Lawsuit Challenges Tennessee Limits On Local Bias Laws

WSMV-TV reported  on a state court lawsuit filed yesterday challenging a new Tennessee law barring local governments from enacting different anti-discrimination protections than are provided by state law. (See prior posting.) The new law invalidates a Nashville ordinance that goes beyond state law by prohibiting companies doing business with the city from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.  The state law apparently also invalidates a Nashville school board policy that protected gay and lesbian students against bullying.  Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include three Nashville city council members and a former Belmont University soccer coach who was forced to resign when she disclosed that her same-sex partner was pregnant. The lawsuit claims that the state law violates the constitution's equal protection clause.