about 30 percent of the population is infected with HIV, mostly through heterosexual intercourse.

Campfield has cited a 1988 advice column as the basis for his belief that HIV can not be contracted through heterosexual sex.

Campfield’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill passed the state Senate last year, and is now awaiting a vote in the Tennessee state House.

The bill would prohibit public elementary and middle school teachers from providing instruction, material or counseling that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality. Campfield claims the bill is necessary because homosexuality is a “learned behavior.”

Their post said, “a lot of comments on these stories place blame on gay Southerners for choosing to live in such an intolerant place. How do you respond to people who believe its “your fault” for being discriminated against in a region we consider our home?”

Such comments regarding LGBT people in the South are not an anomaly, for I have also noticed, on both LGBT and non-LGBT blogs and news articles, comments that have the same tone.

To these commentators, many of whom live in more progressive states like New York and California, it is incomprehensible that LGBT people would willingly subject themselves to the overt discrimination that exists in the states of the South.

They can’t understand why we won’t pick up and move to places where we won’t be fired because of our sexual orientation or gender identity; and they can’t understand why we stay in states where religious leaders and politicians are able to spew vitriol, lies, and hatred openly about our community.

Though I am not from the South originally (I hail from Illinois), I consider Tennessee more of my home state than where I grew up, and thus, it is quite discouraging for me to read many of these anti-Southern comments.

Yes, it is known that the South has a long way to go when it comes to equality for its LGBT citizens, but is “retreat” the answer to the hatred that we face?

Should we allow the people and the states of the South to continue in their persecution of LGBT children and adults, yet offer no rebuttal or fight? Does that not make us cowards and undeserving of equality, when we won’t even fight against our oppressors and instead capitulate to their hatred by leaving for greener pastures?

The attitude that LGBT people should just leave states that are not welcoming, whether they are in the South or not, also fails to recognize that LGBT adults are not the only ones who live in these states.

Many times, LGBT children are not given the option, or even have the resources, to pick up and leave these oppressive environments. Are we to sacrifice their well-being so that we adults might feel more equal? If all the LGBT adults are gone, who will be there to fight for anti-bullying legislation? Who will be there to offer support and guidance to these children when they experience discrimination and persecution in their lives?

Yes, there will be straight allies, and God knows I love them, but these children need role models who have experienced the same persecution, yet have overcome it.

Those who say to us, “come to the welcoming states, why would you want to live in the South” want us to take the easy way out.

Though they might not realize it, by asking why any LGBT person would want to live in a bigoted society, what they are truly saying is that such societies are too far gone to be of any use to our community.

I reject this notion, for I see the South as having the potential to be a haven for LGBT people, and I am thankful that are people in my life who have stuck it out, fought the good fight against the constant barrage of hatred and discrimination, and who strive to make an impact for our community each and every day.

About the Author:

The so-called “license to bully” bill (HB 1153/SB 0760) would allow students to share any “religious, philosophical, or political views” that are “unpopular,” regardless of their consequences to the learning environment, and limits educators’ ability to curb such harassment.

Joe Ragan

Equality advocates lodged an email protest campaign against the measure, but were particularly surprised by the reaction of state Rep. John Ragan (R).

In a long letter to one opponent of the bill, Ragan replied that gay “feelings” can be controlled by “mentally healthy adult human beings,” and concluded by stating, “Should society avoid disapproving of pedophilia, prostitution, murder, etc., because practitioners of those behaviors may commit suicide at higher rates?” An excerpt from his letter:

Examining another statistic, it has been well known for a decade that suicide is attempted much more frequently in the homosexual community than in the heterosexual community (Mathy, Cochran, Olsen, & Mays, 2009). This same source pointed out that, on average, suicide is approximately three times more likely among homosexuals than heterosexuals.

As a fitting critical thought question, it could be asked if other identifiable groups that engage in behavior of which “others may disapprove” commit suicide at similar rates? In other words, do prostitutes, pedophiles, polygamists, murders, etc., commit suicide at the same, or similar, rates to homosexual behavior practitioners?

