Tennessee state Senator Stacey Campfield (R) doesn't think his bill to limit the teaching of sexuality to "natural reproduction" is dead, contrary to the opinion of Gov. Bill Haslam.
Haslam told The City Paper that the bill "didn’t pass and probably is never going to pass."
The legislation would prohibit teachers from discussing any sexual orientation or behavior other than heterosexuality before the ninth grade. It has come to be known by its critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
"I disagree with the governor saying that it is not going to pass," Campfield told WATE. "Families across the state believe this is something that should be discussed with young children in the home, not with some radical in the classroom."
He said on his blog that the Tennessee Senate had already passed his bill and Campfield expects the House to pass it as well.
"The more regular people I talk to the more I find that most people support it," he wrote, adding that the media had an "unhealthy obsession" with the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
Tennessee does not require sex education for its students, but does have a "family life curriculum" that emphasizes abstinence.
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