NASHVILLE, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A bill aimed at keeping the subject of homosexuality out of elementary school classrooms in Tennessee has advanced in the Legislature.
A subcommittee of the House Education Committee released what has become known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill Wednesday, The Tennessean reported. A vote in the full committee could come next week.
The state Senate passed the bill last year.
Supporters say the bill would ensure parents can pass their own views on homosexuality to their children.
"The basic right as an American is my right to life, my right to liberty and my right to the pursuit of happiness," state Rep. John DeBerry, a Memphis Democrat, said. "Within that includes being able to run my home, raise my children as I see fit and to indoctrinate them as I see fit."
Gay-rights activists and Nashville high school students turned up for Wednesday's hearing to voice their opposition to the bill. The crowd was so big the hearing had to be moved to a larger room.
"To me, they're sending a message that in society gay people aren't really equal," said Thomas Kibby, a student at the magnet high school, Hume-Fogg. "This law would be kind of moving backwards."
