Memphis, Cookeville, Nashville Rally for Equality/federal contractor executive order Dec 9

The Tennessee Equality Project has organized rallies for equality in Memphis, Cookeville, and Nashville to take place on December 9 to call on President Barack Obama to sign an executive order barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors and to call on the Legislature to end discriminatory legislation when it convenes in January.

The Memphis Rally takes place at 2:00 p.m. in the plaza in front of the federal building in Memphis.  More information can be found at this link. 

The Cookeville Rally takes place at 1:00 p.m. outside the Putnam County Courthouse in Cookeville.  More information can be found at this link.

The Nashville Rally takes place at 2:00 p.m. at the War Memorial Plaza in Nashville.  More information can be found at this link.  

Additional cosponsors of these rallies include the following organizations:  Austin Peay State University Gay/Straight Alliance, Out & About Newspaper, Tennessee Tech Lambda, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, Nashville GLBT Chamber of Commerce, PFLAG Nashville, Greater Nashville Prime Timers, GLSEN Middle TN, Metro Human Relations Commission, Nashville Pride, OutCentral, Just Us at Oasis Center, PFLAG Maryville, Human Rights Campaign Nashville Steering Committee, and CHOICES: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health.

TEP started a petition at the White House petition site to urge the President to sign the federal contractor non-discrimination executive order.  It can be found here.  

In 2011 Metro Nashville passed a contractor non-discrimination ordinance only to see it nullified by the Legislature the same year.  The presidential executive order is best chance to achieve job protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in states like Tennessee in the immediate future until Congress can take up the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

TEP calls on on other states and cities to hold similar rallies and spread word about the petition to increase public support for the executive order.

Key step in ending job discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people

Word has it over the last week that the national organizations that serve the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community are going to press for an executive order from President Barack Obama to bar job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity among federal contractors.

Tennessee Equality Project is wholly supportive of this move.  Such an executive order would touch thousands of firms and hence millions of employees across the country, including people who work in Tennessee.

Tennesseans have a particular interest in this issue.  In 2011 the Metro Nashville Council passed a contractor non-discrimination ordinance that did the same thing as the requested executive order but with Metro Government contractors.  Unfortunately the Legislature passed SB632/HB600 that not only nullified that ordinance but robbed every city and county in the state of the ability to do the same thing when awarding their procurement dollars.

If you're not sold on the idea that it would help people in Tennessee, then I'm not going to try to oversell the proposal.  But it's out there and there's something you can do to help.

You can sign this petition at the White House petition site.  And you can email it to your friends and post it on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.  It will help grow citizen support for the lobbying effort our national organizations are pursuing.

Nope, it's not as dramatic as the petitions calling for secession, but it's far more constructive. 

Closer to Equality in Family Leave

The Associated Press is reporting that the Department of Labor is set to interpret existing law to allow family leave for same-sex couples:

The Family and Medical Leave Act allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to take care of loved ones or themselves. The 1993 law, which also allows employees to take time off for adoptions, has previously only been applied to heterosexual couples. The Labor Department planned to extend those rights based on a new interpretation of the law, the officials said. There was no plan to ask Congress to change the law, which means future presidents could reverse the decision.

It's a welcome step during a month when many communities are celebrating Pride. In a state like Tennessee, it's particularly welcome because we have little hope for marriage equality in the near future. It's further evidence that President Obama has appointed people who are trying to find ways to make life better for GLBT families.

With all that said, though, until we pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees will not be out at work and are unlikely to ask to use this benefit. And until we have marriage equality, any of these admistrative changes can be taken away. Every step forward has been a mixture of relief and frustration. We can't help but feel relieved when these advances are announced. Each one means that the bar is moving a little higher (sometimes inches), but the need is so much greater. The frustration remains. It's not ingratitude; it's the desire for equality.