If similar rates were hypothetically so (not proven to be the case), do these behavior practitioners commit suicide at a higher rate because someone may have disapproved of their behavior or for other reasons? Should society avoid disapproving of pedophilia, prostitution, murder, etc., because practitioners of those behaviors may commit suicide at higher rates?

The mindset behind the measure undermines research that shows that the presence of LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying policies, supportive staff, and gay-straight alliances help minimize bullying.

In addition to this bill, the Tennessee legislature will also reconsider the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prevents teachers and staff from providing any educational support about LGBT identities.

Phillip Parker

His parents said Phillip was constantly bullied because he was gay.

WSMV-TV reports:

“He was fun, he was energetic, he was happy,” said Gena Parker, Phillip’s mother.

To his many friends, Phillip was known as the boy who told everyone they’re beautiful.

“He kept telling me he had a rock on his chest,” said Ruby Harris, Phillip’s grandmother. “He just wanted to take the rock off where he could breathe.”

Phillip’s family said they reported their concerns over their son’s bullying to Gordonsville High School on multiple occasions, but the bullying by a group of students just got worse.

“I believe my whole family up in heaven’s taking good care of him,” said friend Megan Redinger.

“I want to say I love him dearly,” added friend Heather Hunt. “He’ll never be forgotten. He’s always in my heart.”

“That’s my son,” said Phillip Parker, Phillip’s father. “I love him. I miss him. He shouldn’t have had to kill himself to be brought to life.”

Phillip’s parents said that students at Gordonsville High school have bombarded them with information since Phillip’s death — more than hundred teens told them the bullying was obvious, and some said they went to teachers about it.

“Because he was gay, he got mistreated physically, mentally by several people out there at the school, and I am very resentful as a result of it,” said Phillip’s grandfather, Paul Harris.

WSMV reported that more than 100 people gathered on Saturday night to grieve for the loss of Phillip.

Phillip’s parents plan to meet with Gordonsville High School officials on Monday morning, and a spokesperson at Smith County Schools said they are now planning how to address the situation with students.

The Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) Upper Cumberland Committee has announced it will hold a candlelight vigil in Cookeville, Tenn., on Thursday, January 26 at 8:00 p.m. in memory of Phillip and other victims of bullying, including Jacob Rogers, a gay teen from Ashland City who took his life in December.

The event will take place at the Courthouse Square — candles will be provided, and participants are asked to bring their own signs.

According to Beth Thompson of the TEP Upper Cumberland Committee, “While not only youth who identify as LGBT are targets of bullies, they have been found to be up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to the Massachusetts 2006 Youth Risk Survey.”

The event is designed to show support for LGBT youth while the Tennessee General Assembly continues to debate legislation such as the “License to Bully” bill, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and the transphobic “Bathroom Bill,” all of which have drawn national scorn from LGBT advocates.

Phillip is the third gay teen this month to commit suicide under similar circumstances:

In the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, Jeffrey Fehr, 18, hanged himself at his family’s home in Granite Bay, Calif. Jeffrey’s parents are convinced that a lifetime of taunts and bullying contributed to their gay son’s decision to take his own life.

On Jan. 11, Eric James Borges, 19, of Visalia, Calif., also died, the victim of an apparent suicide. Known as EricJames to his friends, he was an intern with The Trevor Project and a young film maker who was not accepted by his birth family because he was gay.

Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know needs support, please don’t hesitate to call the Trevor Project‘s Lifeline at 866-488-7386.

The legislation sponsored by Representative Joey Hensley, (R-Hohenwald) which was scheduled to be heard Wednesday by the House Education Subcommittee, limits all sexually related instruction to “natural human reproduction science” in kindergarten through the eighth grades.

A similar measure passed the Senate in 2011.

Representative Hensley said he plans to now amend his version to reflect the language of the Senate measure telling reporters that he believes it will pass.

Though supporters of the bill assert that it is ideologically neutral, and allows families to discuss the sensitive topic of sexuality when parents feel their children are ready, many have noted that the bill actually ostracizes LGBT students since it promotes heterosexuality as the only form of sexuality that can be discussed by teachers.

