In recent days, you may have heard of Senator Stacey Campfield, the woefully stupid Republican legislator from Knoxville, TN’s District 7, who is behind the bill nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill (SB49), which will block any and all discussion of the topic of homosexuality in grades kindergarten through eight in Tennessee schools. Campfield has a history of idiocy when it comes to statements on the LGBT community. He once even likened homosexuality to bestiality. He certainly reflects poorly on the citizens of Knoxville who voted him into office.

Campfield was interviewed by Michelangelo Signorile of Huffington Gay Voices, on his SiriusXM radio show, “OutQ” and said some dumb, dumb things. Very unhelpful, silly and very unintelligent things.

Gems like:

“Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community — it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall.”

“My understanding is that it is virtually — not completely, but virtually — impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex…very rarely [transmitted].”

The thing is, Stacey Campfield is one of those people who is too dumb to know how dumb he is. He needs other people to explain that to him.

As writer Sean Braisted put it on the progressive blog Nashville 21:

“Stacey Campfield has made it a mission in his life to make life harder for those who don’t fit his own personal view of ‘normal’.”

But there has been a pushback against this bigot, as Braisted reported, started when a Knoxville restaurant called The Bistro at the Bijou refused Campfield service on Sunday.

The customer clearly ISN’T always right. Congratulations to owner Martha Boggs who ejected this shithead from her establishment (which is on South GAY Street, btw! What was Campfield doing there in the first place? Looking for a new boyfriend, maybe? Doesn’t he know that you can catch “the AIDS” from the bread sticks!?!)

Boggs told the Metro Pulse:

“I didn’t want his hate in my restaurant. I told him he wasn’t welcome here. ... I feel like he’s gone from being stupid to being dangerous, and I wanted to stand up to him.”

Bravo! I’d have have done the exact same thing in her shoes (or else pissed in his soup?). Round of applause for Martha Boggs!

The Bistro at the Bijou also posted a Facebook message that read, “I hope that Stacy Campfield now knows what if feels like to be unfairly discrimanted against.”

More from Nashville 21:

Stacey Campfield has blogged about his experience and says that he left the restaurant because “she started to yell and call me names again so I figured it was better to just leave.”  He also adds this nugget:

“Some people have told me my civil rights were violated under the 1964 civil rights act in that a person can not be denied service based on their religious beliefs. (I am catholic and the catholic church does not support the act of homosexuality)”

Ummm…no. According to the EEOC, “Social, political, or economic philosophies, as well as mere personal preferences, are not “religious” beliefs protected by Title VII.” While Title II covers restaurants, its safe to say that the same definition of “religion” would apply there as well. Arguably the belief that “homosexuality is a sin” is a religious belief, but saying that AIDS resulted from people having sex with monkeys, or passing laws that prohibit the discussion of the concept of same-sex relationships, does not fall under that classification.

There’s nothing in that legislation that prohibits discrimination against fucking assholes either. Sorry Stacey!

Below, Martha Boggs talks about the Stacey Campfield incident, saying she thinks Campfield is a “bully” and that “he needed to be stood up to.”
 

Tennessee state Sen. Stacey Campfield (R) will be outed as a pedophile, closeted gay man, or will be arrested on a DUI/drug charge in 5, 4, 3, 2… and…

Typical bully. Tries to get his way with a lot of bluster, but backs down when confronted.

Life outside New York continues to baffle me.

Despite appearences, New York has plenty of folks who are fairly conservative and maybe even few gayness as a “sin”. But as we live in close proximity to people who are unlike ourselves, we’ve learned that you really don’t need to be worrying yourself with what other adults are doing in the privacy of their own homes. More importantly, living close to gay folks (who are a little more able to be “out” in New York), you quickly realize that they aren’t any different from the rest of us and want pretty much the same thing as heteros do for themselves. In other words, the consequence to the rest of us of giving gay folks equal rights under the law is…nothing.

Funny that the “red states” always seem to want to tell individuals how to live their lives.

Hey…I don’t know what happened.

I tried to type, “even a few who view gayness as a ‘sin’, but the editor went wonky on me.

That monkey tested clean, dammit.

With self-loathing closeted homosexual republicans gnashing their teeth at gays constantly, we don’t get shit done in this country.

We’re too busy trying to stop the harm these idiots try to do every day.  They are a disease on our republic.

“The thing is, Stacey Campfield is one of those people who is too dumb to know how dumb he is. He needs other people to explain that to him.”

Except I bet if anyone does explain it to him he probably wouldn’t believe it, even if it came from a fellow Republican.  Conservatives, by definition, are not the most open-minded people.

Realistically, I don’t think he can be banned for being an asshole unless he is disrupting the business of the establishment with his assholery. As much of an asshole as Campfield is, his political speech is still protected (she even tips her hand by her facebook post with the phrase “I hope that Stacy Campfield now knows what if feels like to be unfairly discriminated against.”)  Personally I think a better ploy is to smile and tell him he’s wrong when you hand him his change, then tell him several store employees are gay, and watch him find another bistro lest he catch AIDS from the muffins.  But maybe the real point is to draw attention to his bigotry with the very public banning, so fair enough.

Red(neck) State Rethugs want the “evil gubmint” out of their lives—but not out of the lives of those they disagree with on issues like sexuality and drug use.  That’s why it’s impossible to take these people seriously on any level.  They’re not even consistent.  They want the government to leave them alone, but at the same time to use it to persecute their enemies.

@rosko: ‘The right to refuse service’ is still legal as long as the reason you’re refusing service to someone isn’t based on them being a member of a legally protected minority. Luckily for the world, being a moron doesn’t make you a protected minority.

http://www.legalzoom.com/us-law/equal-rights/right-refuse-service

I think it would only legally be discrimination if no other Catholics were served. IE any polite Catholic who just discusses it with someone else at dinner and says it’s a sin, they’re having a discussion, but creating bizarre insults about sex with monkeys is “He’s been thrown out for being rude.”

There are people who think it’s a sin but don’t condemn it or throw it out of proportion. Lewis Carroll pointed out that it should be the mildest of sins as it involves loving another person rather than selfishness or greed.

Prediction:  This will all come out (heh…) to be a hilarious Andy Kaufman-style prank.

As a Knoxville resident, a frequent reader of your blog, and an occasional diner at the Bistro, I was unsurprised by his ejection from this particular restaurant. What surprises me more is that he KEEPS GETTING REELECTED! Hopefully this national embarassment will make people in Knoxville reconsider. However, given the city’s LONG history of dirty politics, I won’t be all that surprised when Campfield gets reelected, AGAIN. Given that fate, I couldn’t think of a better place than the Bistro to eat, drink, and be merry.