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

Take action against foes of marriage equality in Tennessee seeking to influence the Prop. 8 court case

In a recent email blast to its members, the Family Action Council of Tennessee issued a call to action (see below). FACT is hoping to persuade the Tennessee State Attorney General to sign on to an Amicus brief opposing marriage equality in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case regarding the constitutionality of Proposition 8 in California.

We cannot let equality opponents to be the only voices the Tennessee State Attorney General hears. Call Attorney General Bob Cooper TODAY and ask ignore the invitation to join the Perry v. Schwarzenegger Attorneys General Amicus Brief.

You may reach his office at: 615-741-3491 (the actual number).  You only need to tell the switch board operator the following: "Please let General Cooper know that I oppose him signing on to the Attorneys General brief that promotes unfair discrimination in civil marriage law in the Perry case."

Equality advocates in Tennessee CAN influence the course of marriage equality elsewhere in our country. Today is the only day to act!

Today's message to members of the Family Action Council:

Let your voices be heard on marriage!? ?Today is our only day to speak up.

81% of Tennesseeans voted to make marriage between one man and one woman, but the federal court ruling in California that marriage violates the U.S. Constitution will make your vote null and void – our law will be unconstitutional too if the court ruling is upheld.

Several Attorneys General from other states will be filing an amicus brief today, Friday, in the now infamous Perry v. Schwarzenegger case regarding the constitutionality of Proposition 8 in California.

Tennessee’s attorney General, Bob Cooper, has received a copy of the Amicus brief and been asked if he wanted to sign on and join the effort to protect marriage.  We have learned that as of yesterday (Thursday) he had not agreed to "sign on" in support of marriage.

He wouldn’t stand against the national health care mandate. 
Don't let him fail to stand for marriage too.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED:?

Please contact Tennessee’s Attorney General, Bob Cooper, and ask him to join the Perry v. Schwarzenegger Attorneys General Amicus Brief to defend Tennessee’s right to be a sovereign state and define marriage as one man and one woman. 

You may reach his office at: (307) 777-7841.  All you need to tell the switch board operator is "Please let General Cooper know that I am in favor of him signing on to the Attorneys General brief in favor of marriage in the Perry case."

Please forward this to all your like-minded friends and family members. He must sign on by the end of today.  There is no time to lose!

Sincerely,
David Fowler
President
The Family Action of Tennessee, Inc.

Why blaming the Black community for our inequality doesn't make sense

After the Prop 8 loss in California, there was a lot of blame gaming going on. One of the immediate targets was the African-American community. Those comments caused a lot of mistrust within the GLBT community because many strangely forgot the presence of Black gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. Those comments could have also caused a huge rift between the GLBT community and major African-American civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, which has been an important ally for our cause.

Memories of those thoughtless accusations die hard. James Withers of 365gay.com hasn't forgotten them a year later in the wake of the crushing Maine defeat:

"These realities of black-American life cannot, and should not be ignored; however, too many of us blithely support a narrative where homophobia is somehow purer in black and brown communities. Yes we have California, but there is also Washington, DC, and those who leaned on race to explain Prop 8 have been strangely silent on the DC City Council.

From Maine to California, many black, brown, and white faces will gladly vote against gay marriage. If there is anything that crosses the racial divide it’s bigotry for lesbians and gays."

I occasionally hear similar comments and questions from people in Tennessee. What amazes me is how few people see the obvious reality that African-American lawmakers have been leading opponents of discrimination. When the marriage amendment was working its way through the Legislature, 3 of the 7 House members voting against it were African-American, and 1 of 3 senators voting against it was African-American.

This year in the House, the Black Caucus became a major advocate of the hate crimes bill giving it new life.

The Metro Nashville non-discrimination ordinance story is also instructive. 3 of the 12 sponsors were African-American Council Members. On third reading, only one African-American Council Member voted against the ordinance, but he was advancing his own ordinance that ended up being amended to include sexual orientation and gender identity. 1 African-American Council Member was absent for the vote. Without the support of the African-American Council Members, the ordinance could never have passed.

