Watch the Memphis City Council enact an LGBT-inclusive ordinance

Pro-equality advocates outnumbered opponents at the Oct. 16 meeting of the Memphis City Council when council members voted 9 to 4 in favor of an LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance for city employees. One month ago, the council approved an amendment adding sexual orientation but omitted gender identity. Amid questions over a potential charter conflict, the council voted to delay action on the amended ordinance for 30 days.

The extra 30 days gave Tennessee Equality Project time to ensure that gender identity was added to the ordinance. We organized our allies and recruited a panel of transgender members of the community to talk with key swing voters on the council. We wanted to make sure that the council understood why TEP and our allies could not leave anyone behind in enacting this ordinance. I am so proud of our efforts and the nine members of the Memphis City Council for hearing our case for full inclusion.

Last Tuesday's hearing on the ordinance was an historic day for Memphis. If you missed the meeting or simply want to hear the debate for a fully inclusive ordinance again, you can watch the following videos.

The non-discrimination ordinance was #12 on the council agenda. Council Chairman Bill Morrison invited public comment on the ordinance. The opposition spoke first. I should warn you that this video contains disturbing distortions and false claims about LGBT people from Family Action Council of Tennessee and others:




Council members on both sides of the debate praised all of the speakers organized by Tennessee Equality Project for the Sep. 18 and Oct. 16 hearings on the NDO. I think you'll see a vast difference in the tone and tenor of pro-equality advocates when compared to opponents of equality:



After public input, Councilwoman Janis Fullilove made a motion to add gender identity to the ordinance (Fullilove will be remembered as the first sponsor of the NDO in 2010 and the person who ensured that transgender workers would be protected in the 2012 ordinance). Councilman Lee Harris asked Political Science Professor of Rhodes College Steve Wirls to clarify for the council that the charter allowed them to pass an non-discrimination ordinance that includes non-merit factors like sexual orientation and gender identity. Council members then offered their comments on the proposal. I was particularly moved by Councilman Harold Collins's change of heart on the NDO. When he began reading from Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail, I knew that the ordinance would pass. Councilman Ford adeptly offered a friendly amendment to Fullilove's motion to define sexual orientation and gender identity to confront the distorted definitions presented by Family Action Council of Tennessee. And Councilman Reid Hedgepeth confronted the hateful ignorance of opponents of equality who threatened him and his family. He even promised to request an FCC investigation of Family Action Council of Tennessee for illegal robocalls which targeted his cell phone. Hedgepeth stands as a shining example of why equality is not partisan issue. Equality is not a value that belongs to Republicans, Democrats, conservatives or liberals. Equality is value cherished by all Americans. Watch these moving developments on the council and the vote to add gender identity to the ordinance:



After the successful vote to add gender identity, Councilman Lee Harris made a moving speech about how the protections covered in the ordinance were supported by various organizations in the community and shared with many of the largest employers in the Memphis area. The council voted 9 to 4 in favor of the motion. The fully inclusive ordinance gained two new votes: Wanda Halbert and Harold Collins. Councilman Shea Flinn then offered a resolution requesting that the Director of Personnel write policy which reflects the scope of the ordinance to ensure airtight protections. Flinn's resolution passed. Councilman Lee Harris made a for same night minutes to expedite the effectiveness of the ordinance and resolution, but that measure failed.

Upper Cumberland Pride brings celebratory end to the 107th Tennessee General Assembly

"Your eyes don't deceive you. That's a pride celebration in Cookeville, TN with lots of people." said  Nashville Committee Chair Chris Sanders who reposted this picture on Facebook on Saturday. At least one observer from Cookeville beleieved that as many as 1000 people attended the event over the course of the day. 

The Upper Cumberland Committee provided an absolutely amazing LGBT Pride celebration in Cookeville, Tennessee on Saturday - a perfect end to a week of victories and positive news for LGBT people, their families and their allies in Tennessee. Upper Cumberland Pride which was sponsored by TEP Foundation also brought an inspiring end to the legislative session. Traveling back and forth on the road to Cookeville from my home in Memphis gave me some time to reflect on Tennessee Equality Project's efforts to advance and protect the rights of LGBT people and their families in state government. I'm pleased to share that with few exceptions we've done well for Tennessee during the last 5 months of the legislative session

Several members of the 107th Tennessee General Assembly promoted legislation with a far-right social agenda that attacked LGBT people and contradicted conservative ideals of smaller government. Much of that legislation focused "below the belt."

