East Tennessee County Commission Votes to Target Gays
WBIR TV,
Knoxville, TN
Rhea County commissioners unanimously passed a motion on
Tuesday asking its state representatives to introduce legislation that would
allow the county to charge homosexuals with crimes against nature.
The issue was not on the Commission’s agenda, but some
members of the audience applauded when a commissioner brought it up.
The move, which is gaining national media attention,
comes despite the fact that anti-sodomy laws were declared to be
unconstitutional in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June, 2003.
In the case of Lawrence & Garner v. State of Texas,
the nation’s highest court ruled 6-3 that sodomy laws are unconstitutional
and unenforceable when applied to consenting adults in a private,
non-commercial setting.
The Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, site of the famed
“Scopes Monkey Trial,” is an international tourist attraction. In 1925,
high school teacher John T. Scopes was convicted of teaching evolution and
fined $100. The conviction was later overturned.
For Commissioner J.C. Fugate, the issue of homosexuality
is simple. He wants to keep homosexuals, “out of here.”
Fugate says he offered the motion because of recent
events concerning gay marriage throughout the nation.
There was little discussion before the 8-0 vote in favor
of the measure. Commissioner Jimmy Barnes absent.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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