Opponents of the bill also claim it will prevent teachers and school officials from preventing the bullying of LGBTQ youths.

The bill (SB 2282) would institute a $50 fine for anybody who does not use the public restroom or dressing room that matches the sex identification on his or her birth certificate:

(b) Except as provided in § 68-15-303, where a restroom or dressing room in a public building is designated for use by members of one particular sex, only members of that particular sex shall be permitted to use that restroom or dressing room.

(c) A violation of subsection (b) is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a to a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00).

If passed, this bill would make Tennessee a particularly unfriendly place for people who are transgender. Tennessee law does not allow for the sex to be changed on birth certificates, which means this law would make it illegal for transgender people to utilize any public accommodations that match their gender. It would also impose on any businesses — such as Macy’s — that have transgender-inclusive policies.

Last year, the Family Action Council of Tennessee ran transphobic ads to support a bill that banned all municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people. The ads rehashed the “bathroom meme,” the fear that all transgender people are sexual predators trying to use the wrong restroom to find children to abuse.

In reality, there has never been a case of someone using a transgender identity to molest children, nor is there anything to suggest that this bill would do anything to make children safer from actual predators. (HT: Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition.)

Much has unfolded in the day since the bill was first introduced.

First, state Sen. Bo Watson (R) has withdrawn his version of the bill. He had introduced it as a courtesy to state Rep. Richard Floyd (R), who represents the same region of Tennessee. In a statement to ThinkProgress, Watson’s communications director explained that “Sen. Watson concluded that there are far more pressing issues facing the state of Tennessee at this time.”

Floyd now stands alone as the sponsor of the bill (HB 2279), which he defended yesterday using incredibly transphobic rhetoric. In no uncertain terms, he explained that he would resort to violence if he ever encountered someone transgender in a dressing room:

FLOYD: I believe if I was standing at a dressing room and my wife or one of my daughters was in the dressing room and a man tried to go in there — I don’t care if he thinks he’s a woman and tries on clothes with them in there — I’d just try to stomp a mudhole in him and then stomp him dry.

Don’t ask me to adjust to their perverted way of thinking and put my family at risk. We cannot continue to let these people dominate how society acts and reacts. Now if somebody thinks he’s a woman and he’s a man and wants to try on women’s clothes, let him take them into the men’s bathroom or dressing room.

In an extended interview with WTVF News Chanel 5, Floyd doubled down on his comments, claiming that his bill doesn’t “penalize anybody,” it “protects everybody,” and he could “care less” what transgender advocacy groups think. Watch it:

This bill is nothing short of an outright attack on transgender people, and Floyd’s comments make it clear he lacks any understanding or compassion for the trans community. Enforcement of this bill could lead to ID checks in public restrooms and would be devastatingly stigmatizing, especially considering Tennessee offers no option for individuals to change their birth certificate gender markers.

Even individuals passing through one of Tennessee’s airports or bus stops could be targeted for these fines, just for being transgender.

In an article in The Atlantic on Saturday, Wendy Kaminer, a noted libertarian, weighed in on the matter, giving the typical libertarian response regarding protected speech.

To her, anti-bullying laws are a potentially dangerous affront to First Amendment rights, because it would criminalize the religious and moral beliefs of American citizens.

I take issue with Ms. Kaminer’s position in several ways. In her analysis she states that:

You shouldn’t have to study this language (of the Tennessee bill) to recognize that opposing it means supporting infringements on First Amendment rights and punishing students who express religious, philosophical, or political ideas that others find discomforting or unpleasant.

First off, Ms. Kaminer is confusing “religious, philosophical, or political ideas that some may find unpleasant” with harassment. There is a fundamental and clear difference between the two.

An example of this could be found using the African-American community. A pro-life individual could have a political position regarding abortion and its impact upon the African-American community, and that would be protected speech. Yes, labeling a woman’s right to choose as “racial genocide” might be construed as discomforting and unpleasant, but it is just that, political speech that one finds unpleasant. It is not denigrating or harassing a people group because of a characteristic that that group shares.

