A Tennessee city abandons its ban on being gay in public – By Clarissa-Jan Lim (MSNBC) / Nov 18, 2023
Advocates are still pursuing a lawsuit to have the rule declared unconstitutional.
Under pressure from a lawsuit over an anti-LGBTQ city ordinance, officials in a Tennessee city removed language that banned homosexuality in public this month.
You read that right: Murfreesboro’s “public decency” ordinance, passed in June, listed various “indecent” behaviors in the Murfreesboro city code, including “homosexuality,” alongside “acts of masturbation” and “sexual intercourse.” Opponents said it effectively banned being gay in public and contributed to systematic discrimination against the city’s LGBTQ communities in a state with an already-sordid record.
In October, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the city on behalf of the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), accusing it of enacting the ordinance to drive Murfreesboro’s LGBTQ community — particularly drag performers — out of public spaces and to prevent TEP from hosting its BoroPride Festival on city grounds.
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