Queer Eye for the Scared Guy

Uplifting news from Tennessee… Yesterday, Rhea County commissioners voted 8-0 to request state-wide legislation that would allow the county to charge homosexuals with “crimes against nature”. The specific money quote is this:

“We need to keep them out of here,” said Commissioner J.C. Fugate, who introduced the motion.

This is definitely an appropriate response to “recent national and state events concerning gay marriages”. With that idea, let’s consider the intellectual prowess that supported this decision, causing audience members to applaud:

There was little discussion before the 8-0 vote, and commissioners didn’t mention that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas sodomy laws last year and ruled there is a constitutionally protected right to adults’ private sexual conduct.

The Tennessee state senator for Rhea County is Senator Tommy Kilby. He responded with this:

“Yesterday in Judiciary Committee, they passed out a bill basically saying we will not recognize same-sex partnerships or civil unions from other states or foreign countries. I voted for that, and that’s my position on that issue,” Kilby said.

Thanks for not answering the question. He knows the citizens of Rhea County are outside the mainstream, not to mention the Constitutional, thought on the privacy of the sexual activity of consenting adults. That’s fine, since everyone is entitled to a personal opinion. However, he should state his belief. Or at least acknowledge that no such law will ever pass in the state legislature, but that the message has been effectively sent that homosexuals aren’t welcome in Rhea County. There’s no need for shouting it from the roof of the state capitol, but don’t cower and offer an evasive answer. It makes him look scared. Why are you scared, Senator Kilby?