- Homosexuality
- ⚢✔ Legal
- Gay Marriage
- ⚭✔ Legal
- Censorship
- ✖ State-enforced
- Changing Gender
- ✖ Illegal
- Gender-Affirming Care
- ✖ Restricted
- Non-Binary Gender Recognition
- ✖ Not legally recognized
- Hate Crime Protections
- ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
- Discrimination
- ✖ No protections
- Employment Discrimination
- ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
- Housing Discrimination
- ✖ No protections
- Adoption
- ✔ Legal
- Intersex Infant Surgery
- ✖ Not banned
- Military
- ✖ Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned
- Donating Blood
- ✔ Legal
- Conversion Therapy
- ✖ Not banned
- Age of Consent
- ✔ Equal
Public Opinion
Public opinion in Tennessee appears to be somewhat divided on LGBTQ+ issues, as evidenced by recent studies.
Perception of LGBTQ+ People
Survey results from 11 LGBTQ+ Equaldex users who lived in or visited Tennessee.
Overall
Perceived Safety**Survey results represent personal perceptions of safety and may not be indicative of current actual conditions.
Equal Treatment
Visibility & Representation
Culture
Services
History
Homosexual activity in Tennessee is legal.
Censorship of LGBT issues in Tennessee is state-enforced.
The wording of the bill describes "dressing as a gender different from the one assigned at birth" as part of a performance to be not suited for minors and thus banned in public spaces.
This not only bans drag shows, but any performance from a trans person in public.
Right to change legal gender in Tennessee is illegal.
Gender-affirming care in Tennessee is restricted.
Transgender individuals face forceful and harmful detransitioning when incarcerated in the state of Tennessee.
Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Tennessee is not legally recognized.
Hate crime protections in Tennessee is sexual orientation and gender identity.
LGBT discrimination in Tennessee is no protections.
LGBT employment discrimination in Tennessee is sexual orientation and gender identity.
LGBT housing discrimination in Tennessee is no protections.
However, HUD's 2012 Equal Access Rule prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for housing programs, shelters and other HUD-funded providers.
Same-sex adoption in Tennessee is legal.
Married LGBT couples can adopt jointly.
Intersex infant surgery in Tennessee is not banned.
Serving openly in military in Tennessee is lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned.
On February 10th, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth filed in court a memo relating to President Trump’s executive order from the previous month.
From then until March 18th, 2025, The U.S. military prohibited transgender individuals from enlisting and ceased providing or supporting gender transition procedures for service members.
Blood donations by MSMs in Tennessee is legal.
Conversion therapy in Tennessee is not banned.
Equal age of consent in Tennessee is equal.