On the other hand, if that same person started yelling racial slurs at an African-American person, that would cross the line from “discomfort” or “unpleasantness” to actual harassment, because it is now the individual who is being attacked.

Harassment occurs when the bully moves from attacking an “idea” to attacking an individual or a characteristic of that individual. It occurs within our school system when a child is called out, not because of a political position that they hold, but instead because of whom they are, whatever race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or weight they may have.

An another example: Michele Obama has proposed legislation that deals with childhood obesity, by promoting healthy food choices and alternatives to fast food. That is a political position, and a policy that can be debated upon its merits.

Yet, under the proposed legislation in Tennessee, not only would a discussion of the political ramifications of the First Lady’s program be allowed, but an overweight school kid could be bullied for his weight, because the bully could say that the overweight kid is a “glutton” and violating the biblical standards of self-control.

Ms. Kaminer then goes on to assert that the proposed legislation is actually a good thing for LGBT activists and students in Tennessee because it:

“would also protect the rights of gay students to advocate for same-sex marriage, equal employment laws, health care equality, or gay adoptions, among other issues — even if their advocacy is unpopular and considered by some “unpleasant.”

Though Ms. Kaminer may mean well, and her defense of freedom of speech (an essential American right) is admirable; it is unfortunately quite misguided. As shown within the above paragraph, Ms. Kaminer does not understand the difference between advocating for a political position (which, by the way, I do not see as having an relevance in a school system), to harassment.

The former is of course protected by the First Amendment; but for the second, one is hard pressed to find justification for such protections. Instead of having any legitimacy, the allowance of bullying based upon ones “religious, political, or philosophical” belief, has only one purpose — it gives students the right to demean, denigrate, and cause direct pain to countless children within our school system.

And that, my readers, is why Tennessee’s “license to bully” bill MUST fail.

About the Author:

The legislation, as proposed, is supposed to correct the “harm” that anti-bullying policies may place upon students who believe that being gay is “against God.”

The bill, heavily lobbied by the Family Action Council of Tennessee, is supposed to “make sure [the law] protects the religious liberty and free speech rights of students who want to express their views on homosexuality.”

Not only does this bill establish a special right for religious individuals to persecute, harass, and demean LGBT people, but it also can be turned on its head, and harm the people that is is supposedly crafted to protect.

As the legislation says, bullying is acceptable as long as it is based upon a students “religious, philosophical, or political beliefs.”

Thus, if a Christian was bullying a Jewish person, calling them a “Christ killer” and a “worthless heathen who is going to hell,” that is completely acceptable, because it is based in religion.

Conversely, Christians can also be bullied by their peers for believing in the “fairy tails” of Christianity, such as the virgin birth and the resurrection. Even African-Americans can be bullied, for the bully could claim that their distaste for African-Americans is based upon the curse of Ham contained in the book of Genesis.

This is why this bill failed in Michigan, because instead of giving the bully special protection for their bullying, the bully was open to persecution himself.

The failure of this bill in Michigan give an inkling for the real reason for such legislation (give Christians special rights to make others feel worthless), yet when the unintended consequences of the legislation are made apparent, lawmakers want to distance themselves from the “religious persecution” bill.

After a lot of media criticism, the Senate sponsor of the bill, Republican Senator Jim Tracy of Shelbyville, has decided to “narrow” the bills scope.

I wonder what such “narrowing” entails, and if that narrowing will give specific license to bully LGBT Tennesseans.

About the Author:

This week’s Marriage News Watch is here:

I’m Matt Baume at the American Foundation for Equal Rights, and welcome to Marriage News Watch for December 26, 2011.

Here’s a holiday present for you: yet another Senator has signed on for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. The repeal now boasts 32 sponsors with New Jersey Democrat Bob Mendez, who voted for the anti-gay ban back in the 1990s.

This means that fully one-third of the Senate is now sponsoring the repeal bill. That’s a record level of support — but let’s be realistic: we still have a long way to go — possibly years — before it has a chance of passing. And even when DOMA does go away, that won’t automatically legalize marriage. All DOMA does is prevent the federal government and individual states from recognizing the marriages of LGBTs who live in states that do recognize their marriages.

