Project Director

Sompayrac, Joanie E.

Department Examiner

Fayard, Dutch

Department

Dept. of Accounting

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

In recent years, the Tennessee General Assembly has become a battleground of sorts for bills attempting to police the treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals. Multiple laws that impact LGBTQ+ citizens have sparked debate as interested parties on all sides seek to clarify the scope of equal protection, religious freedom, and free expression in this evolving age. Federal law has statutes in place that prohibit discrimination against individuals based on certain protected characteristics, but sexual orientation or transgender status are not explicitly among them. The states have interpreted this ambiguity as providing them the freedom to pass their own civil rights legislation that may or may not include additional protected classes. For example, Tennessee’s Human Rights Act (THRA) does not explicitly protect LGBTQ+ people, which has opened the door to bills in the legislature that address this absence. This paper seeks to perform a kind of basic judicial review by evaluating the constitutionality of some of these bills both individually and collectively using relevant constitutional, statutory, and case law. In doing so, several important legal questions will be addressed. What are the limits to religious liberty? What is the extent of protected speech? How do the federal and state governments work together? When is discrimination permitted under the law? The result should help us determine not only whether these bills are legally defensible in isolation, but also in a broader statutory context by considering the cumulative effects they have on the fundamental rights, legal protections, and overall recognition afforded to LGBTQ+ citizens. The conclusion will also speculate on whether this series of bills represents a greater political agenda that may have grave consequences for Tennessee’s LGBTQ+ and greater communities.

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

5-2026

Subject

Gay people--Legal status, laws, etc--United States; Gay rights--United States; Homophobia--Law and legislation--Southern States; Homosexuality--Law and legislation--United States; LGBTQ+ discrimination; Sexual minorities--Civil rights

Keyword

Law review; LGBTQ; legal analysis; constitutional law; law

Discipline

Accounting

Document Type

Theses

Extent

i, 66 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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Accounting Commons

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