Tennessee Sends Religious Anti-Discrimination Bill to Governor

Shadee Ashtari of The Huffington Post reports that Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill on Monday that expands religious liberties in public schools, permitting students to express religious beliefs in their schoolwork without academic punishment. The bill received overwhelming support in both the Senate and House, meaning if Republican Governor Bill Haslam decided to veto the bill it would likely be overruled. In a statement, the Tennessee ACLU said, “While purporting to prevent discrimination against students expressing religious viewpoints, SB 1793/HB 1547 crosses the line from protecting religious freedom into creating systematic imposition of some students’ personal religious viewpoints on other students.”