[UPDATE]:
Not surprisingly, the bill has been pulled.
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What the hell is going on with the Tennessee Republican Party these days? Have they gone completely insane? Yesterday, Tennessee House Rep. Martin Daniel, Republican from Knoxville, had this to say:
While presenting a bill dubbed the “Tennessee Student Free Speech Protection Act,” Rep. Martin Daniel, R-Knoxville, fielded a question from Rep. John DeBerry Jr., D-Memphis, about whether he believed ISIS should be able to stand in the middle of university campuses and “recruit for ISIS.”
“Yes,” Daniel replied. “So long as it doesn’t disrupt the proceedings on that campus. Yes sir. They can recruit people for any other organization or any other cause. I think it’s just part of being exposed to differing viewpoints.”
The remarks came after a debate about the bill, which Daniel said “would direct schools to observe freedom of speech on campus.”
ISIS is “a differing viewpoint”? That’s novel. Meanwhile, also this week:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A bill that would strip the University of Tennessee’s controversial Office of Diversity and Inclusion of some – but not all – of its state funding has passed a House subcommittee. An amendment tacked on to the bill on Tuesday would also ban state funds from being used to promote the university’s Sex Week, the use of gender-neutral pronouns on campus and the promotion or demotion of any religion.
The University of Tennessee, as many know, is located in Knoxville. So let’s just get this straight: Republicans are so concerned about free speech on campus that they think it’s okay for ISIS to recruit on campus but not for students to hold “Sex Week.”
Hey, Tennessee Republicans: you guys realize how crazy this is, right?
This is your state under a Republican supermajority. I want what I want cuz I want it and it doesn’t have to make any sense.
