TN county bans gay people

[BrandonTO416]

I thought this was a joke, until I read it..

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ounty_gay_ban_1

Tenn. County Wants to Charge Homosexuals

Wed Mar 17, 1:37 PM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!

DAYTON, Tenn. - The county that was the site of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" over the teaching of evolution is asking lawmakers to amend state law so the county can charge homosexuals with crimes against nature.

The Rhea County commissioners approved the request 8-0 Tuesday.

Commissioner J.C. Fugate, who introduced the measure, also asked the county attorney to find a way to enact an ordinance banning homosexuals from living in the county.

"We need to keep them out of here," Fugate said.

The vote was denounced by Matt Nevels, president of the Chattanooga chapter of Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

"That is the most farfetched idea put forth by any kind of public official," Nevels said. "I'm outraged."

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) struck down Texas' sodomy laws as a violation of adults' privacy.

Rhea County is one of the most conservative counties in Tennessee. It holds an annual festival commemorating the 1925 trial at which John T. Scopes was convicted of teaching evolution. The verdict was thrown out on a technicality. The trial became the subject of the play and movie "Inherit the Wind."

In 2002, a federal judge ruled unconstitutional the teaching of a Bible class in the public schools.

[Allan]

WTF? This isn't legal, is it?

[turlough]

OMG! this is very unconstitutional I can't fathom something like this ever happening but I guess it did

[Cotuit]

We're trying to keep The Coffee House more lighthearted, and directing serious or controversial topics into The Back Alley, so I'm going to move this over.

[Cotuit]

WTF? This isn't legal, is it?

:Mod hat off:

Could be.

In the early 90s Colorado passed (and later recinded) Ammendment 2, which not only barred municipalities within the state from passing non-discrimination laws that protected gays and lesbians, but was also interpretted to allow things such as this.

I would hope that the Tennessee Constitution has something in it which this flies in the face of. I'm rather certain that the Federal Constitution would block it. Though it's not clear that last summer's US Supreme Court 'sodomy' law ruling would void this. The county is not actually charging people with 'sodomy.'

[Wendell FOX]

Where is Rhea County exactly? Because the article mentioned Chattanooga, which is Tennessee's 4th largest city I believe, and if the law is enacted there quite a few people will be kicked out!

[BrandonTO416]

What's sad is that I live in an area like this. I'm an hour from that county...

[BrandonTO416]

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[Guest donaltopablo]

Wow. Maybe we can pass a law to keep out hateful rednecks. That's amazing, although I'm sure it won't stand up in court.

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[Guest donaltopablo]

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[M. Brown]

Wow. Very controversal. I wonder if this is going to really happen.

[BrandonTO416]

[Guest donaltopablo]

[cityboi]

This is ludicrous! This is worse than the civil rights era. Black people didn't have the same rights as white people but blacks were never banned from a town that i'm aware of. This is totally unconstitutional and uncivilized. The most predjudice nations in the world (middle eastern) don't even have laws like that.

"We need to keep them out of here"

listening to that sentence is a stark reminder of the 1950s. I don't understand why there is so much hatred for people because they are different. If we were all the same life would be very dull.

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