A resolution in the Tennessee legislature honoring Brothers Osborne singer TJ Osborne has been blocked in the state’s House of Representatives after passing unanimously in the state Senate.
The baritone-voiced singer of Brothers Osborne recently announced that he is gay in an interview with Time Magazine, and later shared a video thanking his fans and friends for all the support they’ve shown him since coming out.
The announcement made TJ the only openly gay artist signed to a major country label.
The resolution, SJR 609, was introduced in the state Senate by Senator Raumesh Akbari of Memphis on April 19. It states in part:
“BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we commend and honor country music artist T.J. Osborne, the first openly gay artist signed to a major country music label, extending our gratitude for his integrity and our best wishes for much continued success in all his future endeavors.”
The measure was unanimously adopted by the Senate on April 29th, but when it came up for a vote in the House of Representatives, Rep. Jeremy Faison, chair of the House Republican Caucus, said that he had “some concerns” on the resolution and made a motion to send it to the House Naming and Designating Committee.
The motion to send the resolution back to committee passed 63-23.
That committee, however, has already adjourned for this legislative session, which is scheduled to end on May 7, so sending the resolution back to the committee essentially kills any chance of passage during this session.
During the debate on the motion to send the resolution back to committee, state Rep. Antonio Parkinson, a Democrat from Memphis, questioned the need to have the resolution debated by a committee, noting that many resolutions are voted on without going through the committee process, including resolutions that had been passed earlier that day.
“The country music artist, TJ Osborne? We’re talking about a country music singer, y’all. C’mon.”
After the resolution was blocked, Brothers Osborne took to Twitter to express their disappointment in the classiest way possible: By inviting Rep. Faison out to lunch to discuss their differences.
And Rep. Faison replied back, seeming to take the Brothers up on their offer.
Fellow country artist Kacey Musgraves also took to Twitter to express her disappointment with the legislators who blocked the resolution:
We’ll see what comes out of the meeting between the Brothers Osborne and Rep. Faison, but it seems that, at least right now, the resolution honoring TJ is dead in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
