Tennessee GOP

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A bill designed to ban LGBTQ+ Pride flags in Tennessee public school classrooms was spiked Tuesday after it failed to attract enough support in the GOP-controlled Senate.

The proposal had easily cleared the Republican-dominant House nearly two months prior after the bill’s sponsor said he had parents complain about “political flags” in classrooms.

However, the proposal dragged in the Senate as lawmakers debated possible changes and delayed debating the measure up until the final week of this year’s legislative session.

“There were some parents in my district that felt like there were flags being displayed in the public school classroom that did not coincide with their values and felt like their children should not be indoctrinated in the schools,” said Republican Sen. Joey Hensley.

Ultimately, the Senate tweaked the bill to mandate that only the U.S. flag and official Tennessee state flag could be displayed in a public school. However, while the chamber agreed to the changes, the final vote failed to secure a simple majority inside the 33-member body with a 13-6 vote after almost no debate.