Richard Floyd (Tennessee politician)

Richard Floyd (born April 17, 1944) is a former Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the 27th Assembly district (western portions of Hamilton County[1]) from 2006 to 2014[2].

Biography

Richard Floyd was born on April 17, 1944 in Hamilton County.[3] He is a former employee of Chattanooga Coca-Cola[3]

He is a Board Director for Bethel Bible Village in Hixson, TN and has been involved with the Hamilton County chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.[3] He is a Baptist.[3] He is married with three children, and he lives in Chattanooga.[3]

Transgender ban

In January 2012, he entered a bill into the Tennessee legislature (co-sponsored by fellow Republican Senator Bo Watson) which would ban transgender people from using dressing rooms and restrooms that do not match the gender on their birth certificates.[4][5][6][7][8][9] In press reports, he was quoted as threatening to "stomp a mudhole" in any transgender woman if they came anywhere near his family.[5][7][8][10] He later stated, "This bill... is intended to protect," he said. "I have a wife, three daughters, two granddaughters, and there is no way, if some man thought he was a women and thought he had the privileged or the right to go into a women's bathroom, I would no way and stand there and allow that", adding "Don't ask me to adjust to their perverted way of thinking and put my family at risk. We cannot continue to let these people dominate how society acts and reacts. Now if somebody thinks he's a woman and he's a man and wants to try on women's clothes, let him take them into the men's bathroom or dressing room."[5][7][8] The bill has been withdrawn from the Senate by Watson after Floyd's comments were widely publicized.[5][9][11]

References
  1. map of 27th district
  2. Richard Floyd - Ballotpedia
  3. Representatives - TN General Assembly
  4. Text and status of bill on legislature's website
  5. staff report, "Watson withdraws Senate version of bill affecting transgender use of restrooms, dressing rooms" Chattanooga Times Free Press January 12, 2012
  6. Jeff Woods, 'Tennessee Republicans Try to Kick Transgender People Out of Public Restrooms', in The Nashville Scene, Jan 12, 2012
  7. Daniel Villarreal, 'Tennessee State Rep Introduces Anti-Trans "Bathroom Bill," Senate Version Quickly Withdrawn', in Metro Weekly, January 14, 2012
  8. Elizabeth Bewley, 'State Rep. Floyd guilty of "hate speech," transgender advocate says', in The Tennessean, January 18, 2012
  9. Scottie Thomaston, 'Odious New Anti-Transgender Bill Introduced in Tennessee General Assembly', on The Huffington Post, 1/12/12
  10. 'Quote of the Week: 'I'd just try to stomp a mudhole in him...', in Metro Pulse, January 18, 2012
  11. Webster, Steven C. "Tenn. GOP Rep. stands by threat to ‘stomp a mudhole’ in transgender people" The Raw Story January 13, 2012
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