In June 2023, the city council of Murfreesboro, Tennessee enacted an ordinance banning public indecency. The ordinance listed several examples of what “public indecency” might entail, including lewd acts and nudity. Another example was “indecent sexual conduct.”
A separate section of the city code has included homosexuality in its definition of “indecent sexual conduct” since 1977. And that definition has been used to target LGBTQ public gatherings, including this year's BoroPride parade, and even Rutherford County library texts depicting homosexuality in 2023.
The city code has since been updated to remove homosexuality, following a legal challenge by the ACLU of Tennessee, from its definition of indecent conduct. But the impact of ordinance on Murfreesboro’s LGBTQ community continues.
Guest
Erin Reed, independent journalist and content creator