Or in other words, if you get married in Massachusetts, DOMA prevents states like Utah and agencies like the IRS from acknowledging your marriage. But if you live in Utah and want to get married, DOMA’s won’t stop you — it’s the local laws of Utah that do that. It’s a complicated patchwork of laws that, once again, highlights the need for national uniformity when it comes to full federal marriage equality.

There’s lots of reasons LGBTs want to get married — starting with wanting to spend the rest of our lives with the people we love — but this issue that keeps coming up is hospital visitation. This week Rolling Hills Hospital in Tennessee denied visitation to the partner of a woman in their care. They’re not actually allowed to do that: guidelines issued under President Obama stipulate that hospitals like this one allow patients to designate same-sex partners for visitation. The hospital has since apologized, but it’s still pretty incredible that without marriage, we still have to worry about this kind of thing anytime we go to the hospital for care.

The good news is that public opinion keeps turning in our favor. This week a survey in Utah showed that 64% of residents support legal recognition for LGBT couples. And across the country, a council member in Washington DC has introduced a bill that would reform the district’s divorce laws in 2012 to provide greater parity to LGBT couples. The move is necessary because, once again, differing laws in other states have complicated the process of recognizing DC marriages and divorces.

Advocates in New Hampshire have begun airing a new marriage equality television ad. It’s designed to pressure lawmakers into resisting an attempt by a small group of Republicans who want to eliminate both marriage and domestic partnerships. It’s about as no-frills as an ad can get, so we’ll see if this stoic approach resonates with natives.

In international news, Ireland will begin recognizing marriages performed in New York. That means that married New Yorkers will have more rights when they travel abroad than they do in their own country. And Scotland is considering a compromise on marriage. The country may recognize civil marriage recognition while prohibiting marriage ceremonies in churches. That proposal has drawn strong criticism from Quakers, Unitarians, and numerous other faith groups that support the freedom to marry.

And in Australia, a Queensland MP is attempting to undo that state’s new civil unions law. That’s drawn strong opposition from psychologists, who explain that it would “re-traumatize” an oppressed minority group. Meanwhile the Australian Psychological Society issued a strong statement in favor of marriage equality on the grounds that social exclusion is harmful to mental health.

Those are the headlines, visit us at MarriageNewsWatch.com for more on all these stories and more. And visit AFER.org for more on the federal fight to overturn Prop 8 and win full federal marriage equality in every state. I’m Matt Baume at the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Have a great holiday time and we’ll see you next week.

Val Burke said the staff at Rolling Hills Hospital had previously denied multiple requests by her to visit her partner, who is currently a patient in the hospital’s residential facility. Burke said that staff members excluded her from the room since she was not a legal spouse nor a family member.

“I went to visit her at the appropriate visiting time and was turned away,” she says. “We have been living together for three years now, but that didn’t matter to them either. The rest of her family is out of town, so she didn’t have any one visit her.”

Burke said she had previously been allowed visitation rights, but only with her partner’s mother in attendance.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in September issued the rules for equal visitation and representation rights for LGBTQ persons.

The regulations require all hospitals participating in Medicaid and Medicare programs – virtually every hospital in the country – to permit patients to designate visitors of their choosing and prohibit discrimination in visitation based on a number of factors, including sexual orientation and gender identity.

Hospitals are also required to put their visitation policies in writing, including any “clinically necessary or reasonable restrictions” to visitation that may be appropriate.

Richard Bangert, chief executive officer of Rolling Hills called the visitation denial a “human error.”

“They made a mistake,” Bangert said. “When I learned of it, I immediately met with my staff on Monday. We immediately made the change in terms of making sure that our policy was very clear.”

The Human Rights Campaign and the Tennessee Equality Project called on all hospitals to review their policies and practices related to hospital visitation after the Rolling Hills incident was made public.

While noting that the incident at Rolling Hills Hospital has been resolved, both advocacy groups said that it serves as a reminder of the importance of hospital visitation rights for LGBT Americans.

