Good News: Marriage is Not Dead in Tennessee

On Thursday night, July 25, in Germantown, TN, I was there when the Family Action Council of Tennessee, (FACT) decided marriage was not dead.  However, FACT believes the institution is on life support and within a few months or a couple of years of being declared extinct.  Nate Kellum, self proclaimed chief counsel of the self founded Center for Religious Expression, attempted to, on the one hand, educate the tens of people who attended (28 plus 3 facilitators) on the DOMA and Prop 8 decisions and, on the other hand, scare them into a course of action he could  not clearly define.

But do you know what rang most true during the whole night? He endorsed the allied groups that are bringing us equal marriage.  Nate (I'm going to call him Nate cause it's easier, and because I feel like I should know him.  We were at Ole Miss Law School at the same time) told the gathering that pro-equal marriage advocacy is a success story.  That marriage equality proponents make up a small but affluent group.  That they are passionate and committed because they just brush off defeat and start re-strategizing.  He declared that they will work until there is full acceptance of their "lifestyle."  Well, by this point, I felt like standing up and yelling at the top of my lungs, "Damn Straight!!!!!"  Oops.  I mean, darn tooting!  He then stated that Christians needed to match that effort.  That's when things got scary again.

I.  Marriage is not dead.

Nate's first point was despite the DOMA and Prop 8 decisions, the "biblical" definition or marriage remained intact.  He did a relatively good job explaining the result of the decisions, but I loved his editorial speechifying along the way.  Ask me sometimes for the details, but suffice it to say, he used terms like "serious homosexual activist" in reference to the Prop 8 trial court Judge Walker, "unprecedented," "unconscionable," and "utterly deprived Prop 8 proponents of their voice in court."

II.  However, he said "marriage" is in a fight for its life.

Nate admitted that his marriage had not been "redefined", but his definition was on life support.  He immediately blamed Lambda Legal and the ACLU for wasting no time in Pennsylvania and North Carolina in challenging marriage amendments and laws.  But the worst case scenario for FACT is the Ohio case.  They know it, and they don't know what to do about it.  Ohio residents and twenty plus year partners Jim Obergefell and John Arthur, who has been stricken with ALS, flew to Maryland and got married on July 11 on the tarmac in the airplane in which they arrived.  John's family owns a  burial plot that is restricted to Arthur family descendants and their spouses. Additionally, if John dies as the Ohio law now stands, he would be identified as unmarried on the death certificate, and Jim would not be identified as spouse or survivor.  So, the gentlemen have  filed suit in Ohio federal court to have their Maryland marriage recognized by the state of Ohio.  

Last Monday, the court, relying on the DOMA case, ordered the State of Ohio to recognize the marriages of same sex spouses who married in other states but who live in Ohio. It is a thrilling ruling for same sex partners living in Tennessee, and it has FACT frightened.  Why for Tennessee?  The federal court system is geographically and for purposes of legal precedent divided into appellate court circuits.  Tennessee and Ohio are both in the Sixth Circuit, and when a Sixth Circuit Court decides an issue, it could be binding in all of the states in that circuit.  So, if the Ohio district court case is appealed to the Sixth Circuit, and the Sixth Circuit rules as the lower court did, marriage equality could effectively be brought to Tennessee.  Nate said, and I agree, that the DOMA and Prop 8 cases do not affect Tennessee marriage directly, but this Ohio case could.

Which brings us to the second point FACT made here.  That marriage is under severe attack by cultural influences.  He noted with astonishment how supporting same sex marriage has become not only "not detrimental" but politically advantageous for politicians.  I find this a huge admission from FACT and a bigger victory in the long term battle.

But then . . . 

III.  Marriage is worth fighting for he argued.

Here is where Nate fell down the rabbit hole into apparent untruths, half truths, and undocumented and unsourced scare tactics.  He argued that opening up marriage to other "definitions"  harms individuals, social interests, and religious liberties.

According to Nate, same sex marriage will beget polygamy which will beget polyamorous marriages which will beget adult/child marriages which will beget person/pet marriages.  He then linked the concept of equal marriage to the trigger word "welfare" when he blamed marriage equality in Sweden and Norway for contributing to them being the largest two welfare states in western civilization.

Finally, he finds same sex marriage harmful to religious liberty.  He posited that because same sex marriage  proponents want full societal acceptance of gay people and nothing less, a clash between those who want to live their biblical freedom and everyone else is inevitable.  He told of three arrests in Europe based upon "preaching the gospel" or simply reading from the biblical book of Romans about homosexuality, and he intimated that this type of state action was headed for America.  However, he conveniently forgot to mention the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guaranteeing free speech and the fact there are no hate speech laws anywhere in any jurisdiction.  See aforementioned First amendment issue.

