By Associated Press
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam says he encourages businesses to adopt policies banning discrimination against gay and lesbian employees, but that he doesn't believe local governments should be able to require those guidelines before companies can contract with them. The Republican governor said Wednesday that he hasn't had second thoughts about signing into law a bill overturning Nashville's anti-discrimination ordinance, despite several large companies and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce publicly announcing their opposition to the measure. Haslam noted that the Chamber switched its position after the bill was signed earlier this week, and that more than 70 percent of lawmakers in both the House and Senate voted to pass the measure.