The lesson is always that if you don't reach out, you don't know who your friends are. And when you think you know who your opponents are, follow the money. The organizations that fund anti-equality measures are not predominantly African-American. But shouldn't that be obvious? Given the discrimination that African-Americans still face in this country, why would we think Black leadership organizations would be throwing money at discriminatory legislation and ballot measures?

Hopefully, the movement for equality is still moving in the sense that we are coming to the realization that we have to meet discrimination with targeted resources wherever we find it in particular contexts (by political district, by religion, by race and ethnicity, etc.). Going into a fight bedeviled by what we imagine one group will do just sets us up for more losses and more blame gaming.

Post-Prop 8 tactic maps the future of pressuring the opposition

This map allows you to click on little balloons each of which represents a financial supporter of California's Proposition 8. They're calling it a mash-up of Google maps and the Prop 8 donor list. It's got a lot of the donors nervous because they're worried about being subjected to boycotts and the like.

I wonder whether something like it will be coming to Nashville after the English Only matter is settled. Reading this Tennessean story, I think it's possible:

Fearful of the same backlash that followed California’s Proposition 8 vote, supporters of Metro Nashville’s English-only plan not to disclose campaign financing before the Jan. 22 special election, Metro Councilman Eric Crafton said.

Thoughts on Day Without a Gay

Wednesday, December 10 has been proclaimed Day Without a Gay and comes in the wake of the nationwide Proposition 8 protests. The basic idea is to "call in gay" at work and spend time volunteering to raise the visibility of the GLBT community. The other goal is to demonstrate our community's economic impact by showing what it would be like if we stopped spending money and stopped working for a day. Much of the national GLBT press has been positive about the nationwide action. But reading the comments at this popular blog shows that opinion is far from uniform.

In terms of the local reaction, Out & About has a story that mentions a business that plans to close for the day. But they are also running a commentary piece that calls the whole thing into question, and it is receiving a lot of hits.

The Tennessee Equality Project gave our local committees around the State the option of organizing something for the day, but they decided not to because they didn't think that it supported the political goals of their communities. Advising people to call in gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender is a recipe for getting fired in many parts of the State since we lack federal, state, or local protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.

I think to be effective boycotts like this have to be focused. Having led a successful business-related action when Kroger and Harris-Teeter pulled Out & About Newspaper from their racks, TEP prefers to advise action that is locally adapted and focused on positive action. By urging volunteering, Day Without a Gay actually has a lot of potential. There ought to be a day of service when GLBT people are visible serving causes in their communities. But connecting it to calling out of work simply isnt effective in some of the redder regions of the country.

But what about the visibility argument? Don't these nationwide actions give us visibility? TEP supported the Prop 8 rallies in Tennessee, but we also recognize that they probably had no impact on the opinion of any elected officials who have the power to influence state and local laws. There was plenty of media coverage, but the coverage provided a momentary glimpse of our community to an intedterminate audience.

In our experience, what works is getting lots of GLBT people and our allies to have focused conversations with lawmakers about specific legislation. It makes them rethink their support of negative legislation and in some cases gains us allies who find the courage to defend the rights of their constituents.

Day Without a Gay can become something powerful, but it needs some revisions. The series of actions planned after the Prop 8 rallies may quickly become a "flavor-of-the-month" approach if they are not locally adapted and focused on persuading federal, state, and local officials who can help us make real progress toward equality.

Update: Here's the Tennessean's piece.

Paradigm shift in activism?

Some seem to think the Prop 8 protests indicate a big Yes.

Quoting one of them in the piece above:

The leaders of what is being billed as Stonewall 2.0 are not coming from large, established organizations. ... That this huge outpouring of organic outrage is not being channeled through official organizational channels has enormous implications.

