HB600's rationale in shambles, pressure builds for repeal

It was another bad week for SB632/HB600, the Special Access to discriminate law as Nashville students presented a petition for its repeal to Governor Bill Haslam while the Family Action Council of Tennessee (the real pusher of the law) reacted hysterically and defensively to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry abandoning them at the unholy altar of hate.

Students petition for redress of grievances: A group of Nashville students who have been active in opposing the Don't Say Gay bill have turned their attention to HB600. They marched from the Metro Courthouse to the Capitol and presented a petition to the Governor's staff, earning the praise of Congressman Jim Cooper, according to The Tennessean:

“It reminds me of the Freedom Riders in the ’60s,” he [Cooper] said.

Another Jim turns the business argument on its head: Meanwhile in Memphis, Sen. Jim Kyle, the sponsor of SB2121 that would repeal HB600, met the business argument that had been used to support discrimination and Jiu-Jitsued it into an argument about Tennessee's place in a global economy during a WSMV interview:

"This measure needs a second look," said Kyle. "This goes directly to our ability to be competitive in a world market and on a world stage."

Proponents on the defensive: The video isn't up yet, but Pat Nolan asked Speaker of the House Beth Harwell, who abruptly announced her support of HB600 in April, about the repeal in the most recent episode of Inside Politics. My guess is that those who supported the measure will continue to face embarrassing questions. But we do have video of the Family Action Council of Tennessee's president, David Fowler. In one of the most audacious redefinitions of "bullying" ever to be broadcast, Mr. Fowler bemoans the business community retreating from the legislation and accuses the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community of bullying business:



First, let's be clear. Businesses colluded in discriminating against Tennessee workers. It was only natural that our community and our allies would raise an outcry. Second, Mr. Fowler's organization bullied lawmakers with a deceptive video implying that non-discrimination ordinances lead to gender confusion, which would then magically give carte blanche to predators who want to follow children into bathrooms. Third, the irony of Mr. Fowler standing on a playground talking about bullying when organizations like his actively work against adding explicit protections against bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity to school policies is THICK!

But the real point is that Family Action is feeling a little bit lonely as the realization hits that everyone has now seen through their pro-business facade. If I were a business leader, I would be fuming that I had let them lead me into so much bad publicity and potential loss of market share.

More to come: Students petitioning, businesses doing a 180-degree turn, the filing of SB2121...has the story finally run out of twists and turns? No way. Once the court challenge is filed, the story will continue to make the news. And we will continue to see just how much of a mess HB600 has made for our state.

-Chris Sanders

Leftovers Edition: Davis says, "Repulsive." Oak Ridge drops gay bomb

Whether you're still sluggish from feasting or you got up at the crack of dawn (or before) for Black Friday deals or you're working today, the effects of Thanksgiving have a way of hanging on. I know I'll be eating leftovers for a couple of days at my place.

There are leftovers from Election Day, too. Let's take a look:

Fear and Loathing among the Blue Dogs: Michael Collins took a look at why Congressman Jim Cooper survived this election when so many white male Blue Dog Democrats didn't. We're glad he did because he's been a great supporter on hate crimes legislation, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But the money quote belongs to outgoing Congressman Lincoln Davis who lost his reelection bid:

"When you champion moral issues that are repulsive to Southern Baptists or to devout Catholics, it's hard to convince them they ought to vote for you."

I'm not sure which issues that Congressman Davis has in mind. He either didn't say or the piece didn't see the need to print the answer. But my guess is that he's either talking about abortion or equality issues or both. Debates have gone on endlessly since the election about why Democrats lost the House in such numbers. There can be little doubt that Davis's district is more socially conservative than Cooper's. But Tennessee voters will surprise you. They may not want gay people to get married, but a big chunk of them like the idea of protecting our community from job discrimination and that brings us to...

Oak Ridge's silent gay bomb went off: I like to think I keep up with news items affecting the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community in Tennessee, but I totally missed this one. On Election Day voters in the City of Oak Ridge voted to amend their charter to prohibit discrimination against city employees based on sexual orientation. (Note: The ballot measure does not include gender identity and on that basis TEP would not have supported it in its present form.)