Nate then took questions ranging from should they sue the Supreme Court justices for tyranny to the best question of the night, "How do we stop this runaway train [marriage equality] headed toward Tennessee?"  He answered simply that they had to pray, had to speak where God put them, had to talk to their friends and neighbors, and perhaps a Supreme Court challenge would go up in a couple of years where the Court would uphold traditional marriage.  FACT, though, is also sponsoring a work session entitled "Stand for Truth" at which they will be teaching what they describe as practical tools for talking to non-Christians about abortion and traditional marriage.

Well, in the long run, I have to agree that marriage is not dead.  Rather, I submit it is  getting a second wind.  A new (and not so new) generation or should a say, a protected class, of people want it, lust after it, desire it, and want to make it theirs.  They want to feel safe, secure, loved, transformed.  They want to rear children together, grow old together, and get buried together.  They want to build families and love each other to the fullest extent of the law, and  I am proud to say that I think Nate would agree with me that it is closer to reality here in Tennessee than ever before.

Now, here is your challenge.  Nate threw it out there when he recognized all of your unwillingness to take defeat.  Can you be as committed, as passionate, and as hard working when success seems to be in your grasp?  Can you show them you mean just as much business when you are winning as when you were being defeated?  The folks at FACT Forum on Marriage are reorganizing and restrategizing, and they believe they can do to equal marriage what they are doing to reproductive rights.  So, please don't let them win.  Work harder.  Work longer.  Reap your rewards, and fight on.  Marriage is close, but let's not stop until Nate's worse nightmare and our dream is realized - full acceptance of GLBT people in our society and under our law.  

- Anne Gullick, TEP and TEPF Board member

CAN DO update: Bill deferred, support grows, and reaction from the religious right

Deferred one meeting: Last night the Contract Accountability Non-Discrimination Ordinance (BL2011-838) was deferred one meeting in Metro Council's Budget & Finance Committee, setting second reading for the Feb. 15 meeting. Some of you will recall that the attempt to defer the 2009 ordinance in committee met with resistance. Normally allowing the sponsors to defer a bill is basic councilmanic courtesy, but the opponents tried to block the deferral in order to defeat the bill that time. So the bill has overcome another hurdle in the effort to get time to build more support among Council Members.

Support grows: 41 businesses and 17 other organizations including 4 congregations now support the CAN DO bill for a total of 58 supporters. You can find the list here. One supporter I'd like to highlight is the endorsement of the Tennessee Tribune. It's an honor to have the backing of Middle Tennessee's largest African American newspaper.

Right wing reacts, still off message: In their Jan. 31 newsletter, the Family Action Council takes aim at Belmont University for opening the door to more inclusive policies and at the CAN DO bill. Despite attempting to devote as much ink as possible to the business case against the ordinance, you don't have to read too long to figure out that a cultural/fundamentalist agenda is driving their opposition to the bill.

Here's a sample:

In other words, nothing about this ordinance has anything to do with creating jobs or stimulating the economy or reducing the cost of government. It is a social agenda pure and simple, and business leaders are beginning to rise up and say, “Enough. Leave us alone. We are not social agenda advancement agencies for government.”

First, many small businesses support this ordinance that creates access to jobs and no business leader who opposes the bill is willing to be quoted in mainstream media sources. Perhaps they're rising up in the shadows or in closed door meetings, but they're not doing so in public yet. Second, the agenda that FACT speaks of hinges on discrimination. Our agenda is reducing it and FACT's is to preserve the special right to discriminate using taxpayer money. How do we know? It's simple. If business leaders won't publicly state what FACT says are the business arguments against the ordinance, then guess what, they're not real business arguments. They are the rhetoric of business arguments designed to appeal to the moderate to progressive political climate in Nashville.

And if you're still not convinced, here's what FACT said about Belmont in the same newsletter:

First, let me say that Belmont University, as a private institution, is free to have whatever policies it wants, at least so long as they are not in violation of state and federal law. Thus it was certainly within the prerogative of its Trustees to include sexual orientation as a protected status in its governing policies.

But to say, in the same breadth, that its faculty and staff are expected to “uphold high Christian standards of morality, ethics and conduct?” Come on. Please don’t expect us to believe that.

How can you uphold a Christian ethic when the Bible you supposedly adhere to says, without equivocation: “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, will inherit the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 6:10).

The bottom line is that FACT is fighting for businesses and other entities to have the privilege of firing people its leaders believe are sinners--a belief that has no bearing on job performance. And in the case of CAN DO, they are fighting for the right of businesses receiving taxpayer dollars to fire people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

-Chris Sanders

A Tale of Two Attorneys General

Last week, TEP intercepted a message from David Fowler alerting the followers of his Family Action Council of Tennessee to contact Tennessee's Attorney General Bob Cooper about signing an anti-gay and anti-family amicus brief for the Proposition 8 case making its way through the Ninth District Court of Appeals. FACT abandoned it's pro-state's rights position in favor of Tennessee's Attorney General interfering in the affairs of the State of California (Tennessee is part of the Sixth District Court of Appeals).