Police the Potty Bill Flushed!

The session began with the "Police the Potty" bill (HB2279) which would have criminalized the use of public restrooms and dressing rooms by transgender people. Rep. Richard Floyd threatened to "stomp a mudhole" through any transgender person he found in a restroom. Public pressure compelled the Senate sponsor to withdraw his version of the bill (SB2282). I can’t remember a lawmaker having this much concern about what’s happening in the stall next to him since Idaho Senator Larry Craig’s infamous troubles in a Minneapolis Airport men’s room. Tennessee Equality Project quickly responded against this bill along with Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition and other allies. No other Senator was willing to file a companion bill, so the legislation could not advance. The death of this bill was our first victory of the session but other lawmakers continued to obsess over what happens below the belt until the end of the session.

It's Still Okay to Say GAY! in Tennessee

Two bills with a rather prurient interest in sex education in public schools advanced this session, but only one passed both houses of the legislature. The "No Hand Holding" bill (HB3621/SB3310) which prohibited the teaching of something called "gateway sexual activity" in public education sought to leave Tennessee's youth with no information about how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases should they become sexually active. By shifting the emphasis of sex education to "abstinence only," students and parents will now have to go outside public schools for accurate information about vital, life-saving strategies for good health. Tennessee parents deserve more sex education options to choose from in public schools for their children. While the "No Hand Holding" bill became law, other efforts to redefine sex education failed. 

Stacey Campfield's "Don't Say Gay" bill (HB0229/SB0049) passed in the Senate last year and re-appeared on the agenda in the State House this year. In its amended form, the bill would have banned "classroom instruction, course materials or other informational resources that are inconsistent with natural human reproduction" in grades K-8. Tennessee Equality Project fought hard against this bill with a multi-pronged approach that included professional lobbying, mass media, and YouTube videos made by students, parents and educators, visits with lawmakers, attendance at House committee hearings, phone calls, emails, and letters. Our lobbying strategy significantly reduced lawmakers' desire to vote on this bill. But they were also affected, as we all were, by the news of two gay students in Tennessee who completed suicided after enduring anti-gay bullying in school. Many conservative lawmakers began to realize that marginalizing LGBT students with anti-gay and anti-trans legislation would only increase the incidence of bullying in public schools. 

Despite opposition from Governor Bill Haslam, House Speaker Beth Harwell and other House leadership, Rep. Joey Hensley (HB0229's sponsor) continued to push his bill forward in the House. HB0229 advanced with close margins in the House Education Subcommittee and House Education Committee before landing in the House Calendar and Rules Committee. Lawmakers who wanted no part in voting on this legislation never scheduled HB0229 for a floor vote before the House of Representatives adjourned for the year. This victory was hard to win and would not have been possible without the efforts of people like you.

Special Rights for Bullies Defeated!

Many of our supporters will recall the  "License to Bully" bill that appeared early in the session with the full backing of Family Action Council of Tennessee. David Fowler sought to write special protections into state law for students who harassed, intimidated or bullied fellow students based on their "expression of religious, philosophical, or political views." Early in the session, Tennessee Equality Project observed that lawmakers were attempting to place students in double jeopardy with the License to Bully and Don't Say Gay bills. "Students with an anti-gay bias would be free and encouraged to bully LGBTQ students, and teachers and other school staff would be prohibited from speaking about the issue."  The same TEP lobbying strategy used against the Don't Say Gay bill helped keep the License to Bully bill from advancing in the legislature.  Another victory for safe schools and equality in Tennessee!

Gay-Straight Alliances are Here to Stay in Tennessee

Tennessee Equality Project can also declare a victory in protecting the status of Gay-Straight Alliances in public schools throughout the state. In a past legislative session, Sen. Stacey Campfield targeted GSAs by introducing a bill requiring all students to obtain permission to participate in school clubs and activities. The bill would have placed many LGBT or questioning students at risk by forcing them to "come out" to their parents before participating in their school's Gay-Straight Alliance. Schools faced a potential nightmare in trying to manage all the permission slips for students participating in Spanish Club, the Thespian Society, the football team, cheer leading squad. etc. Tennessee Equality Project intervened by persuading the House sponsor to amend the language of the bill (HB2548/SB2488). Rather than require parents to "opt in" their children for school activities and clubs, the bill would give parents the opportunity to "opt out" their children from participating in school activities and clubs. The bill which passed into law essentially maintains the status quo by reinforcing the right of parents to balance their children's extracurricular activities with academic achievement.

