Grand Divisions

Tennessee Equality Project seeks to advance and protect the civil rights of our State’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons and their families in each Grand Division.

TEP Launches Stacey Campfield "Counseling" Fund

When Senator Stacey Campfield refiled the "Don't Say Gay" bill in the 108th Tennessee General Assembly on January 29, 2013, he relaunched an obsessive campaign jeopardizing the welfare of children in our state. The newest version of the Don't Say Gay bill still stigmatizes LGBT people and harms students in grades K-8 in public schools. The 2013 version of Don't Say Gay would force educators to "out" students to their parents and risk family rejection before a student is ready to deal with issues of coming out.

Tennessee Equality Project and our allies have fought this legislation for more than 6 years and in three legislative sessions. We pledge to keep fighting it.

This year, we wonder if a different approach is needed. We've grown concerned about Senator Campfield's homophobia, pathological obsession with gay people, and the effect of his campaign against youth in the State of Tennessee. We've come to believe that if his personal demons aren't addressed, Senator Campfield's issues will harm Tennessee's youth and result in him filing more hateful legislation.

Tennessee Equality Project is launching the Stacey Campfield "Counseling" Fund to address the Senator's unresolved issues. We think that some good therapy could bring the Senator to his senses and end attempts to legislate homophobic policies in the public schools of Tennessee. We're calling on concerned citizens to rally in support of Tennessee's youth by addressing the unmet behavioral health needs of our state's wayward Senator.

While we'd love to hire a real, licensed professional therapist to treat Campfield's irrational homophobia, it might be considered compensation and violate Tennessee ethics laws during the legislative session. So, the money raised for "counseling" in this campaign will be dedicated to directly lobbying against the "Don't Say Gay" bill and other anti-LGBT bills in the Tennessee legislature. We remind that Senator Campfield may access professional counseling services in the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offered through state-funded health insurance.

You can help stop the madness of the "Don't Say Gay" bill in Tennessee. Your generous gift to pay the cost of "counseling" for Stacey Campfield and other state lawmakers can help address unresolved and irrational homophobia left over from so many years of anti-gay legislation in the legislature.

Click one the buttons below to make your donation so that we can make Tennessee safer for all kids in our communities. 


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