Critics confront Tennessee governor over cross-dressing yearbook photo
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced on Monday that he will sign a bill banning drag in public and in front of children, making the state the first to do so among at least eight others with similar plans. Lee also said he planned to sign a bill restricting gender-affirming care for minors.

The new law specifically prohibits "adult cabaret performances" such as "topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, [and] male or female impersonators." Aside from the fact that Tennessee already has obscenity laws, the latter category in particular has drawn accusations of hypocrisy after a photo from Lee's yearbook showed him cross-dressing.

In response, Lee's office told the Daily Beast that "lighthearted school traditions," as pictured in the photo, should not be "conflated" with drag. A spokesperson called the comparison "dishonest and disrespectful to Tennessee families."

ACLU Legal Director Stella Yarborough said of Lee's comments, "They have this blind spot, where they seem to allow themselves to do those same activities because they assign themselves an innocent intent, and then they ascribe to others a guilty intent or a sexually perverted intent, and it's just a double standard."

Georgia Baptist flips senate Republicans against gender identity ban
In a sudden upset, Georgia's majority-Republican Senate Education and Youth Committee voted to table a measure that would have restricted discussions about gender identity in public school classrooms.

It was the words of Georgia Southern Baptist lobbyist Mike Griffin that finally convinced every conservative member of the committee, save one, to drop the law and move on.

"We have heard from many folks, including our legal partners and activists from around the state, on this issue with this bill," Griffin said. "We believe that this bill has dramatic unintended consequences for parental rights and for children in public schools as well. Those concerns have not all been addressed."

Peter Isbister, who leads the state chapter of TransParentUSA, said he was "relieved and surprised" by the news but wasn't about to let down his guard.

"I don't feel like I can really tell him what I did this morning," Isbister said of his son, "because I don't want to tell him that there's a world in which people are trying to make it harder and more hostile for kids like him in school."