Tennessee’s state House has voted along party lines to ban partisan or ideological flags, in a GOP-led measure targeting pride flags in public school classrooms.
House Bill 1605 passed Monday with a vote of 70 to 24, following a heated debate that included an outbursts from the gallery. Tennessee’s state Senate could vote on the measure as early as Thursday.
The bill bans public schools from displaying any flags other than the United States flag, the Tennessee state flag or an official school flag. Specifically, the measure prohibits the display of flags that “represent a political viewpoint, including but not limited to, a partisan, racial, sexual orientation, gender or ideological viewpoint.”
While the bill does not single-out LGBTQ pride flags, Republican state Rep. Gino Bulso said he drafted the measure following complaints by parents and a school board member that “certain teachers and counselors were displaying a pride flag” in their classrooms.