Tennessee Equality Project seeks to advance and protect the civil rights of our State’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons and their families in each Grand Division.
Worst kept secret: The Tennessean delves into the Family Action Council's correspondence with state lawmakers uncovered in the court challenge to HB600, which overturned Metro Nashville Contract Accountability Non-Discrimination Ordinance. They thought no one knew what they were up to:
Fowler wrote the group again on Jan. 29 after meeting with chamber officials.
“I
felt it was pretty clear that they did not like the ordinance but
didn’t want to come across as homophobes or send the country a signal
that Nashville was not a great city for all people — was inclusive,”
Fowler wrote. “In my opinion the Chamber is clearly trying to document
‘good reasons’ to oppose the bill that anyone with any common sense,
regardless of where they stand on the ethic of homosexual conduct, could
see are valid concerns.”
Again, Fowler concluded the email by asking recipients not to share it.
“We
sure don’t need any loose lips getting word to the Chamber about what I
think and for sure not (the Tennessee Equality Project)!” he wrote.
Let's bracket their interpretation of the Chamber's views for now. The issue is that Family Action officials thought they were fooling people, even TEP, which is odd since everyone knew they were lobbying against the Metro ordinance when it was working its way through the Council. The intent was clear from the beginning--to keep local governments from protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees in their jurisdictions throughout Tennessee. Although it was no secret, it's clear that Family Action thought discrimination should remain a secret. SAD!
Transgender woman protests double standard: WATE is reporting that Andrea Jones, a transgender woman from Morristown, protested the refusal of the DMV to change the sex designation on her licesnse, by taking off her blouse for which she was arrested.
Of course, this puts officials in an odd position. It's not considered indecent exposure for a male to go shirtless, but in arresting Andrea, they are treating her as a woman...until she tried to get the gender marker changed on her license when she was considered male. I don't see how they can have it both ways, which is exactly the point of Andrea's protest.
Secrets and doubles standards are the tools of discrimination in Tennessee!
The Tennessee General Assembly, Governor Bill Haslam and member companies of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry have taken a lot heat in local and national media in the weeks following passage of the hateful “Special Access to Discriminate” Act.
Can you help repair
the damage caused by
the SAD Act?
Proponents of the SAD Act boast that HB600/SB632 is a “first-in-the-nation” law - not realizing their responsibility in making Tennessee the last place that educated professionals, skilled workers, and entrepreneurs want to live and work. With national attention focused on the intolerance and bigotry codified in the law, it’s hard to see anything worth bragging about.
Tennessee Equality Project fought hard to defeat the Special Access to Discriminate Act (HB600/SB632) in the legislature before it became law in Tennessee, and we will do our part to ensure a successful challenge of the law in the courts.
While TEP will continue to be at front line of the fight for equality in the workplace, you might be just the right person to help overturn the SAD Act and keep similar laws from spreading to other states.
A number of people in Tennessee may be directly affected by the SAD Act, including:
Employees of companies who contract with Metro Nashville Government. These contract employees are no longer protected from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or disability.
Children in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools are no longer protected from discrimination in education based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Children who attend Memphis City Schools are no longer protected from discrimination in education based on sexual orientation.
Individuals living in the City of Memphis who depend on Section 8 vouchers or SSI disability income are no longer protected from housing discrimination based on source of income. Memphians are also no longer protected from housing discrimination based on age.
Has the local government of your city, county, or school board enacted additional protections from discrimination that are not already covered by state law? If so, people who were protected by those local provisions may no longer benefit from those protections.
Do you, your friends, or members of your family fall into any of the above categories?
If you do, you may have standing as a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the Special Access to Discrimination Act in Tennessee. Tennessee Equality Project encourages you to contact Nashville-area attorney Abby Rubenfeld for more information (parents should call on behalf of their children):
The Tennessee General Assembly may have adjourned for 2011, but Tennessee Equality Project continues to fight for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families in our state.
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.
Fowler wrote the group again on Jan. 29 after meeting with chamber officials.
