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‘Archaic’: the Tennessee town that made homosexuality illegal

www.theguardian.com ‘Archaic’: the Tennessee town that made homosexuality illegal

Republican lawmakers in the US are leaning into outdated definitions of obscenity to outlaw drag and ban books too

For five months this year, homosexuality was prohibited in a Tennessee college town.

In June, the city council of Murfreesboro enacted an ordinance outlawing “indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct”. The rule did not explicitly mention homosexuality, but LGBTQ+ people in the town quickly realized that the ordinance references 21-72 of the city code, which categorizes homosexuality as an act of indecent sexual conduct.

The ordinance was essentially a covert ban on LGBTQ+ existence.

Erin Reed, one of the first and only national journalists to cover the ordinance earlier this year, noted that Murfreesboro isn’t “the only community that has these old archaic bits of code that target homosexuality”.

Earlier this month, following a legal challenge from the ACLU of Tennessee, the government of Murfreesboro removed “homosexuality” from the list of acts defined as “public indecency” by the city code. The small victory came after officials repeatedly refused to issue permits for the BoroPride Festival, citing the new ordinance.

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Also in Murfreesboro-

https://www.propublica.org/article/new-bill-seeks-to-remove-tennessee-judge-who-illegally-jailed-children

It is a very fucked up place.
- “After prayerful thought and talking with my family, I have decided not to run for re-election..."
  
  WTF, why do these people always blame God when they get caught? God wasn't responsible for your own shady shit, and he's not responsible for you cuttin'-and-runnin'.
- Yeah it’s famously fucked up
- Cripes. Wtf Murfreesboroites?
Big, tough, strong, straight men too afraid to see other men kiss or hold hands. These men are weak. Gay men are much more manlier.
- I mean, if you think about it, gay men are so manly that they are literally into men as men. It's like double man.
  
  It doesn't get manlier than that. Literally twice the men.
  
  It's raining men!
- Tennessee needs this law because without it all the men there go gay.
There's no hate like christian love.
WE WILL NOT GO BACK IN TO THE CLOSEST!
- THEN HOW WILL YOU GET CLOTHES
  
  THE BOUDOIR OR MAYBE A DRESSER
  
  THEY WILL SIT IN A PILE ON THE FLOOR AND I WILL SMELL THEM BEFORE PUTTING THEM ON, BUT ONLY IF THEY AREN'T TOO WRINKLED IN WHICH CASE I WILL USE THEM AS PAJAMAS OR WASH THEM AGAIN.
- OR THE FARTHEST
A bit redundant to say "archaic" and "Tennessee" isn't it?
- Depends on the city. Chattanooga has amazing municipal internet, for instance.
Obscenity law needs to be eliminated entirely at this point. It's archaic entirely. Luckily, convicting under the Miller test is rare since pretty much everything has "serious artistic or political value", but these laws shouldn't be on the books at all. Needless violation of the first amendment to punish victimless crimes.
Wasn't this whole thing debunked as an obscure definition that was never enforced, and was changed weeks before a story about it ever made headlines?

Earlier this month, following a legal challenge from the ACLU of Tennessee, the government of Murfreesboro removed “homosexuality” from the list

Yep.

I'm cancelling my monthly donation to the guardian lmao. Ragebaiting like some fox news opinion piece.
- Part of the authoritarian playbook is selective enforcement.
  
  So it's still scary, even if it never got used.
- In June, the city council of Murfreesboro enacted an ordinance outlawing “indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct”. The rule did not explicitly mention homosexuality, but LGBTQ+ people in the town quickly realized that the ordinance references 21-72 of the city code, which categorizes homosexuality as an act of indecent sexual conduct.
  ...
  Earlier this month, following a legal challenge from the ACLU of Tennessee, the government of Murfreesboro removed “homosexuality” from the list of acts defined as “public indecency” by the city code. The small victory came after officials repeatedly refused to issue permits for the BoroPride Festival, citing the new ordinance.
  