Governor Bill Haslam Stands Up to Bullies in His Own Party

We can declare another victory with an education bill vetoed by Governor Bill Haslam. Your calls to the Governor helped give him the extra push he needed. The Governor announced last Wednesday that he would veto the "Anti-All Comers" bill that targeted Vanderbilt University's inclusive non-discrimination policy:

Although I disagree with Vanderbilt’s policy, as someone who strongly believes in limited government, I think it is inappropriate for government to mandate the policies of a private institution.

Supporters of the bill feared that Christian student organizations might elect someone into a leadership position who didn't hold the same beliefs as their group (e.g., LGBT people, Muslims, Jews, atheists, etc.). In reality, Haslam had to veto the amended form of HB3576/SB3597. Last year, he signed HB600/SB632 into law which forbade local governments from enacting laws which extended nondiscrimination provisions to private businesses that exceeded protections defined in state or federal law. The bill overturned a Nashville ordinance protecting LGBT employees of private contractors doing business with local government. Signing HB3576/SB3597 into law would have been a clear argument that Tennessee State Government was not concerned with preventing government interference in private business. Haslam really had no choice but to veto this bill in order to maintain the facade that the his party is the protector of private business' ability to make their own policies.

While Haslam can claim a consistent political philosophy, David Fowler and the Family Action Council of Tennessee cannot. Isn't it interesting that Family Action Council of Tennessee pushed the state legislature to enact HB600/SB632 with a pro-business argument, but pushed HB3576/SB3597 with a pro-religious arguments? With these two bills and the License to Bully bill (HB2548/SB2488), FACT tried to create special rights to discriminate against LGBT for people of faith. We can expect FACT to keep trying this "pro-business" approach in the 108th Tennessee General Assembly.

Knoxville Sends a Clear Message to Stacey Campfield

The prize for most inspiring good news last week goes to the City of Knoxville for enacting an ordinance protecting city employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity or disability (characteristics missing from the previous law on the books). Senator Stacey Campfield can't get a break. His Don't Say Gay bill lost, he can't find a restaurant that will serve him in his home town, and he won't find anyone in Knoxville City Government who agrees with his bigotry toward LGBT people (The Knoxville City Council enacted the nondiscrimination ordinance with a unanimous vote). Time to take a hint Senator.

Tennesseans Value Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The movement for equality and inclusion of LGBT people and their families is gaining ground in Tennessee. It's hard to realize sometimes when you consider the forces of opposition inside and outside our current government. I am persuaded that Tennesseans in the not-so-distant future will look back on the 107th General Assembly and shake their heads in wonderment. "What were they thinking?" they'll ask.

I am confident in my optimism after attending last Saturday's pride event in Cookeville.  Knowing the organizers of the Upper Cumberland Committee as I do, I fully expected to see a good turnout at Dogwood Park for Upper Cumberland Pride. What I encountered was a groundswell of people hungry for change in the rural Upper Cumberland Region of our state. Equality, diversity and inclusion aren't just big city values; they are Tennessee values that are here to stay.

- Jonathan Cole

License to Bully and Don’t Say Gay bills place TN students in double jeopardy

Over the last week, Tennessee Equality Project has called attention to the dangers of the “License to Bully” bill (SB0760/HB1123) that religious conservatives have championed as a legislative priority.  This legislation creates a loophole in current education policy that gives students permission to intimidate, harass and bully their classmates when expressing “religious, philosophical, or political views.”

The Family Action Council of Tennessee wants to issue
a "License to Bully" to student in Tennessee.

This dangerous proposal would give license to students to fully express intolerant biases based on race, religious belief, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Making matters even worse, the “License to Bully” bill would prohibit schools from adding socioeconomic status, academic status, disability, physical appearance, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the list of enumerated protections in bullying policy. SB0760/HB1123 would also prohibit the formation of student-led, teacher-advised, and parent-supported Gay Straight Alliances in schools - a strategy with a proven record for reducing anti-LGBT bullying in schools.

Since the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned in the spring of 2011, TEP has highlighted the current inadequacies of school bullying policy. Students and parents at Sequoyah High School in Madisonville, TN tried to organize a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) to confront the bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning students. School administrators and religious leaders in their community opposed this initiative and even led to charges of assault of a student leader of the proposed GSA by the school’s principal.

