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.

TENNESSEE: State Sen. Stacey Campfield Blogs Pressure Cooker Image Against Sen. Dianne Feinstein

The guy behind Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" bill is at it again.

A Tennessee state senator is being slammed for insensitivity to the Boston Marathon bombing victims after posting an illustration of a pressure cooker – like the ones used in last week’s deadly attack – to mock gun control advocates. Republican Stacey Campfield posted an illustrated image of an “Assault Pressure Cooker” on his personal blog Camp4u on Sunday.

“Here comes Feinstein again” he titled the post in a reference to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who authored an assault weapons ban in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The pressure cooker illustration is then labeled with features similar to those of a gun – like a “tactical pistol grip” and “folding stock.” “Large-capacity, can cook for hours without reloading,” it also says.

Campfield has refused to apologize or remove the post. Some commenters on his blog are backing him.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: 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. Earlier this month Campfield introduced a bill that would cut public assistance to families if their children get low grades.

Martin Bashir Vs TN Rep. Stacey Campfield

Tennessee's "don't say gay" crackpot is back with yet another bigoted plan. This time Campfield wants to reduce public aid to families whose kids are getting low grades.

TENNESSEE: New Version Of "Don't Say Gay" Bill Includes Outing Students

You may recall GOP Tennessee state Rep. Stacey Campfield's continuing attempt to ban any mention of homosexuality or LGBT people in public schools.  Campfield has reintroduced his bill in the new legislative session, this time with the command that schools notify parents if their child is deemed to be "at risk" of having the gay.  Think Progress has some excerpts from Campfield's bill:

The general assembly recognizes that certain subjects are particularly sensitive and are, therefore, best explained and discussed within the home. Because of its complex societal, scientific, psychological, and historical implications, human sexuality is one such subject. Human sexuality is best understood by children with sufficient maturity to grasp its complexity and implications [...]  A school counselor, nurse, principal or assistant principal from counseling a student who is engaging in, or who may be at risk of engaging in, behavior injurious to the physical or mental health and well-being of the student or another person; provided, that wherever possible such counseling shall be done in consultation with the student’s parents or legal guardians. Parents or legal guardians of students who receive such counseling shall be notified as soon as practicable that such counseling has occurred.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Campfield's 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."

"Don't Say Gay" Bill Advances In TN

Tennessee's infamous "Don't Say Gay" bill advanced yesterday after a hearing before a state House committee.

The House Education subcommittee approved the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill on a voice vote Wednesday, renewing a debate that roiled the legislature last spring over whether elementary and middle schools should be allowed to initiate discussions about homosexuality. The panel accepted the version of the bill that passed the state Senate late in last year's session. The vote kept the bill on a path to be voted on by the full House before the legislature adjourns in the spring. Opponents say it will not curb talk about homosexuality among grade school kids but will send the signal that it should be stigmatized. But several lawmakers argued that it would protect parents' right to educate their children about their beliefs on their own terms.

Radio Host David Pakman Interviews Anti-Gay TN State Rep. Stacey Campfield

Clip description: "Stacey Campfield, Tennessee State Senator and sponsor of the "Don't Say Gay" bill joins us to discuss being kicked out of a restaurant on Gay Street for being anti-gay by the owner, about homosexuality being harmful, and he denies homosexuality exists in the animal kingdom."


RELATED: Check out Michelangelo Signorile's initial interview with Campfield. An excerpt:

"Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community -- it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall. My understanding is that it is virtually -- not completely, but virtually -- impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex...very rarely [transmitted]. "What's the average lifespan of a homosexual? it's very short. Google it yourself."

Don't Say Gay

Tennessee state Rep. Stacey Campfield doesn't want teachers to be allowed to even say the word "gay" to students.

Rep. Stacey Campfield said he believes the issue of homosexuality can be too complicated for young minds to understand. Campfield filed, the "Don't Say Gay" bill, which would essentially ban teachers from talking about the topic. "I think our teachers need to stick with reading, writing, and arithmetic," Campfield said. "It confuses a lot of children that are already in a difficult part of life, and it's a very complex issue." Campfield pointed to newspaper articles as examples of where homosexuality was being taught in schools, like a program in Knoxville that contains information on AIDS, gay and lesbian sex. He said second graders had access to the information. "Let's take this off the table, lets not talk about this to very young children, I don't see a problem with that," Campfield said.

Yesterday the education committee of the Tennessee House decided to wait a year before voting on Campfield's bill. Campfield has also signed on to a lawsuit challenging Obama's nationality.