“Rolling Hills Hospital fixed the problem immediately, but this serves as a reminder discrimination still exists in the health-care arena and we need to tackle it,” said Paul Guequierre, HRC spokesman.

Bangert said he plans to meet with Burke saying, “I will apologize and work with her directly,” he said. “I take it very personally. This is not representative of the hospital.”

Another kid has been bullied into killing himself. His name is Jacob Rogers. He went to Cheatham County Central High School, in Ashland City, TN. Apparently he’d been being pretty severely bullied for four years. It got so bad that around Thanksgiving he quit going to school.

A friend of Jacob’s told reporters, “He started coming home his senior year, saying ‘I don’t want to go back. Everyone is so mean. They call me a faggot, they call me gay, a queer.’”

WSMV-TV

Yesterday Jacob took his own life.

You can read more about Jacob here.

An important detail not mentioned in that WSMV story comes from from KingstonSprings.org: “Dr. Tim Webb, Director of Cheatham County Schools [said] that his almost all-new staff at the high school only knew of one incident of bullying and confronted the accused over the bullying. However, Dr. Webb also noted that because staff were new to the school, they were perhaps not aware of the extent of bullying that Jacob had endured in years past.”

I’ve done a fair amount of writing on these sorts of tragedies (see this past Sunday’s Tell Me, Christian, That You Hear this Boy, Christians and the Blood of Jamey Rodemeyer, and My Gay Christian Cousin Committed Suicide, to name just three).

And so I have no doubt that some will claim that the primary reason Jacob killed himself is not because he was bullied. They’ll say that we don’t know the whole story. They’ll point to the fact that Jacob lived with his grandmother, that his family is poor (not, God knows, that poverty is any sin)—that it’s safe to assume this kid had problems beyond being bullied.

And I will respond with what I always say: that certainly there are always myriad causes behind the suicide of any person. But that does not alter the fact that the root cause of gay teens being bullied because they are gay (whether or not they actually are gay) is that strain of Christianity which continues to insist that homosexuality is an evil affront to God.

If Christians would actually read the Bible, instead of daring to insist that three or four isolated phrases within it justifies a theology that has no more to do with Christ than Fred Phelps has to do with Welcome Wagon, we would arrive at a popular Christianity that is not, as so much of our Christianity is today, a pure affront to anyone with half a conscience.

And that Christianity would dissipate the motivation of those kids who bully in the name and spirit of condemning homosexuality. That particularly noxious train would simply come to a halt. Because there wouldn’t be left any enduring reason for anyone to ever condemn gay people at all.

Then gay people would just be … people. You know: that thing God made in his own image.

Fellow Christians: will you please stop treating the Bible like it’s a permission slip from God to be just as ignorant and immoral as your scared little self wants to be–and to raise your children to be just like you?

If not, then be sure to buy a new Bible every year. It’s a lot easier than having to keep washing the blood off your old one.

About the Author:

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. — Students at a local school are grieving a classmate. Friends say the young man took his own life because he couldn’t take any more bullying.

And they say school officials knew about the torment but didn’t do enough to stop it.

WSMV-TV

Jacob Rogers

Friends say that kids bullied Jacob Rogers at Cheatham County Central High School for the past four years, but in the past few months it had become so bad he dropped out of school.

And Wednesday, he ended his life.

“He started coming home his senior year saying ‘I don’t want to go back. Everyone is so mean. They call me a f****, they call me gay, a queer,’” friend Kaelynn Mooningham said.

Kaelynn said her friend Jacob felt ignored.

“Jacob told me no one was helping him. He constantly was going to guidance,” she said.

But Cheatham County Schools Director Dr. Tim Webb said the school was only aware of one incident of bullying.

“She actually intervened and called the students in accused of bullying or picking. She called them in, talked to them and gave them warnings. Subsequently after that, she ran into the student and asked him if things were better and he indicated that things were better,” Webb said.

But Kaelynn knows that Jacob wasn’t OK. Things were still so bad around Thanksgiving that he ultimately quit going to school.

