Republican governors of conservative states have really gone out of their way to push an anti-LGBT agenda under the guise of "religious liberty" laws.

 

Mississippi, North Carolina and Missouri are at various stages of adopting bills that would protect people who cannot, because of their strongly held religious beliefs, provide service to gay people. Those protected include everyone from florists and bakers to ministers, and in some cases, large businesses.

 

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam (in this totally not doctored photo) wants to take that "protection" a step further and has signed an anti-LGBT bill that will allow counselors and therapists in the state to turn away clients based on “sincerely held principles.” (Note that it says principles and not just religious beliefs.)

 

The law says that counselors and therapists are protected from liability if they turn away a client whose goals, outcomes, or behaviors conflict with their beliefs.

 

Counselors must, however, refer the client to a provider who will see them.

 

The bill's sponsor, Senator Jack Johnson, claimed that “[the law] is not anti-anybody, it’s not anti-anything; it’s just pro-religious liberty.”

 

The American Counseling Association said the law was an “unprecedented attack” on the counseling profession.

 

"This is the first time in the history of the Association that any legislative body—local, state, federal—has ever passed a piece of legislation specifically targeting our code of ethics, that has never been done," said Art Terrazas, Director of Government Relations, American Counseling Association.

 

"This bill opens the door to blanket discrimination—whether it’s a veteran suffering from PTSD or a woman suffering from spousal abuse— and we at the American Counseling Association are not going to stand for that. Governor Haslam now has a choice. He can either follow the heroic example set by Governor Deal of Georgia and veto this terrible legislation, or he can be on the wrong side of history and legalize discrimination."

 

We think therapists should refuse to see Republican politicians. "Sorry, we can't treat stupid."

 

Tennessee Governor Signs Bill Letting Counselors Refuse Service  [Buzzfeed]

 

American Counseling Association and Tennessee Equality Project call on Gov. Haslam to veto Hate Bill 1840 [LGBT Weekly]