We are proud to report our courageous state lawmakers today have struck another blow in defense of religious liberty.

This time, briefly setting aside their belief in limited government, they have rewritten the professional code of ethics for mental therapists and marriage counselors to allow discrimination against gay people on religious grounds.

The vote in the Senate Health Committee was 7-1 with only Nashville Democrat Jeff Yarbro in opposition. The bill lets counselors tell prospective patients who happen to be gay to get the hell out of their offices.

The legislation was adopted even though the Tennessee Association for Marriage and Family Therapists is against it.

“This bill is in direct opposition to the ethical code of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and potentially harmful to clients. Our mandate to do no harm to the consumer, we believe, would be violated,” the association said in a statement.

“I don’t see the big deal here,” committee chairman Rusty Crowe responded.

Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Brentwood, is sponsoring the bill, which appears to have little point except to mess with the LBGT community. It seems unlikely there are legions of counselors out there who don’t want to treat gay people because they think they are vile sinners.

After today’s hearing, the Tennessee Equality Project’s Chris Sanders talked to Pith about the bill. He said it adds stigma to a situation in which gay people—possibly kids working out their sexual identity—are looking for help.

“That’s our concern,” he said. “The way it is now counselors can’t say, ‘You know what? I have a religious disagreement with you and I’m not going to serve you.’ They can’t do that right now. And under this bill, all they’d have to do is cite their religion.”