Presidential proclamation on Pride month and the remaining items on the equality checklist

President Obama has issued his proclamation of June as Pride month. After detailing the actions his administration has taken, which are far more than his predecessors though themselves fraught with compromise, he lays out remaining issues to be addressed as we move toward full equality:

"Much work remains to fulfill our Nation's promise of equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. That is why we must give committed gay couples the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We must protect the rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal benefits. We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in a supportive environment. I am also committed to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish that goal."

I am glad to see repeal of DOMA, adoption rights, ENDA (vaguely) , and safe schools mentioned. These are all advances that would help Tennessee's GLBT community given the constant fight we have over adoption, the lack of employment protections, ongoing challenges with bullying, and our state constitutional amendment that enshrines marriage discrimination. I think the President's remarks also acknowledge that what the Senate Arms Services Committee and the full House have passed is not yet a real repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

The President's proclamation is hopeful. The questions that remain are how hard the President is willing to work to advance these proposals and how hard the community is going to have to work to bring pressure to bear on him and the Congress to cross the finish line.

President signs memorandum on equality in hospital visitation

President Obama has signed a memorandum directing Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation based on a variety of factors including sexual orientation and gender identity. The memorandum affects any hospital that participates in Medicare or Medicaid.

This is huge, especially for people in states like Tennessee where marriage equality is a long way off. It means that wherever you live or travel in the United States, you can be with your partner if he or she has to seek medical attention. You won't have the added worry of being separated when your partner is most vulnerable or even at the point of death. Sadly, even in some cases where partners have all their legal documents in order, staff at health facilities have acted with what can only be described as cruelty in separating loved ones. This memorandum goes a long way toward remedying these horrifying situations.

Marriage equality is the obvious long-term solution, but until we achieve that goal, this directive will give couples in Tennessee another much needed layer of protection. It's a day to celebrate!

-Chris Sanders

State adoption bans are on the federal government's radar

November is National Adoption Month, and President Obama used part of his proclamation to urge equality in adoption laws so that more children can find good homes:

"America is a country rich in resources and filled with countless caring men and women who hope to adopt. These individuals come from all walks of life, united in their commitment to love a child who is in need of the protective arms of a parent. We must do more to ensure that adoption is a viable option for them. By continually opening up the doors to adoption, and supporting full equality in adoption laws for all American families, we allow more children to find the permanent homes they yearn for and deserve."

Perhaps to outsiders the language is vague. But those of us fighting adoption bans at the state level know exactly what the President is talking about. Our only questions concern what can be done and when. A partial answer comes in Congressman Pete Stark's bill to cut off funds to states and entities that discriminate in their adoption laws. The President seems to be sending a signal that he would support a bill like Stark's, but nothing is concrete at this point.

Since Tennessee has not passed discriminatory adoption legislation, despite the fact that it has been introduced many times, we have nothing to worry about. Hopefully, the federal bill will give the Tennessee General Assembly pause as it considers SB 0078 in 2010.

Quotation of the Day: Frank Rich

Frank Rich of the New York Times on the anniversary of Stonewall and President Obama's lack of action on GLBT rights:

It’s a press cliché that “gay supporters” are disappointed with Obama, but we should all be. Gay Americans aren’t just another political special interest group. They are Americans who are actively discriminated against by federal laws. If the president is to properly honor the memory of Stonewall, he should get up to speed on what happened there 40 years ago, when courageous kids who had nothing, not even a public acknowledgment of their existence, stood up to make history happen in the least likely of places.

Painful reading on Obama admin's defense of DOMA

From John Aravosis at Americablog on Obama administration's defense of DOMA:

We just got the brief from reader Lavi Soloway. It's pretty despicable, and gratuitously homophobic. It reads as if it were written by one of George Bush's top political appointees. I cannot state strongly enough how damaging this brief is to us. Obama didn't just argue a technicality about the case, he argued that DOMA is reasonable. That DOMA is constitutional. That DOMA wasn't motivated by any anti-gay animus. He argued why our Supreme Court victories in Roemer and Lawrence shouldn't be interpreted to give us rights in any other area (which hurts us in countless other cases and battles). He argued that DOMA doesn't discriminate against us because it also discriminates about straight unmarried couples (ignoring the fact that they can get married and we can't).