In December, Tennesseans learned of the tragic suicide of Jacob Rogers in Ashland City, a student who endured years of anti-gay bullying at Cheatham County Central High School. While many factors contributed to this incident, the absence of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression among the enumerated protections in the school’s bullying policy at the time was a contributing risk factor according to reports from friends and family.

While the push to enable bullying with policy loopholes in Tennessee is troubling enough, Tennessee Equality Project learned over the weekend that the House sponsor of last year’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill has requested that the house version of the bill be put on notice in the House General Subcommittee on Education (a version of the bill passed the Senate last year). As originally proposed, the HB0229/SB0049 states that “ no public elementary or middle school shall provide any instruction or material that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.”

Imagine this scenario if the “License to Bully” and “Don’t Say Gay” bills become law in Tennessee: A student expressing the teaching of his religion repeatedly tells a classmate perceived to be gay that he is a sodomite and that he faces hell and eternal damnation. Not only would such bullying be allowed by the “License to Bully” loophole, but the target of such attacks could not seek help from teachers forbidden from discussing the subject of gay people by the “Don’t Say Gay” proposal. Standing alone, these bills create an unsafe situation for students in schools. Together, these bills place students in double jeopardy. Students with an anti-gay bias would be free and encouraged to bully LGBTQ students, and teachers and other school staff would be prohibited from speaking about the issue.

The "Don't Say Gay" bill will violate free
speech protection in schools.

In an October 26, 2010 letter to school officials nationwide, the Office of Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Education reminded that “Title IX also prohibits sexual harassment and gender‐based harassment of all students, regardless of the actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of the harasser or target.” The “License to Bully” and “Don’t Say Gay” bills may promote the crossing of that line in Tennessee schools.

It's time for Tennesseans to stop using children as pawns in the pursuit of social, religious and political agendas. The time and effort of policymakers would be better focused on ways to ensure that Tennessee students receive an education free from bullying, harassment and intimidation. We need to increase protective factors and decrease risk factors for students in Tennessee schools. Parents, teachers, students and other advocates must contact their lawmakers in state government to voice their opposition to the “License to Bully” and “Don’t Say Gay” bills. The health and welfare of Tennessee children depend on it.

License to Bully Petition addressed to the House and Senate Education Committees:

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-tn-lawmakers-vote-no-on-the-license-to-bully-bill

Don’t Say Gay Bill Petition to the House Subcommittee on Education:

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-tennessee-lawmakers-to-vote-no-on-the-dont-say-gay-bill

For more information contact:

Jonathan Cole | Tennessee Equality Project | Jonathan@tnequalityproject.com | 615-669-8057

tnep.org | grand-divisions.blogspot.com | Facebook | Twitter: tnequality

Tennessee Equality Project advances and protects the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families in Tennessee. 

Playing politics with no thought for the safety of children in Tennessee

There is a dangerous movement at work in Tennessee: a movement to make public schools less safe for our children.

In a recent email sent to supporters, the Family Action Council of Tennessee declared its support for the "License to Bully" bill (HB1153/SB0750):

We plan to press the legislature to amend our state’s school anti-bullying law to make sure it protects the religious liberty and free speech rights of students who want to express their views on homosexuality.  

Will State government create a "License to Bully" in Tennessee?

The religious liberty and free speech rights of students are already protected by the U.S. Constitution. This legislation would give special protections to students of a particular religious point of view. If made into law, FACT would give students a "license to bully" that allows them to hide their irrational biases behind an extreme religious belief. 

The last year has been difficult for students in Tennessee. Students at Sequoyah High School in Monroe County have faced community and school district intimidation in trying to confront examples of bullying and harrassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning students. Students and parents have fought hard to win support for a Gay Straight Alliance - a student organization shown in many academic setting to promote understanding and respect for LGBTQ students in schools.

In December, we learned from family, friends and fellow students that Jacob Rogers experienced years of anti-gay bullying at Cheatham County Central High School in Ashland City prior to ending his life. 

Faced with such news, the Tennessee General Assembly ought to focus on increasing the number of protective factors that promote the safety of students in public schools. The "License to Bully" and "Don't Say Gay" (HB0229/SB0049) bills will only serve to increase risks to students. But some lawmakers don't seem to get it.

During the break in session, Tennessee Equality Project forwarded a link to Tennessee lawmakers of the recent column written by Gail Kerr of the Tennessean which outlined the perils of enacting the "Don't Say Gay" bill in relation to the reports of anti-gay bullying that preceded the suicide of Jacob Rogers in Ashland City. We wanted to make sure that lawmakers in the Tennessee understood the danger of enacting the "Don't Say Gay" bill into law. 

