politics

This is the only way anything like this changes. Hopefully some folks at city hall will do just this and turn it around on the doofuses.

Kim Davis flashbacks.

Satanic Temple, if you're reading this...

Find one who refuses to marry Republicans, or whites, or straight couples and watch the bitching fly.

Be funnier if alot went along with it.

I'm trans, that's been the case for me.... my entire gender identity at one point hinged on me making empty legal threats I had no way to back up to gaslight people at the DMV to sign off on something that I already had enough legal documentation to get signed off on.

There was a time when I was federally Female and in my state Male.

Thank God the bitch behind the register who kept using "It" and "They" to refer to me didn't call my bluff about "Coming back with my Lawyer"... soon as I said that, she clammed up, used the correct pronouns and gave me an F on the gender marker.

Agreed. Unfortunately, the Tennessee House of Reps have been making an ass of themselves for quite some time and it may not change any time soon. Though one can hope voters start doing the right thing and ousting these conniving bigots.

And Loving v. Virginia is next.

In case anyone else was wondering, you might know this case better as Obergefell (since SCOTUS cases are typically informally called by the plaintiff's name).

They will if they're mixed race.

We Americans don't either.

In general, the cities in red states are very progressive. New Orleans and Miami are two of the least small-c conservative cities you’ll find in the U.S., more akin to San Francisco than a place like Boston. (Boston has amazing universities and is progressive in policy but it was founded by puritans and isn’t exactly known for it’s late night parties and festivals.)

By contrast, more Californians voted for Trump than Texans. It’s mostly an urban/rural divide at this point and whether your state government is a horror show or not depends on whether your cities are large enough to create a majority after districts are drawn.

Also, there’s a lot of outrageous bills introduced by one state rep that will never get a vote. But they know they’ll result in clickbait articles and help them gain notoriety.

That's an astute observation.

TN is home not only to a motivated republican political class bent on ensuring their continued role overseeing the state's people and determining what access to medical care should be available, but also to the Country Music Hall of Fame and to Jack Daniels Distillery. The latter is interesting and getting there takes you through beautiful country, but you should know it's located in a "dry county" before you go and their products can't be sold there.

TN is also the last state I'm aware of where fire departments were in recent years permitted to respond only to protect neighboring property rather than to protect the property which was actually on fire; but had not paid its subscription service

Well, that last doesn't exactly cast it in a positive light, either. But that's life in a red state for ya, there's a whole lot of gorgeous country that is (politically) painted bright red, unfortunately. While I've little need to travel presently, there aren't many southern states I'd go out of my way to spend money in, if I could help it.

It's a real shame, because there is so much non-shit in these places too. As someone from one of these states (Ohio), it makes me sad to see my home turned into a punchline and a cautionary tale because of what the extremists have done. Sometimes it feels like we've been abandoned :(

As someone who did, I understand the sentiment but it isn't that easy. I have so many friends and family members who are stuck there because they can't save enough resources to leave.

Its really unfortunate because one of the best national labs in the country is in Tennessee.

It's skirting the federal law by allowing all officials to refuse anyone for any reason. If they just said "no gay marriage in this state" or didn't recognize the union of married gay couples that would be illegal.

It's fucked up, and the intention is clear, but I'm sure the remaining officiants that will perform ceremonies for same sex couples will make themselves known and they will be busy.