(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . It's Now Illegal to Be Publicly Homosexual in Murfreesboro, TN. How is Your Bleeping Morning Going? [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-16 What am I supposed to do here? Rage? Throw things? Pledge to vote? I work everyday for the progressive message, but something is getting lost in the translation. At some point the nation is either going to stand by its values, or people will lose interest in defending it. And a lot don’t care if that happens. A lot don’t understand the sacrifices people like my grandfather made to preserve this union. Far too many don’t understand blood spilled at Antietam, and Gettysburg, because we were determined to hold it together. We must always defend the rights of all people to live how they choose, free from persecution, discrimination, judgment, and harm. Murfreesboro passed an ordinance in June banning “indecent behavior,” including “indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct.” As journalist Erin Reed first reported, this ordinance specifically mentions Section 21-72 of the city code. The city code states that sexual conduct includes homosexuality. Anyone who violates the new ordinance is barred from hosting public events or selling goods and services at public events for two years. Anyone who violates the ordinance “in the presence of minors” is barred for five years. An ACLU-backed challenge to the ordinance has already been launched, but that hasn’t stopped city officials from implementing the measure. Last Monday, the Rutherford County steering committee met to discuss removing all books that might potentially violate the ordinance from the public library. The resolution was met with widespread outcry from city residents. While it was missed largely because it hides behind city code, the law itself is asinine. If the city wants to outlaw sexual conduct in public, they can do so, but I don’t understand why homosexuality is singled out as sexual conduct. But I should explain just how idiotic this ordinance is in other ways, as we could also call this the “You can’t pat your spouse on the butt in public,” law. Believe me when I say, as we spend a lot of time reciprocating affection, this would keep both Valerie and I from being welcome there. This is from Section 21-72 Municode link (It is actually 21-71) in the above quote. "Minor" means any person under the age of 17 years. "Nudity" means the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or buttocks with less than a full opaque covering, or the showing of the female breast with less than a full opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the nipple, or the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state. "Sexual conduct" means acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse, or physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks or, if such person be a female, breast. Where does “homosexuality” come into play? This ordinance says an act of homosexuality is considered sexual conduct. Again, why the differentiation? How do we define acts of homosexuality? The Department of Defense, has previously defined it thusly: According to DOD, a homosexual is "a person, regardless of sex, who engages in, desires to engage in, or intends to engage in homosexual acts." DOD define a homosexual act as "bodily contact, actively undertaken or passively permitted, between members of the same sex for the purpose of satisfying sexual desires." Like with most of these situations, a core ulterior motivation is to ban books, and remove the concept of homosexuality from the public discourse. Clearly, this ordinance fundamentally treating kissing my wife as different from my two male friends that kissing is blatantly unconstitutional. The law does not ban kissing, or hand holding, it bans “homosexuality.” This means a distinction is made allowing for heterosexual affection, to an extent, vs. a homosexual couple. And even as dehumanizing as this all is, the practical effects of book banning could be far worse, as it essentially disallows the education on the subject. Murfreesboro city officials have already used the ordinance to ban four books that discuss LGBTQ themes. In August, the county library board pulled the books Flamer, Let’s Talk About It, Queerfully and Wonderfully Made, and This Book Is Gay. The board also implemented a new library card system that categorizes books into certain age groups. When it takes effect next year, children and teenagers will only be able to check out books that correspond to their age group; they will need permission from a parent or guardian to check out “adult” books. Library director Rita Shacklett worried in August that the new rules would prevent students from accessing books they need for a class. She explained that many classic high school books, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, are now classified as “adult.” All of this is geared to erase discussion of what small minded and toxically ignorant Americans can’t either tolerate, or understand. They want to pretend homosexuality doesn’t exist. They don’t want to see it, they don’t want to talk about it, they don’t want to acknowledge it. And all they have to do is disenfranchise up to 20 percent of the world’s population to do it. Please. Discuss. Vent. -ROC If you like my work you can support me at The Claw News Patreon. 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