State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) filed a bill for introduction that would amend certain aspects of the Tennessee Code relative to discrimination. Senate Bill 320 would expand the Code’s provisions to prevent businesses from denying services to individuals who don’t wear or use a certain medical device, or if they haven’t received a certain medical treatment. It would also prevent local government entities from enforcing individual compliance with those medical devices or treatments.
Medical devices covered by the bill are instruments; apparatuses; implements; machines; appliances; implants; reagents for in vitro use; softwares; and materials such as face masks, shields, or cloth coverings. Medical treatments are procedures or medications such as immunizations.
The senator’s spokespersons informed the The Tennessee Star that Hensley’s constituents approached him about the matter. In a statement to The Star, Hensley explained that he wants to protect an individual’s right to choose when it comes to personal health measures.
“I am sponsoring this bill on behalf of concerned constituents who do not want to be discriminated against if they choose not to wear a mask or receive the vaccine. This bill does not say people shouldn’t wear a mask or take the vaccine,” stated Hensley. “I would encourage anyone who is comfortable wearing a mask or getting the vaccine to do so. This legislation would merely allow people who have deeply-held objections to masks or vaccines the ability to opt-out. Businesses already cannot discriminate based on many factors such as race, religion, sex, and other medical conditions. This just adds medical device usage and medical treatment to that list.”
At the time of press, the bill hasn’t come before any committees and doesn’t have a companion bill in the House.
Another bill addressing mandatory vaccinations, sponsored by State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) and State Representative Jay Reedy (R-Erin), would revoke current limits on an individual’s objection to vaccines, immunizations, or other medical procedures on religious grounds. It passed in the Senate on first consideration, and was assigned to the House Health Subcommittee on Wednesday.
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Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].
It is a sad day in Tennessee when a “mayor” can tell me that I have to wear a mask. Of course, if the governor or legislature had any common sense the COVID weapon of fear used to cower the population would have been put to rest months ago.
I am very disappointed regarding certain government officials and what has and has not happened with Covid-19.
So, businesses denying services based on sexuality is still OK, but antivaxxers gotta have that cake?
I thought Republicans like him support the Free Market making these decisions.
Why should the government intervene in a private business’s affairs? Isn’t that their right to decide whether or not their customers should wear masks?
Government is the one requiring the Businesses to Require masks in the first place.
insanity wear a mask and save a life maybe your own
If I don’t want to wear a shirt when visiting a business, that should be fine as well.
For sure.
I applaud Senator Hensley’s efforts to defang an overreaching government, but the issue is over. Didn’t you hear, President Joe Obama recently admitted that “there’s nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months.”
And in one respect he might be right. We’re heading downhill too fast, and he and his leftist leaning, election-stealing Party of Slavery are to blame!
Hopefully this will pass. Businesses who have cowed down to all of the fear porn need to either realize the truth- masks do not prevent the spread of COVID , and apparently neither does the “vaccine”, or figure out something else to do for a living. All of the whacky , power crazy governors, mayors, and ” health experts” need to be forced to back down.
Folks, it has been my experience, 22 years at bedside, that one can get more mileage out of a personal trainer and a good nutritionist than you could ever get out of a American Trained Medical Doctor under this allopathic for-profit system that we called ‘healthcare,’ which is in fact ‘sick care.’ Sanitation and good nutrition have done more for humanity and public health than a shoe box full of pills or arm full of shots. The Romans gave us public baths. If our leaders were truly concerned about the healthcare of our community, then public gymnasiums and public pools with a company every public library. Junk food and soda are killing Americans. End of story. But we have pills for that.
You would think people who are permanently medicated for the rest of their lives (rather than cured of their disease by Big Pharma) would eventually wise up.
David, thanks and keep your message coming. I remember medicine when it was a profession – now it is an industry and industries have to ensure they have clients long-term. I’m still in there like you, but it is hard to watch the decline. I believe there is some integrity left, but getting rare.