He actually argued that the courts shouldn't consider Loving v. Virginia, the miscegenation case in which the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to ban interracial marriages, when looking at gay civil rights cases. He told the court, in essence, that blacks deserve more civil rights than gays, that our civil rights are not on the same level.

And before Obama claims he didn't have a choice, he had a choice. Bush, Reagan and Clinton all filed briefs in court opposing current federal law as being unconstitutional (we'll be posting more about that later). Obama could have done the same. But instead he chose to defend DOMA, denigrate our civil rights, go back on his promises, and contradict his own statements that DOMA was "abhorrent." Folks, Obama's lawyers are even trying to diminish the impact of Roemer and Lawrence, our only two big Supreme Court victories. Obama is quite literally destroying our civil rights gains with this brief. He's taking us down for his own benefit.

What follows in the post is much of the text and it's a good reminder that we shouldn't expect any goodies at the federal level soon. Now returning you to your regularly scheduled program in Tennessee.

Holigay Roundup: Obama to Dolly

There has been some buzz about a couple of President Obama's holiday activities. One is the first Passover seder in the White House. The Week mentions the speculation that it is designed to soften the blow to Jewish groups of the President having just been in Turkey and all the talk of engaging the Muslim world. My question is why are we just now having the first one in 2009? Many Christians of all varieties have been participating in seders for a long time. As long as that participation is respectful and not a sort of commandeering of another faith, it's a good way to connect with a people's defining experiences. It also acknowledges the long and rich history of people who have shaped the country. Others can sort out the public relations motivations, but the short of it for me is, it's about time.

The other event is the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. The administration has set aside some tickets for GLBT families for the event. Like the seder, it's an appropriate acknowledgment of who counts as an American family. The policy debates go on and the disagreements about the stimulus continue, but that is precisely when we need some symbolic politics to send a unifying message.

Finally, in a nod to a friend who posted this on his Facebook page, what better way to acknowledge Good Friday and Easter than a video of Tennessee's own favorite gay icon (No, she's not gay, but a lot of her fans are) singing He's Alive:

CHANGE has come to Washington

Obama wasted no time posting his new agenda on whitehouse.gov. His agenda includes a platform for advancing the rights of LGBT citizens:

1. Expand Hate Crimes Statutes
2. Support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
3. Support for Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples
4. Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
5. Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell
6. Expand Adoption Rights
7. Promote AIDS Prevention
8. Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS
   

Visit the site for more details.

Speaking of the 18th, Glasgow celebrates the Inauguration of Barack Obama

Here's the link at Out & About Newspaper:

Even before being sworn in as our President, Barack Obama has shown himself to be different, not in color, but in his ability to see beyond entrenched interests, to reach out to those we thought his enemies and to pull together good ideas without prejudice for where they come from. My hope is that President Obama is the person who will finally cut through the thorny barriers erected by cynical politicians for a generation. That he will bring us together, united in hope, to build a better world with room enough for everyone.

Bush's last day has come to an end

It's just past Midnight in the Eastern Time Zone. President George W. Bush's last full day in office has ended. The disasters that began eight years ago are still going to be with us, but the element of leadership that created some of them and made others worse has run its course.

While the danger is far from over, I feel the relief. For the next four years, we have an opportunity to change the terms of debate. We have an opportunity to explore different policy options to address the challenges our country faces. We will not be limited by suspicion of science, sexuality, minorities, and blindness masking itself as patriotism.

We will be limited by an economy in decline, debt, and a world weary of our foreign policy.

I don't know what is possible over the next four years, but I am ready to see. Here's to the next four years and here's to you, President Obama.

With Richardson out, GLBT groups want one of our own in the cabinet

If at first you don't succeed...GLBT groups have been everything from hopeful to puzzled to downright angry about President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet picks so far. Then came the opening. Bill Richardson unnominated himself for Commerce Secretary. According to John Aravosis, GLBT groups are looking at the development as a last opportunity to get an out cabinet member. Aravosis seems to agree and argues that it could help make up for the Rick Warren debacle.

