OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Dozens of people gathered in Oak Ridge with signs advocating against hate on Saturday.
They gathered for the "Slate of Hate Rally" against a series of anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender bills introduced by Tennessee lawmakers during the most recent session.
"We cannot stand any longer for the slate of hate coming from the General Assembly," organizers said. "We also cannot all be in Nashville to advocate against these abhorrent bills. This year we are bringing the fight to the backyard of Rep. Regan."
Representative John Ragan introduced H.B. 2835, which would ban gender-affirming surgeries and hormone therapies for minors while also imposing penalties on medical providers who give the procedures.
The bill also allows parents and guardians to pull their children from mental healthcare treatment or activity that forms "the child’s conceptions of sex and gender or to treat gender dysphoria or gender nonconformity.”
It also directs action at "employees or agents of the state" requiring them to notify parents or guardians in writing if they have knowledge that a minor has "symptoms of gender dysphoria, gender nonconformity, or otherwise demonstrates a desire to be treated in a manner incongruent with the minor's sex."
Ragan has sponsored several similar bills targeting the LGBTQIA+ community, including some that restrict transgender people from playing on some sports teams.
"We organized an event here in Anderson County, specifically Oak Ridge, against the slate of hate that's going in the General Assembly," said Drew Dison, executive director of Change TN. "We wanted to bring this right to Representative John Ragan's backyard, because he is responsible for some of the heinous bills that are coming out, attacking the LGBTQ community."
Dison also said the group gathered against HB 0800, otherwise known as a "Don't Say Gay" bill. He said it would isolate groups of students, restricting discussions of LGBTQ issues and identities in schools.
He said Tennessee's version is also broader compared to other states. The group also gathered against the bills that would restrict abortion rights across the state.
"The important thing here is that you can take away the right of someone in school to talk about LGBTQ individuals, but that doesn't make us go away," he said. "It can be a very isolating time when you're trying to figure out who you are as an individual ... and it's just super important to have these conversations."
He said the group hoped to spark conversations about the bills in rural communities, and that they are usually focused on metropolitan areas where they aren't heard by the GOP supermajority in the Tennessee legislature.
"Our goal is to get out all across Tennessee, regardless of how red or how blue a district is. To get out here and just talk to individuals," he said.
The event was hosted by Change TN, Knox Pride and Indivisible East Tennessee 2.0.