Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Don’t let dirty tricks create a haven for intolerance in Tennessee

David Fowler of the Family Action Council of Tennessee and other radical extremists are desperately trying to pass a lie off as the truth in the Tennessee General Assembly.

Last week, FACT sent a message to supporters claiming that the “Special Access to Discriminate” Act (HB600) would keep straight white male sexual predators from assaulting little girls in womens’ restrooms. The Family Action Council forwarded a ridiculous fear mongering video showing a bearded man follow a girl into a women’s restroom to trick supporters into calling on members of the House Subcommittee on Commerce to vote for HB600. 


The SAD Act will not protect children from assault in public restrooms. Parents and law enforcement do that.

It’s also worth noting the hypocrisy of William Morgan, Board Chairman of the Family Action Council of Tennessee and CEO of Nashville-based industrial equipment manufacturer John Bouchard & Sons. Morgan warned that the Contract Accountability Non-Discrimination Ordinance which passed in Nashville Metro Council on Tuesday night would interfere with the free marketplace. However, the Nashville Scene reports that Morgan’s company has been an approved contractor with Louisville, Kentucky since 2008. Louisville and Jefferson County enacted city- and county-wide LGBT inclusive workplace protections in 1999. Morgan’s company has done business with Louisville since 2008. Workplace equality policies in Louisville have not kept Morgan’s company from doing business there. So why not in Tennessee?

It’s unfortunate that the false witness of FACT gained traction in the subcommittee which voted on Wednesday, April 6 to pass HB600 on to the full House Commerce Committee.

We must act today to protect the Contract Accountability Non-Discrimination Ordinance enacted in Nashville on April 5 and the expansion of equality in the workplace elsewhere in our state by contacting the House Committee on Commerce before it votes on HB600 on Tuesday, April 12.

TAKE ACTION!

If you live in or near a district of one of the following House Commerce Committee members, use the numbers below to call them during regular business hours and convey one of the following messages:
HB600 will lead to million dollar losses in tourism and sales tax revenues in Tennessee. I am counting on my Representative to vote NO on HB600! 
HB600 will accelerate the migration of college-educated youth, skilled workers and entrepreneurs out of Tennessee. Vote no on HB600!
HB600 will allow workplace discrimination in our local communities will make all of Tennessee less attractive to the best workers, entrepreneurs and businesses who want to live and work in our communities. Vote no on HB0600!
Be sure to ask your Representative how they plan to vote on HB600. Then contact TEP at Jonathan@tnequalityproject.com to let us know what you learned. Share this post with your friends and family via email, Facebook and Twitter.

Representative           District                 Phone (615)
Montgomery, Richard    District 12            741-5981
Pitts, Joe                       District 67            741-2043
Powers, Dennis             District 36            741-3335
Ragan, John                  District 33            741-4400
Swann, Art                   District 8               741-5481
Curtiss, Charles            District 43            741-1963
Elam, Linda                  District 57            741-7462
Favors, Joanne             District 29            741-2702
Gilmore, Brenda           District 54            741-1997
Hardaway, G. A.         District 92            741-5625
Harmon, Bill W.          District 37            741-6849
Haynes, Ryan A.         District 14            741-2264
Johnson, Curtis G.       District 68            741-4341
Johnson, Phillip            District 78            741-7477
Lundberg, Jon              District 1               741-7623
Marsh, Pat                   District 62            741-6824
Matlock, Jimmy           District 21            741-3736
McManus, Steve         District 96            741-1920
Miller, Don                  District 10            741-6877
Pody, Mark                 District 46            741-7086
Roach, Dennis E.         District 35            741-2534
Sargent, Charles          District 61            741-6808
Sexton, Cameron        District 25            741-2343
Shepard, David           District 69            741-3513
Sontany, Janis Baird   District 53            741-6861
Todd, Curry                District 95            741-1866
Towns, Joe , Jr.           District 84            741-2189
Williams, Kent             District 4               741-7450
Wirgau, Tim                District 75            741-6804

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