“No one would listen and stand up for him,” she said.

Brentwood attorney Larry Crane has worked on several cases involving bullying where schools failed to do enough.

“Federal government is taking a closer look at these cases,” he said.

And now, those like Kaelynn are wondering when is enough, finally enough?

“It just doesn’t have to make sense. How many kids have to die before Cheatham does something,” she said.

Kaelynn says Jacob lived with his grandmother who primarily took care of him. She found a couple notes that Jacob left for her. In those notes Jacob left passwords to his email and his phone so investigators could determine why he chose to kill himself.

As for Cheatham Central, counselors will be on hand again Thursday for grieving classmates.

Friends of Jacob’s family say they likely don’t have enough money to hold a funeral. Donations for a funeral are being accepted at Sandman’s Ink Shop, a local tattoo shop in Ashland City.

A video report is also available at WSMV-TV.

WATE-TV

Andrea Jones

The Social Security Administration recognizes Jones as a woman and she is treated as such under federal statues. However, the Tennessee Department of Safety — which oversees issuance of driver’s licenses — told WATE-TV in Knoxville that they would only change the sex on a license “if an applicant presents a doctor’s statement indicating that a full sex change has occurred and the procedure is complete.”

“It’s not right for the state to ask me to be both male and female. A choice needs to be made. They cannot hold me to both standards,” Jones told the station in an interview. “What I had was a statement from a surgeon saying I no longer had my testicles,” she added.

Angered by the response from the Department of Motor Vehicle’s staff, Jones said she decided to make a statement by taking her shirt off in the parking lot.

The Morristown police were called to the DMV office, and according to the officer’s initial report of the incident, “Mr. Jones continued to yell that he had the right to show his breasts in public and wanted to be recognized as a female.”

“If I was a male, I had the right to, when I stepped out the door, take off my shirt,” Jones explained.

A court date has been set for December 20 on the charge of indecent exposure.

LEXINGTON, Tenn. — The parent of an 11th grade Lexington High School student said her son, Kasey Landrum, 16, was issued an in-school suspension after he was caught wearing makeup 10 minutes after school ended.

“The principal walked into the school and immediately started yelling at me and told me to get outside,” said Landrum. He said he did exactly as Lexington High School Principal Steve Lindsey instructed without a reply. He said another student who witnessed the incident told the principal Landrum was simply expressing himself by wearing the makeup.

Kasey Landrum

Landrum said the principal and student exchanged words which would later lead to her being issued a one day in-school suspension. The next day Landrum said he was called to the office and issued a three day in-school suspension.

“I’m very upset about it because he can’t be who he wants to be,” said Shelly Maness, Kasey Landrum’s mother. “When I went to register him, about the make-up, he (Lindsey) reminded us Kasey was not to be wearing any,” she adds.

The suspension form obtained by Maness cited her son was suspended on the basis he violated the school’s dress code which states: “When a student is attired in a manner, which is likely to cause disruption or interference with normal operation of the school, the administration will take the appropriate action. In matters of opinion, the judgment of the teachers and administrators will prevail.”

“I don’t know what kind of disruption it may have cause or may not have caused,” said Henderson County Superintendent Steve Wilkinson. Superintendent Wilkinson said the principal has the authority to determine what is deemed a distraction.

Landrum said this was the second time he has been reprimanded for wearing makeup. “We went to a football game… we were told to leave,” he said. He said the day he was reprimanded another student with what he calls a “punk rock” style wore makeup, but was not punished. “He had it on all day, so I was like if he can do it so can I.”

When asked whether he knew of any cases where students were distracted, Landrum said there were no incidents which were caused as a result of him wearing makeup and said overall the students and teachers have been very supportive of him.

“I’m proud of myself for being as comfortable as I am, but sometimes I wish I was straight,” he said. He said the emotional impact of not being able to express himself has led to depression which has caused him to miss days from school.

“I’m proud of my son, gay or straight or whatever. I want him to feel the same way,” said Maness. Superintendent Wilkinson said Maness has the right to appeal her son’s suspension.

Following is a video report from WBBJ-TV: