TENNESSEE: Author Of "Don't Say Gay" Bill Trounced In State Senate Race

And some actually excellent news out of Tennessee. Viciously anti-gay GOP state Sen. Stacey Campfield was trounced yesterday in his reelection bid.

With all precincts reporting, Richard Briggs had 13,977 votes, or 66 percent, compared with Campfield's 5,824 votes, or 28 percent. The primary was expected to be tough for Campfield, a highly visible lawmaker who often drew attention and sometimes ridicule for his polarizing comments, as well as sponsoring contentious bills on social issues. They included one ridiculed as the "Don't Say Gay" bill and another that would cut welfare benefits to parents whose children aren't doing well in school. Most recently, Campfield made national news when he compared the federal health care law to the forced transportation of Jews to concentration camps during the Holocaust in a blog post. "Democrats bragging about the number of mandatory sign-ups for Obamacare is like Germans bragging about the number of mandatory sign-ups for 'train rides' for Jews in the 40s," he wrote. The misspelling of "mandatory" appeared in the original text.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Shortly after the Boston Marathon bombings, Campfield included a photo of a pressure cooker in a blog post attacking US Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Campfield's "Don't Say Gay" bill first passed before the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee in April 2011, and then passed out of the House Education Committee in February 2012. It did not pass before either full chamber. In January 2012 Campfield was booted out of a Knoxville cafe by its owners, who were angry about the bill. Also in January 2012 Campfield appeared on the Michelangelo Signorile Show to declare that "straight people don't get AIDS." In January 2013 Campfield reintroduced his "Don't Say Gay" bill with an added portion that requires teaches to out gay students to their parents. Later in 2013 Campfield introduced a bill that would cut public assistance to families if their children get low grades.