Tennessee Republicans decry wokeness, but House lawmakers just passed a woke banking bill

Imagine a small town conservative bank that caters to conservative clientele who support the Second Amendment, protect the unborn, and reject socialist economic policies.

While the business model of Winchester Remington Bank of Tennessee might limit their consumer reach, the founders of the bank simply refuse to issue loans or open accounts which conflict with their deeply held political opinions.

Under legislation about to pass the Tennessee legislature, Winchester Remington would be subject to fines and penalties if they weren’t willing to do business with people whose political views they reject.

HB 2100 introduced by Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, essentially restricts the ability of financial institutions and insurance companies to “discriminate against a person” in providing services or terms on the basis of “the person’s political opinions, speech, or affiliations” or “any factor…not a quantitative, impartial, and risk-based standard.”

The state House passed the measure 70-23 and it is over to the Senate for its consideration.

The Tennessee legislature is about to pass a Colorado-style anti-discrimination law for banks and insurance companies, and Republicans are clapping because they believe it will combat “woke” culture.

Unfortunately, that’s not all it will do.

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Jason Zachary's bill is just like Colorado law that targeted a baker

Government has no business telling private companies and the individuals that run them what political perspectives they may or may not hold in the course of business.

In Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court held, “Political speech is ‘indispensable to decision making in a democracy, and this is no less true because the speech comes from a corporation rather than an individual.’”

If you don’t think that a Christian cake shop should be forced to bake a cake for a same-sex couple, then you shouldn’t be supporting this law. Were HB2100 applied to the bakery in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Tennessee would almost certainly be on the wrong side of the Constitution.

The only difference is that we’re dealing with bankers and insurers instead of a cake maker. If anything, the HB2100 would be even harder for businesses to strike down through litigation because it is religiously neutral on its face while the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s ruling was not.

Progressives should be free to discriminate against conservatives

I understand and appreciate Republicans who want to protect themselves from being de-banked or dropped by an insurer based on their viewpoints.

As an opinion columnist, I take it on the chin regularly from people who disagree with my opinions. I’m sure some progressives might not want to provide me services because I’m pro-life, an advocate of the Second Amendment, and I think Joe Biden is barely there.

They should be free to discriminate against me.

My civil liberties in America depend on me defending the rights of haters, losers, and “woke” weirdos as much as my own. A government powerful enough to restrain your opponents’ economic activities, speech and constitutional rights is strong enough to do the same to you.

If banks and insurers won’t cover conservatives in Tennessee, we will create banks and insurers who will. That’s what all Americans should do, and it’s what conservatives supposedly champion. We shouldn’t run to a politician willing to thump corporations with the force of government.

Unintended consequences of the Tennessee House bill are grave

Tennessee enacting a law that would require a small conservative bank like Winchester Remington to offer loans to pro-choice organizations is the definition of government overreach.

Zachary is correct to listen to the concerns of his constituents that American culture and business is shifting in ways many of us in Tennessee do not support, but this legislation is wrong.

The unintended consequences are grave.

The Senate and Governor Bill Lee should send the effort back to the drawing board to more specifically address the concerns of Tennesseans in a manner that doesn’t mirror progressive tactics to control the economy and engineer society.

USA TODAY Network Tennessee Columnist Cameron Smith is a Memphis-born, Brentwood-raised recovering political attorney who worked for conservative Republicans. He and his wife Justine are raising three boys in Nolensville, Tennessee. Direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] or @DCameronSmith on X, formerly known as Twitter. Agree or disagree? Send a letter to the editor to [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Free speech: GOP-sponsored 'woke' bill restricts the rights of bankers