The sample ballot gives the wording of the question here (see question 7 on p. 2 upper right of the pdf) and the election results (page 3 of the pdf) show that 2/3 of those who voted on that item supported it. There doesn't appear to have been much coverage leading up to the ballot measure. It is mentioned in this August Oak Ridger piece. But it is not singled out as being any more a source of controversy or "acrimonious study" than any of the others.

Despite the fact that the charter amendment is severely deficient in not including gender identity, what happened is pretty amazing. An East TN city's voters decided to make a change in their government's hiring policy to include gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. The conventional wisdom is that these rights shouldn't be put to popular vote and that voters will be far less likely than elected bodies to approve them. But I take it as one small indication that the November election in Tennessee was not about social issues.

I only wish we had had the chance to add gender identity to that charter amendment. That really would have been the Bomb!

Happy Leftovers Day!

-Chris Sanders

Saturday Brunch: Letter about Memphis ordinance, Anti-gay push polling in Nashville area, and celebrations around the State

Yellin for Fairness in Memphis: Emily Yellin wrote a great letter to the editor that appeared in today's Commercial Appeal. She writes with urgency about the recently withdrawn employment non-discrimination ordinance:

...doesn't Memphis, in particular, have a special responsibility and obligation, forevermore, to go much further than any other city in the United States in explicitly ensuring that all of its city workers are protected against any kind of intolerance or unfair employment practices?


Isn't it incumbent upon our leaders, and all of us, to guarantee, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we will never again allow any unequal labor conditions to exist in this city that could set the stage for the kind of local suffering and national tragedy that took place here in 1968?

Dialing up the hate in Nashville: Yesterday we wrote a Facebook note on some anti-GLBT push polling going on the 5th Congressional District. It is apparently coming from David Hall's campaign in his effort to unseat Congressman Jim Cooper. I don't think he's going to get much traction with this tactic. First, anti-gay campaigning is so 2004--2006. Second, most people are focused on jobs and the economy. Third, um, we passed that little thing in Nashville called the non-discrimination ordinance and no one's head exploded. Fourth, the three people I know who received the call are all equality advocates. If Mr. Hall wants to motivate voters in East Nashville and Belmont-Hillsboro to turn out in big numbers in November, we won't stand in his way.

Celebrate good times, come on!: Despite the challenges, Tennessee's GLBT community knows how to celebrate the good things in life. On September 5, the TEP Tri-Cities Committee is throwing the first ever GLAMBOREE to raise money for the organization. Part drag show and part cookout, the event will definitely rock Johnson City like it's never been rocked before. And on September 15, the TEP Nashville Committee brings you the Nashville Victory Toast to celebrate the anniversary of the Metro non-discrimination ordinance. Join 59 hosts and representatives of Metro government to celebrate this important milestone.

That's it. Have a great Saturday. Back to the iced tea!

-Chris Sanders

Cooper signs on as ENDA cosponsor

Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper has signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 3017 the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The law would protect workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In an email to constituents, Congressman Cooper noted:

While the majority of Fortune 500 companies and a number of states already protect the LGBT community from workplace abuse, the federal government does not, and workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is, tragically, still a common occurrence in workplaces across the nation. ENDA will simply ensure equal rights for all of our nation’s hardworking employees, and will make vital steps towards eliminating workplace discrimination altogether.

Thank you Congressman Cooper for working for passage of ENDA.

Congressman Cooper a cosponsor of federal hate crimes bill

A hat tip to Nancy VanReece for alerting us to the fact that Congressman Jim Cooper has signed on as a cosponsor to the federal hate crimes bill, H.R. 1913. He joins Congressman Steve Cohen on the bill. There are now 120 cosponsors. The number of supportive lawmakers and a president willing to sign the bill bode well for its passage. Anything can happen in the Senate, of course, but today's news about Sen. Specter should make passage even easier.