A bill that opponents said would largely limit the rights of transgender students in public schools to use the bathroom of their choice advanced in the legislature on Tuesday afternoon.
It's technically titled House Bill 2414 but behind the numbers there is a policy that would require students at public schools in Tennessee to use bathrooms or locker rooms that corespondent with the sex on their birth certificate.
Transgender students and their families argue at its core the bill is simply discrimination.
On Tuesday lawmakers voted to approve the bill and send it to a full committee.
"We've dealt many many hours thinking about this so we don't take this lightly and to our young people we have compassion but we're trying to decide on the privacy for all students," said Mark White, a Republican from Shelby County.
Following Tuesday's vote the ACLU released a statement reading, "We are very disappointed in the subcommittee's choice to advance this harmful bill. This legislation forces Tennessee's schools and universities to treat one group of students differently from others."
