Tennessee is once again center stage in the right’s ongoing war on transgender rights. This time, it’s a bill that would force public and private schools with overnight accommodations to assign bathrooms based on “immutable biological sex.” The bill, already passed by the state’s Republican-dominated Senate, is now headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. Spoiler alert: he hasn’t objected to a single anti-LGBTQ proposal yet, and no one’s expecting him to break tradition now.
The law would take effect immediately upon signing and comes as part of a broader Republican effort to roll back protections for transgender people. “It just seems we spend a very long time on a very small part of our population,” said Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Democrat from Nashville, pointing out what many LGBTQ advocates have long known: this isn’t about protecting children, it’s about political points.
A Familiar Pattern in Tennessee
GOP Rep. Gino Bulso, who filed the bill, claims it was sparked by a summer university incident in which a cisgender girl was reportedly asked to room near a transgender girl. The horror. Bulso told legislators that parents were concerned about shared bathrooms and showers, so, naturally, the entire state’s legislation needed a makeover. “We want to protect girls, protect young ladies and their privacy,” Bulso said, echoing the tired trope of using cisgender discomfort to justify systemic exclusion.
Tennessee already bans trans students and staff in public K-12 schools from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identities. And for those seeking privacy, the law requires single-occupancy alternatives—a so-called compromise that continues to single out trans people as “other.” Just last year, a federal judge tossed a challenge to that ban, making clear that courts, too, are failing the community.
A Broader Anti-LGBTQ Agenda
This latest move is part of a bigger playbook. Tennessee Republicans have passed a flurry of anti-LGBTQ legislation in the past few years. They’ve criminalized gender-affirming care for minors, penalized adults who help minors access such care, restricted drag performances, and even passed a law allowing foster children to be placed in homes that reject LGBTQ identities. The cruelty is systemic—and intentional.
Laws like these don’t just target policy—they target people. They tell transgender youth, and the broader LGBTQ community, that they are not welcome, not safe, and not seen. The bill’s passage sends a chilling message: if you’re trans in Tennessee, your identity will be legislated out of existence, bathroom by bathroom.
As states across the country join in this legislative pile-on, the need for national protections becomes increasingly urgent. Trans students deserve safety, privacy, and dignity—not performative laws rooted in fear and misinformation. For LGBTQ Tennesseans, the message is clear. The fight for your rights is far from over—but you’re not alone.