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WATCH: Stephen Colbert Dissects 'Don't Say Gay' Legislator

WATCH: Stephen Colbert Dissects 'Don't Say Gay' Legislator

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Colbert says Tennessee state senator Stacey Campfield's bill is educational -- it will teach children 'there is absolutely no adult that they can trust.'

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Stephen Colbert offered his distinctive take last night on Tennessee state senator Stacey Campfield, author of the infamous "don't say gay" bill that would ban discussion of homosexuality in public schools.

The host of The Colbert Report noted that in a recent interview with TMZ Live, Campfield described gay activists as "the biggest bullies in the world," to which Colbert responded, "It's well known. Homosexuals, notorious bullies. Many of them spend their teenage years mercilessly ramming their face into the football team's fists."

He also observed that the new version of Campfield's bill, which he introduced last month after an earlier version failed to pass two years ago, would require school staffers to report students' conversations about homosexuality to their parents. "It's gone from 'don't say gay' to gaaaaaaaaaay!!!" Colbert said.

He also said of the bill, "It's not about ostracizing gay students into a life of loneliness. It's all about education. We are teaching these children, isolated by their identity, that there is absolutely no adult that they can trust."

Below, watch Colbert and the TMZ Live segment, in which Campfield, among other things, says gay activists should "quit trying to ram [homosexuality] down everybody's throats."

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.