Yes, it does. But what are the implications? Let's say that the Prop 8 protests are a factor in the eventual demise of the existing big national GLBT organizations. Won't this new movement eventually shift from charismatic, emotion-driven grassroots leadership to something more formalized with bureaucracy? I think it would have to in order to achieve its goals. Money still drives so much of the political process including the legislative process. If you're going to channel money, you have to do so lawfully. And that means structure that meets the requirements of state and federal law--the tax code and all that.

Furthermore, what began as a spontaneous movement is already developing an agenda focused on visibility and marriage. Since marriage remains a state prerogative, won't strategy beyond visibility be necessary at some point? That would seem to indicate that a national structure and leadership are necessary. After all, someone is determining what the goals, actions, and timing are, oh, and how the money is spent!

What the protests represent are a breakthrough in using the web to get people in every state to do approximately the same thing on the same day in a short amount of time. And that is definitely a significant breakthrough. But if such an effort is to be sustained to the point of having a real effect on law (and not just a way to channel justified rage), then it will take on some of the same structures as existing organizations.

And if marriage equality is on a different time trajectory in each state, will the new, centralized Web activism be patient enough to deal with 50 state legislatures or lengthy federal court battles? Either way you look at it, lawyers and lobbyists should not worry about being out of work. Their employers may change, though.

Everything I Know about Tennessee Politics...

I Learned at a Prop 8 Rally in Nashville:

Video of Nashville Prop 8 Rally by Val Reynolds

Thanks for sending it our way, Val!

Tracking the Prop 8 rally coverage in Tennessee

This post will be updated as we find links to coverage of the Prop 8 rallies in Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis.

News sites:

Knoxville News Sentinel piece quoting Todd Cramer of the TEP Knox County Committee

Commercial Appeal piece covering the Memphis rally

WATE in Knoxville

NewsChannel5 in Nashville

Out & About Newspaper in Nashville

365gay.com piece that was actually written by Cole Wakefield, not the person who posted it.

The Advocate's blurb on Nashville

Blog posts:

Kimmaayy covers the Nashville protest with video
Egalia on the Nashville protest with links to Andrew Sullivan on Nashville and Chris Crain on Memphis. Crain was editor of the Vanderbilt Hustler before his involvement with Southern Voice and the Washington Blade.
Jim Maynard covers Memphis.
Andy Towle with Nashville pics, including a pic of that hot TEP banner!
Daily Kos picked us up on Nashville in their long list of cities

Photo collections:

Keith Hinkle
Out & About Newspaper
TEP

What Do We Want?

(post by TEP Foundation Board Memeber, Nancy VanReece)

Nashville came out in the cold drizzle to join dozens of other cities around the country for a demonstration.
What were we demonstrating? Support for each other, righteous indignation? Yes. But most off all, we were demonstrating solidarity.
It's one thing to live in a state such as Tennessee that forbids the equal right of marriage to all of its citizens, that's a a battle lost in 2006 that still stings. It is a whole other thing to remove rights already in place. That's what Prop 8 in California did and today, in solidarity the people that it effected were a single voice.

Gay and straight, married, single, black, white and brown, over 250,000 strong according to pledges across the country, today at 12:30pm central time, 1:30 eastern and 10:30am west -- We all with one voice said: What do we want? Equality. When do we want it? Now. (click to see video)

Memphians gather to protest Proposition 8

Nearly 200 people braved the cold and rainy weather in front of City Hall in downtown Memphis to express their solidarity with the many thousands of people protesting the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Many thanks to Amy Livingston of the Women's Action Coalition and the Midsouth Peace and Justice Center for organizing and promoting the event.

During the demonstration, I invited everyone to carry the cause forward by coming to Nashville on February 17 for Advancing Equality Day on the Hill. More than 25 people signed up to receive more information from TEP and the Shelby County Committee passed out flyers about AED.

Nashville Prop 8 Rally a Huge Success!

