Tenn. senator wants schools to notify parents of \'homosexual\' activity

A Republican lawmaker is proposing legislation that would require schools to inform a student's parents if the child is engaging in "homosexual" activity.

Under the measure sponsored by state Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville, a school counselor, nurse or principal can inform parents if their children's "circumstances present immediate and urgent safety issues involving human sexuality."

Campfield told reporters on that he considers the "act of homosexuality" to be dangerous to a child's health and safety.

The measure is part of a proposal, known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, that Campfield passed in the Senate in 2011, but the companion bill failed in the House last year.

The proposal would ban the teaching of gay issues to elementary and middle school students.

Campfield says the current legislation has a House sponsor and he's optimistic about its passage.

Last year, in a radio interview discussing his anti-gay campaign, Campfield said HIV and AIDS originated from a man having sex with a monkey and that “it is virtually ... impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex.”

That remark prompted him to be ejected from a popular brunch bistro in Knoxville.