NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) -- A record label is suing Gov. Bill Lee for HB 1182, called the "Compelled Sign Law," for violation of the First Amendment and denial of equal protection.
Curb Records, Inc. and the Mike Curb Foundation filed a federal complaint on June 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against Gov. William Lee; Carter Lawrence, as Commissioner of the Department of Commerce and Insurance; William B. Herbert IV as Director of the Nashville Department of Codes and Building Safety; and Glenn Funk as District Attorney for the 20th Judicial District.
According to the complaint, Curb Records alleges that the "Compelled Sign Law" forces businesses and other public and private entities in Tennessee to post an inflammatory, false, offensive, and discriminatory notice on any multi-user restroom that is open to the public if the business permits transgender individuals to use that restroom based on their gender identity.
According to the complaint, signs require notices saying they permit the use of restrooms by “either biological sex, regardless of the designation on the restroom,” which falsely and offensively conveys that a transgender woman is not a woman and that a transgender man is not a man. Curb Records alleges this is discriminatory and against the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Curb Records seeks to challenge HB 1182, plus costs, expenses and attorney's fees for suit. Curb Records is represented by William L. Harbison of Sherrard, Roe, Voigt, Harbison PLC.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Nashville Division case number 3:21-cv-00500