Hundreds of people gathered at the Metro Courthouse in Nashville today to protest California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, and to advocate for equality for Tennessee's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. Pictured above is Nashville Pride president Pam Wheeler with friends marching around the Public Square. More photos from the event can be found here.

I would put the number at close to 300. TEP signed up 62 people who weren't already on our list and we couldn't get to everyone, especially after the march started. People were still joining the event when I left at 1:45.

Representatives from the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition and the Nashville steering committee of the Human Rights Campaign were also on hand to support the rally. Carissa and her friends did an incredible job of organizing the event.

One of the most impressive aspects of the event was the number of young people who had never been involved in GLBT advocacy before. I would guess 75 percent of the participants were people I had never seen at any events before. I hope that they can turn their energy to efforts in Tennessee.

Memphis rally against Proposition 8

Join Memphians as we participate the national movement of simultaneous protests against Proposition 8, the infamous ballot resolution that amended California's constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Speakers will address other restrictions on LGBT rights, including concerns for LGBT folks in the Midsouth. Bring signs, friends, and all your moral indignation!

Memphis Anti-Prop 8 Rally
Saturday, November 15
City Hall (125 N. Main)
12:30 PM

from Amy Livingston of the Women's Action Coalition.

Tennessee Prop 8 supporters revealed

Out & About Newspaper has the list of those who sent their anti-marriage equality dollars to California to keep gay people living in sin. Not really that many people, with Lee Beaman being the most "famous." I'm sure the folks at Lipscomb are proud.

Knoxville Prop 8 Rally is on!

Knoxville is joining cities around the country in solidarity with those in California whose right to marry is being threatened.


The TEP Knox County Committee/Human Rights Group is organizing the event. It takes place at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the World's Fair Park lawn.


Find details here.

Anti-Prop 8 rally comes to Nashville

A Rally for Equality against California's Proposition 8
Saturday, November 15 at 12:30PM
1 Public Square in Nashville

There are rallies across the country on Saturday to protest California's Proposition 8 which bans same-sex marriage. TEP folks are not the organizers. We're just helping publicize the event.

Dozens of people who have never been involved in politics or GLBT rights issues have contacted us about this event. My hope is that they'll turn their energy to State and local issues once the event on Saturday ends.

Update: Out & About's piece .

Proposition 8 creates a legal gray area for gay couples married in CA

Since the passage of Proposition 8 in California, I've been wondering about the status of all those couples who were married after the California Supreme Court ruling in May and before Election Day on Nov. 4. According to Kenji Yoshino of Slate, Prop. 8 has created a legal gray area:

The effects of Prop 8 on the more than 16,000 gay couples in California who got married after the state high court authorized them to do so is much less clear. California Attorney General Jerry Brown has opined that he believes those marriages will not get washed out by Prop 8. His position comports with the general intuition that retroactive legislation should not deprive people of vested rights like marriage.

However, that intuition will not necessarily be vindicated. As I have pointed out elsewhere, there is a surprising dearth of federal constitutional authority that would protect existing same-sex marriages from retroactive attempts to undo them. It may well be, as California constitutional-law professor Grace Blumberg of UCLA has argued, that the California Constitution would preclude the retroactive application of Prop 8. But as most experts agree, the outcome here is uncertain.

This is in part because a court might find that Prop 8 does not even constitute retroactive legislation. The amendment states that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." A court could find that the pre-election marriages remain in existence but that California cannot recognize their validity going forward. Under that interpretation, a California same-sex marriage that was valid before today could be recognized by another state but not in the Golden State itself. Indeed, a state like New York that recognizes out-of-state same-sex marriages—even though it doesn't yet grant same-sex marriages—might be required to recognize a pre-election California marriage because of a state court decision that ordered the recognition of same-sex and cross-sex marriages.

Victory for Chicken Rights

On November 5, Californians found chickens to be more deserving of freedom than gays and lesbians.