TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on May 27, 2021

The sponsor of Tennessee’s new transgender bathroom law is now saying that owners and officials who do not comply with the law could be hit with a class B misdemeanor, the Associated Press reports. Although the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, previously told lawmakers the measure did not contain penalties, he now claims they were inserted into a chapter of existing building code law that already penalizes a number of violations. Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk earlier this week announced he would not enforce the new law, which requires businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people use the bathroom of their choice. According to the Tennessean, Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, called Funk’s remarks "more than marginally offensive to the concept of constitutionally ordered government." In a letter to Funk on Tuesday, Ragan asked the DA to promptly confirm whether his remarks were accurately reported.