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Commentary

Commentary

Bullies in the Tennessee House

State Republican leaders again punch down on those least able to push back

During my twenty years in education, bullying has been an ever-present topic of conversation, a red letter word that every educator must be vigilant in recognizing.

Without delving into the different types of bullying that one may see within a school, the common denominator in each instance is an imbalance of power between two parties. The context of that power — whether it be physical, intellectual, or social — varies case by case, but the victim in each situation often suffers in silence and is subjected to repeated attacks until some type of intervention occurs. The bully rarely relents on their own.

While any type of bullying is obviously wrong, the fact that it occurs in schools isn’t surprising. Hundreds of kids from various backgrounds, with very thin prefrontal cortices, are thrown together for eight hours a day, 180 days a year. Combined with ungodly amounts of immaturity and hormones, social stressors such as bullying are inevitable. None of this makes it acceptable, but the context is understandable.

What’s not understandable, however, is when a group of middle-aged men who haven’t quite outgrown their collective adolescent frame of mind decides to wield their political power against marginalized groups of people. A version of bullying that only a supermajority could pull off.

Welcome to the 2026 legislative session in Tennessee.

For the last several years, the Republican Party in Tennessee has made it a priority to “protect children” from seemingly everything except actual bodily harm. Tennessee ranks near the bottom in infant mortality and last in maternal mortality. Firearms are once again the leading cause of death for children ages 1-17, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

Surely, the first piece of legislation in the 2026 session would address one of these issues, right?

[Tennessee Republicans advance bills targeting LGBTQ+ residents]

Not exactly.

On cue, in a move inhumanely on-brand, House Republicans passed HB1473, a bill filed by Rep. Gino Bulso, a Brentwood Republican, that seeks to nullify the impact of the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

As written, HB1473 would not prohibit same-sex marriage in Tennessee, but would allow private citizens and businesses the right to refuse recognition of of same-sex unions without punishment.

In essence, the bill opens the door to legal discrimination against same-sex couples and reinforces one of the most damaging impacts of social bullying: the dehumanization of a person or group of people.

The core belief of the Civil Rights Movement sixty years ago was the inherent truth that we all are human beings worthy of pursuing life, liberty, and happiness. Any deviation from that creates an imbalance of power and the weight of that imbalance can last for generations.

Make no mistake, the recognition of same-sex marriage is also a civil rights issue. Stripping protections from legal marriages simply based on a personal belief system is simply a way of exercising power for the sake of power; this bill does nothing to improve the lives of Tennesseans. In fact, it does quite the opposite.

According to a recent study by The Williams Institute, same-sex marriages account for less than 1% of all marriages in Tennessee. Does Rep. Bulso truly believe that less than one percent of the population poses such a threat to the rest of the state that this type of legislation is needed? Of course not. This is another way to consolidate power at the expense of people simply pursuing their own happiness.

Prior to Bulso’s bill being passed, House Speaker Cameron Sexton announced that the House would bring forth immigration legislation this session, in collaboration with Stephen Miller and the White House. While Sexton and his party didn’t share many details, he believes this state-specific legislation will be “a model for the rest of the nation.”

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (or stuck in a block of ice), you know that immigration enforcement across the country isn’t going so well. In fact, nearly 70% of Americans aren’t happy with the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement has implemented its crackdown. But that’s a key component of a bully’s mindset: a lack of care for any opinion that contradicts their own. Power is both the shield and the weapon.

[Tennessee Republicans unveil ‘Immigration 2026’ agenda as ‘model’ for rest of nation]

A year into Donald Trump’s second term as president, working-class families all over the country are no better off than they were 13 months ago. Overall, affordability remains a pressing issue, along with high grocery prices and tariff-induced chaos. This especially affects our state because nearly half of Tennessee households are “financially insecure” according to United Way’s ALICE Threshold. Developed in partnership with United Way, ALICE refers to anyone considered “asset-limited and income-constrained yet employed”. Given these facts, it makes sense for our elected officials to prioritize affordability rather than spoiling for fights in a culture war.

But let’s be honest: GOP supermajority politics in Tennessee don’t thrive on problem-solving; they’ve consistently built their strength by punching down. The preferred targets today —those least able to push back — are immigrants and LGBTQ Tennesseans.

Whenever an imbalance of power was reported in my school, administrators would investigate. Often, the bullying had been taking place far longer than anyone knew — in the shadows, in silence. Once it was brought to light, however, an intervention could begin; the work to help both the bully and the victim recover.

Unfortunately, the political bullying we’re seeing right before our eyes doesn’t seem to have the same response to being brought into the open. There is no doubt that this sort of mindset — nationalist, homophobic, controlling — has been festering throughout American history. It was hidden for a few decades, waiting for a time to be unleashed. And here we are, worse off than we could’ve imagined.

Politicians like Bulso and Sexton would have you believe they are trailblazers in an increasingly outlandish conservative movement. The truth is much simpler: they are MAGA front-runners, repeating the loudest lines rather than charting a new course; bullies propping their party up by exploiting a power imbalance.

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