Democratic Tennessee congressional candidate Aftyn Behn said in resurfaced audio that lawmakers openly praying during legislative sessions make her “uncomfortable.”
While appearing on the “Red State Blue Moon” podcast in June 2024, Behn complained that the Tennessee state Legislature opens up with prayer at the beginning of each legislative session. She further complained that Christian pastors and prayer groups have “proximity to power” in the Legislature and that religion is often at the center of the state’s politics.
“And I think, especially as someone who is more secular, I have a hard time when religion is at the core of everything we do in the Legislature. For example, on the House floor, we say a prayer at the beginning of each session,” Behn said. “Some committees open up with prayer, we also stand for the Pledge. And there are also prayer groups in the legislature who meet routinely. There are Christian pastors that have a lot of say and proximity to power in the Legislature and dictate a lot of what the power players do. And it is uncomfortable and I think it makes a lot of my constituents who represent a diversity of religion deeply uncomfortable.”
UNCOVERED AUDIO
Tennessee Democrat Aftyn Behn – who once brought a transgender pastor to the Tennessee Legislature – said it made her “uncomfortable” to see her colleagues pray.
BEHN: “There are also prayer groups in the legislature… it is uncomfortable.” pic.twitter.com/7op3OOUEYf
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 26, 2025
Should lawmakers continue to open sessions with prayer?
UNCOVERED AUDIOBehn has entered the spotlight over her far-left positions and actions during her activism and time in the state Legislature. She is running to fill the vacant seat in Tennessee’s 7th district in the state’s special election on Dec. 2.
In 2022, Behn advocated for teaching women how to perform abortions at home to avoid state-wide bans and provide abortion pills during an interview with The Tennessee Holler.
The Tennessee Democrat more recently promised to carry a “trans bill of rights” at every legislative session if she is elected to the U.S. Congress. She has also expressed support for sex changes and hormone procedures for trans-identifying minors and condemned the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding Tennessee’s ban on these treatments.
In 2019, Behn protested with the activist group, Enough is Enough-Tennessee, to call on former Republican Tennessee state Rep. David Byrd to resign over allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct. Resurfaced footage showed her storming into Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office to demand that he call for Byrd’s resignation, which forced security to forcibly drag her out while she screamed and sobbed.
A month later, she entered the House chamber and dramatically screamed at the top of lungs, leading officers to escort her out of the area. She called on both Byrd and then-House Speaker Glen Casada to resign.
In 2020, Behn stated on the “Year old Grits” podcast that she hated everything about Nashville, including the country music and the bachelorette parties. She also called Tennessee a “racist state” in an op-ed for the Tennessean in March 2019 and further accused it of being a “god forsaken” state in resurfaced video from 2023.
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