We received rather disturbing responses from two Tennessee Representatives (one of whom sits on the House Education Committee).  

From Rep. Joshua Evans (District 66 - Greenbrier):

If Gail's against it, that's reason enough for me to be for it.

Thanks,
Joshua

A simple "no comment" would have sufficed. From Rep. John Ragan (District 33 - Oak Ridge) who serves in the House Education Committee, we received this:

Dear Mr. Cole,

The article you forwarded by Gail Kerr, “Teen's suicide shows danger of 'don't say gay' bill” (Tennessean Dec. 18, 2011) is so slanted as to qualify as propaganda.   Ms. Kerr spends almost her entire column selectively citing anecdotal, discriminatorily inequitable support for her position.

It is mentioned, in passing, that the school had a policy against bullying.  However, the effectiveness of the policy is then dismissed peremptorily on the basis of a grandmother’s commentary.  That is certainly, an unbiased source, right?  Perhaps, the opinions of faculty or other students on the effectiveness of the policy could have been included.  Did the author not interview any of them?  Alternatively, did she elect to exclude such interviews because they disagreed with her implied point?

Oddly, while willing to include a close relative’s unsubstantiated opinion, she failed to include any facts potentially contradictory to her implied cause.  Could the presence of such facts cause a reasonable person to question her unprofessional implication of the cause of an unfortunate, self-inflicted demise of a young Tennessean?

For example, she could have pointed out that suicide is the third leading cause of death among teens in this country.  Additionally, she could have mentioned that U.S. Teenage boys were four times as likely as teenage girls to die by suicide.  Could the mere mention of such statistics possibly cause a reader to conclude that Ms. Kerr’s analysis was intentionally skewed?

She could have mentioned that it has been well known for a decade that suicide is attempted much more frequently in the homosexual community than in the heterosexual community (Mathy, Cochran, Olsen, & Mays, 2009).  This same source pointed out that, on average, suicide is approximately three times more likely among homosexuals than heterosexuals.  Could the inclusion of these facts in her column have possibly indicated to a reasonable reader that Ms. Kerr’s implications were erroneous?

Finally, there is the truly, most relevant question that Ms. Kerr studiously and meticulously avoided:  Could the high school senior’s suicide have had more to do with his own proclivities and behavior than anything to do with schoolmate bullies or a bill that was discussed, but not acted on, in a legislative committee?

In short, Mr. Cole, the column you forwarded qualifies as nothing but a politically distorted, intentionally poorly sourced, screed.  Anyone who is taken in by this agitprop is intellectually asleep, or has, obviously, never been exposed to, even, the most basic level of education in critical thinking.

It is not only incredibly poor taste, but, truly disgusting, that a columnist in a major, metropolitan newspaper would stoop to the level of using the tragic loss of family’s loved one to try to make a political point.  It is even worse that such a columnist would omit relevant facts and attempt to misrepresent circumstantial context for the sake of a fashionable, political correct perspective.

Good Day,

John D. Ragan
State Representative

As I read each response, I searched for concern or compassion for Jacob or students like him. But I came up short. Had Rep. Ragan really done his research, he would know that Cheatham County School District's bullying policy does not provide enumerated protections that include sexual orientation (or gender identity or expression). Additionally, school settings hostile to LGBQ students contribute to poor outcomes for LGBQ students. A recent study concluded that there is :

. . . an association between an objective measure of the social environment and suicide attempts among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. The social environment appears to confer risk for suicide attempts over and above individual-level risk factors. These results have important implications for the development of policies and interventions to reduce sexual orientation–related disparities in suicide attempts.*

It's time for Tennesseans to stop using children as pawns for social, religious and political agendas. We need to be focusing on ways to ensure that Tennessee students receive an education free from bullying, harassment and intimidation. We need to increase protective factors and decrease risk factors for students in Tennessee schools. I ask you to join us in that effort. We need parents, teachers, students and other advocates to step up conversations with their elected representatives in state government. The health and welfare of Tennessee children may depend on it.

- Jonathan Cole

*Hatzenbuehler, M.L. April 18, 2011. "The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth." Pediatrics. 

"Don't tell the Chamber or TEP," says Family Action PLUS the protest of a Morristown transgender woman

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!