Well, we got close today, but no cigar, with the appointment of Brad Kiley as Director of the Office of Management and Administration. His biographical information is included in the link. Kiley was recommended through the Victory Fund's Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute's Presidential Appointments Project. Kiley is the second such high level appointment from the GLBT community. He joins Nancy Sutley, who will serve as chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

These appointments represent solid progress and it is encouraging that the Presidential Appointments Project can chalk up some successes. I doubt we'll get an out person in the Commerce position this go round. But the Project shouldn't shut down. There is always turnover within a few years at the top.

Memphis Roundup: Outrage at Warren and predictions of GLBT rights law

Since Jonathan is away (hopefully getting a much deserved break), I thought I would blog these two pieces from the Memphis papers.

First, one of the twenty questions asked by the Memphis Flyer includes thoughts on whether Memphis will pass a nondiscrimination ordinance that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. They talked to Jonathan about this a couple of weeks ago:

The beating brought the lack of a nondiscrimination ordinance to light once again. Jonathan Cole of the Tennessee Equality Project says pushing for a Memphis ordinance is one of the group's top goals for 2009.

The drafted ordinance will protect city employees, anyone using city services, employees of city contractors, and members of boards appointed by the city (e.g., MLGW, the Center City Commission, etc.). Cole says he's currently working with the City Council's personnel and governmental affairs committee and hopes to see the ordinance on a council agenda in the new year.

Will it pass? It's anybody's guess, but new council members seem more open to gay rights issues. Hopefully, they'll give the green light to this long-overdue ordinance. — Bianca Phillips

Second, we have more on the Rick Warren affair from the Commercial Appeal. In an extensive piece, they interview blogger and activist Jim Maynard, Obama campaign volunteer Shauna Wright, and me. Maynard makes all the salient points:

"I think most gay people are upset about it," said Memphis blogger and gay activist Jim Maynard.

After eight years of anti-gay policy under President Bush, Maynard said, many in the gay community hoped Obama would be a beacon for change.

Maynard hasn't given up that hope.

Inviting Warren to give a prayer is not the same as setting policy, he said.

Who were you expecting? Gene Robinson maybe?

All Hell has broken loose in GLBT quarters about the choice of Rick Warren to pray at the Inauguration. I completely get and agree with the opposition. I'm surprised by the surprise, though. Barack Obama has been doing a lot of, depending on how you look at it, reconciling with or coopting foes from the campaign. Look at how many of his Democratic primary opponents are going to be in the Administration. While Rick Warren calls Obama a friend, Evangelicals have symbolically represented the other for Democrats for quite some time.

There's a lot of back and forth inside baseball on whether a congressional committee made the decision or whether Obama had the final say even if the committee did suggest Warren. I don't think that's the point.

We have a president-elect who will not be scripted by the divisions in the culture war. For those of us on either side, that's not going to be pleasant. It's going to be a constant effort at interpreting what Obama's choices mean. We may be guessing for quite some time if we try to follow the semiotics of the words and events surrounding him.

Public presentation and rhetoric matter. And I think a president's rhetoric has to try to stretch to include every group. Obama could take the clear and easy road by either picking one side or speaking in such generalities that what he says is meaningless. Instead, he may be charting a new course of simultanteously embracing aspects of the two sides in the culture war. That will provide plenty of occasion for both sides to be insulted.

I admit I'm not quite sure what to make of the pattern that is emerging. And while necessary from the point of view of GLBT advocacy, the condemnations do not begin to explain what is at work in these paradoxical choices that Obama is making.

There can be only one: Bredesen as the Highlander

The City Paper's Clint Brewer has his reasons, I'm sure. He continues to use the Odom-Bredesen war of words to slam Odom. But where is the analysis that helps us understand a Democratic governor who has a pattern of undermining Democrats?