David Fowler was a vocal opponent of marriage equality when Tennesseans voted in 2006 to amend the state's constitution to permanently eliminate the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry. Fowler's anti-gay and anti-family activism continues, but his attempt to re-victimize the LGBT citizens of Tennessee failed this time. General Cooper deserves credit for not bowing to pressure from Fowler and other anti-gay zealots who actively seek to take away the rights of law-abiding citizens. Cooper did not sign onto the brief. I'd like to think that TEP supporters swayed him, but I hear from those that know him that Cooper is a fair-minded official with a sense of balance in government.

This week we learned that the State of Michigan employs the kind of Assistant Attorney General that David Fowler might like to see holding office in Tennessee.

CNN's Anderson Cooper reports that Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell is cyber-stalking, blogging and protesting outside the home of the student assembly president of the University of Michigan - who happens to be gay. Shirvell accuses Student Body President Chris Armstrong of pursuing a "radical homosexual agenda" (aka, equal rights). Shirvell has actually posted pictures of the student with rainbow flags and swastikas, essentially calling Armstrong a gay Nazi. He regularly shows up waving signs at his home and attends student council hearing over which Armstrong presides. <Insert snarky comment about Shirvell being a closet case here.>

Shirvell's boss, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, said his assistant's opinions do not reflect those of the Michigan Department of Attorney General, and his "immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear." I hope this is true. But if this sort of behavior outside one's job is tolerated in a state employee in Michigan, perhaps Mr. Fowler would feel more at home there.

- Jonathan Cole

Stand for ALL Families in Shelby County

In collaboration with the Raise Your Voice Committee of the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center, TEP invites you to participate in a rally to Stand for ALL Families at Neshoba Unitarian Universalist Church (7350 Raleigh-Lagrange Rd. in Cordova) on Monday, March 29. The rally will begin with a light supper at 6 PM followed by a diverse group of speakers at 7 PM celebrating loving families that include all people whether they are gay, lesbian, bi, straight, or transgender.

The occasion will directly confront a decidedly anti-family message given just a few miles from Neshoba on the same night. Bellevue Baptist Church is hosting Tony Perkins, a nationally known anti-gay activist, to commemorate the opening of Family Action Council of Tennessee's office in Cordova. The event is called “Stand for the Family: a rally to celebrate and promote traditional families.” Supporters of this event would like you to believe that “traditional” families are under attack. The reality is that “FACT” and their supporters are spreading an anti-family message of irrational fear and misinformation.


So, who is the Family Action Council of Tennessee and why are they coming to Shelby County?

FACT is a statewide organization that lobbies against fairness and equality that is struggling to establish a foothold in our back yard. FACT actively seeks to prevent loving families from adopting children (particularly gay, lesbian and other unmarried parents), opposes stable relationships and marriages for gay and lesbian couples, promotes LGBT discrimination in the workplace and seeks to dehumanize the lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender citizens of Tennessee.

Last year, a broad and diverse community of people gathered in support of local legislation that secured LGBT-inclusive workplace protections for Shelby County employees. The passage of the legislation sent a message statewide that Shelby County is an inclusive community that welcomes all people regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity and all people should be able to make a living and support their families without the fear of unfair discrimination in the workplace. Our local efforts caught some by surprise including the Family Action Council of Tennessee.

By inviting nationally-known anti-gay activists from outside Tennessee to Monday's event at Bellevue, FACT and their supporters plan to send an exclusive message to elected officials that only certain families that meet their narrow definition should be supported and protected. It's time to raise your voice and rally to celebrate every loving family in Shelby County.

Our message is one of inclusion: ALL parents and families want the same chance as everyone else to earn a living, be safe in their communities, serve their country, and take care of the ones they love.

Join us on Monday night and stand up for ALL families.

Family Action Council of TN raises funds to promote LGBT equality

By TEP’s count, 37 followers of David Fowler’s Family Action Council of Tennessee met earlier today at a local Memphis restaurant to plot against equal opportunity and fairness in Memphis and the State of Tennessee. Specifically, they gathered behind locked doors to review their legislative “accomplishments” in the Tennessee General Assembly and spread lies about the grass roots movement in Memphis for a Non-Discrimination Ordinance. The Memphis NDO will establish workplace protections for LGBT employees of the city and city contractors.

Little did they know that they were also doing their part to promote equal rights for the LGBT citizens of Tennessee. When Tennessee Equality Project learned that David Fowler and FACT were coming to Memphis, TEP’s Shelby County Committee issued a call for pledges of support. Supporters pledged to give a $1 or other amount to TEP for every person who attended the meeting. The Shelby County Committee of TEP wishes to thank everyone who made a pledge of support to TEP for this event. But we’d like to give special thanks to David Fowler for doing his part to promote LGBT equality in Tennessee.

If you missed your chance to pledge to TEP, it’s not too late. You can donate online at http://tnep.org/.