  So the city was using the ordinance to shut down a pride festival based on the new ordinance's reference to 21-72 of the city code until the ACLU got involved and they backed down rather than pay for lawyers to fight a battle they knew they couldn't win in the courts.
  
  Murfreesboro made public homosexuality illegal and was enforcing it until the ACLU slapped them around. How is that "debunked"? You don't think it's newsworthy that a city government outlawed public homosexuality just because they rescinded it when challenged?
  
  https://www.facebook.com/boropridetn this is the pride organisers page. On the 2019 event listing they state it is the 4th annual event. They've been running pride events in the town every year for nearly a decade. The event occurred again this year, making it the 9th consecutive year.
  
  I don't see gays being oppressed, I see dumb small town officials thinking they can make weird laws that would never hold up in court and getting immediately corrected.
  
  It's more shocking to me that there was apparently no law that referenced that definition of "sexual conduct" until now that would have highlighted this bigoted part of the city code thats been there for years.
  
  Was fucking in the street legal? Why is it only on the 9th year of the event that they are getting push back? How many officials were involved in this law passing? Questions the guardian isn't looking at because they don't give a fuck, or the answers aren't ragebait enough.
- It's the fact that it had to be removed.... And that there are plenty of people in government, including the speaker of the house, who actually want it to be illegal to be gay.
Christianity going to Christian
I lived scarily close to Murfreesboro to be reading this. Luckily I moved out of Tennessee back in August, and I hope my friends can get outta there soon.
- I lived in Cookeville for a few years, glad I got the fuck outta TN, especially Cookeville. So many racists and homophobes there.
  
  Yeah I went to TN Tech for a year so I know Cookeville :/
I feel like would be a great town to fuck in the park at midnight. Just more exciting because you could get a small ticket for it.
- Uncertain if it'll be a small ticket from a police officer. I'm more confident it'll be a burning cross and a noose from a group of white hooded individuals. There's a history.
  
  Maybe a small bullet (or ten) from the cop. :/
  
  True, but as long as they aren’t wearing their hoods they are probably the ones most likely to be engaging in the behaviors they so publicly despise.
I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion, but how is this surprising? Gay marriage was voted down at the state level many times all across the country. Those voters are still out there and 5 supreme court justices didn't change their opinions on homosexuality.
- You don't have to be surprised to be offended.
  
  True. I'm curious if the ones that enabled this legislation were first surprised or offended when the supreme court made gay marriage legal?
- This is the most worthless comment I've read on lemmy yet, not only is it wrong or also acts smug about it lmfao get outta here
  
  Your entire comment history is antagonism or insults. I rarely even think this much less say it, but: please go back to Reddit. You’re the reason we all left there.
  
  Based on documented state voting the majority of the population would agree with my statement. You are in the small minority. Bitch all you like, that will not change.
- True, but also some of those voters have changed their minds. I wouldn’t be surprised if my red state would overturn our constitutional ban on gay marriage if Obergefell were struck down, and Obergefell was against our state.
Isn’t this a blatant violation of the Laurence ruling?
You reap what you sow Tennessee
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state_constitutional_amendments_banning_same-sex_unions

Not sure you're right about that.
I assumed push back as you don't agree with the actual facts I posted, but didn't expect you to put blinders on. How do you factually measure how people feel? The answer is clearly you don't. I said gay marriage was voted down many many MANY times in different states all across the United States. It was, that actually happened. The people that voted against still actually exist, and it's likely their opinion has not changed just because you don't like it. How fucking obtuse can one person be?
- I'm so confused. What is this actually in response to? It feels like you're responding to a different comment rather than OP.
- Why is it likely that their opinion has not changed? I, for one, change my opinion if I find it doesn't suit me anymore
  
  If someone voted against a topic like this so many feel so strongly about I think it would be hard to change their minds. What could I say to convince you otherwise on this topic?

65 comments