No need to run against Senator Lamar Alexander, we heard over the last year and a half. And then there were those comments predicting failure as Speaker Naifeh worked out the cable bill this year. When asked to opine about Barack Obama, we were sent on shopping sprees to Wal-Mart followed by a feast at Waffle House. But it didn't end with the election. In fact, it just brought new opportunities to snipe at the House Democratic leader.

With two years left, the Governor may well be on his way to being the last one standing before he walks off the stage.

Ladies (and gentlemen) in waiting: GLBT rights and Obama's priorities

Politico discusses the waiting game the GLBT community is playing with the administration of President-elect Barack Obama:

“You can bet that the community is going to be watching, and they’re going to want to hear what his plans are and when they think he can move legislatively,” said Denis Dison, a spokesman for The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute.

“There are also some pretty politically savvy people in the movement who understand that what he has to tackle are the things that are going to affect all of us,” Dison continued. “Gay people are just as affected by the economy as straight people. I don’t think anyone is going to expect him on Day One to start working on equal rights issues.”

The article points out that national GLBT groups are currently focusing on the transition and have helped place 7 openly GLBT people on the team. That's a good start and it will help make certain that our concerns don't get lost in the mix. Of course, the piece only speaks to the priorities of the administration. What the Democratic leadership in Congress plans is another matter. Members of Congress with large GLBT and allied constituencies may press for some legislation next year, such as the Matthew Shepard Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal hate crimes protections. It would be hard to imagine Obama not signing such legislation if it reached his desk in 2009.

Update: Andrew Sullivan tells us reports that a repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell will be delayed until 2010 may be false.

We missed you last Sunday

President-elect Barack Obama hasn't been to Church in a few Sundays. Stories like this remind me of the times I've missed Church or was at Church but wasn't "seen." Invariably someone comes up, even in the Episcopal Church, and says, "We missed you last Sunday." I'm usually standing there with a faint smile thinking, "Did one of the priests appoint you to say that?" If I'm really feeling heathen, I've been known to respond, "I missed you, too." That usually results in a puzzled look.

But getting back to Obama....come on, let's not make much of this kind of thing. After all, who can blame him for being cautious about going to Church? Hasn't he been questioned enough about the content of sermons? I'm sure he'll be back in the pews soon enough.

Obama's transition team details 8-point commitment on GLBT and related issues

And it comes not a moment too soon for those of us in Tennessee wondering what the 106h General Assembly has in store for us. Here are the pledges, starting at about the middle of the page.

Though falling shor of supporting full marriage equality, the agenda outlined by the transition team (if pursued!) will remove many obstacles to the security of GLBT families. Expanding hate crimes and employment protections are basic to protecting the lives and livelihoods of our community. There is also discussion of adoption, but it's not clear what an Obama administration would do since the matter has been largely a state concern. Repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act is called for along with affording same-sex couples in a civil union or domestic partnership all the federal rights that opposite-sex married couples have. There is also discussion of Don't Ask/Don't Tell and HIV/AIDS issues.

It could be a major sea change. No administration has ever embraced such a far-reaching equality agenda. We'll see if Congress goes for it after they take some action on the economy.

Cohen backs Clinton for Secretary of State

Congressman Steve Cohen's piece in Huffington Post.

I was an ardent supporter of Barack Obama during the heated primary season - in part because I agreed with his positions on the War in Iraq and on more aggressive diplomacy - but I whole-heartedly believe that Senator Clinton would make an exceptional Secretary of State. Senator Clinton's vast knowledge, experience representing our country and her finely honed skills of negotiation would serve this country well, and her presence within an Obama Administration would have an immediate, positive impact.

Well said! Clinton will not be afraid to raise the tough questions with her foreign minister counterparts and heads of state while imaginatively and pragmatically advancing U.S. interests abroad. I'm waiting for the Hillary haters to rear their heads. If she can fall in line and be a good soldier on the campaign trail, as she was, then I hope we can get through the next few days while president-elect Obama makes his decision without having to see the usual "bitch" and "witch" epithets all over the blogosphere.