-Chris Sanders

Welcoming Family Action to Nashville

Dear Members of the Family Action Council of Tennessee:

On behalf of equality loving citizens throughout Nashville, I want to welcome you to Music City today for your Stand for Truth event. 

I think you’ll find Nashville a welcoming city for everyone.  In case you forgot just how welcoming we are, I’d like to take a moment to remind you: 

• In 2008 the Metropolitan Board of Public Education unanimously adopted non-discrimination policies for teachers and students protecting them from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Voters overwhelmingly rejected an English Only charter amendment in 2009.
• That same year the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County adopted a non-discrimination ordinance protecting government employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• This year, with the support of over 70 congregations, businesses, and community and labor organizations, the Metropolitan Government adopted another non-discrimination ordinance protecting employees of government contractors from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• In August the Council passed a resolution honoring high school students protesting the Don’t Say Gay bill.
• When the Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging them to do so, the Metropolitan Law Department announced that it will file an amicus brief in the court challenge to HB600, the Special Access to Discriminate law, that nullified our contractor non-discrimination ordinance.

I know that your events end on Saturday afternoon, but I invite you to stay longer and join us for some pre-Halloween bar hopping on Church Street tonight. The costumes are going to be FABULOUS!  And if you’ve got a little more time, visit one of our many affirming congregations for worship on Sunday morning.  

WELCOME TO NASHVILLE!

-Chris Sanders

Family Action wants it all, but can't follow the money

There is so much whining from Family Action that they can't dictate Puritan values in every corner of the state that it's hard to know where to begin.  They could untangle all their confusion if they just learned to follow the money.

Vanderbilt:  The latest episode in their melodrama comes in reaction to a clarification in Vanderbilt University's non-discrimination policy.  Family Action is livid that the university is actually taking steps to apply the policy consistently to all officially recognized and funded student groups including religious organizations, most of which are already in compliance. Plus, the university is generously working with the rest in the mean time.

What's the problem?  Family Action seems to think that TEP is being contradictory because we support the Vanderbilt policy on the one hand while saying that we don't wish to interfere with anyone's religion on the other in reference to case of Memphis' Bellevue Baptist Church  abusing its tax-exempt status by engaging in candidate endorsements.

Are you confused?  We suspect that's the idea.

That little word "money" can make sense of everything.  Let's follow the money.

Vanderbilt funds and recognizes student organizations.  If you want to get the funds and use space at Vanderbilt, you have to follow the rules.  Is it really so crazy to say that you can't discriminate against other members of the university community, members who pay tuition and the activity fee?  If you don't like the rules, you can exist unofficially and discriminate to your heart's content.

Bellevue Baptist:   Would you believe that money takes care of the Bellevue Baptist question, too?  Bellevue Baptist has tax exempt status as a Church.  That means contributions to it are tax deductible and that for the most part the Church avoids paying many if not all taxes.  The string that comes with that status, a status they indicate they want, is that they can't meddle in elections.  If they want to give up their tax exempt status, they can say whatever they want about candidates.  They could even register as a political action committee and contribute to them if they wanted to.  They're free to choose, but they can't have both. 

Other amazing difficulties solved:  And would you believe that Family Action could unravel other puzzles just by following the money?  Their recent complaints about Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee and Nashville's Contract Accountability Non-Discrimination Ordinance could all disappear if they'd just realize that people and organizations have choices about how they use their money.  Blue Cross Blue Shield is free to determine if it wants to give some of its contracting business to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender owned companies.  And before Family Action came along, cities and counties in Tennessee were free to determine their own contracting policies reflective of the will of local taxpayers.  You'd think all this freedom would be right up their ally.

So not only can Family Action not follow the money, they can't bear private companies and organizations and local governments setting policies that reflect their own values about what to do with their own funds.

Is the thread of conspiracy, er, um, consistency clear now?

-Chris Sanders

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

Don’t let dirty tricks create a haven for intolerance in Tennessee

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.

Representative           District                 Phone (615)

Montgomery, Richard    District 12            741-5981

Pitts, Joe                       District 67            741-2043

Powers, Dennis             District 36            741-3335

Ragan, John                  District 33            741-4400

Swann, Art                   District 8               741-5481

Curtiss, Charles            District 43            741-1963

Elam, Linda                  District 57            741-7462

Favors, Joanne             District 29            741-2702

Gilmore, Brenda           District 54            741-1997

Hardaway, G. A.         District 92            741-5625

Harmon, Bill W.          District 37            741-6849

Haynes, Ryan A.         District 14            741-2264

Johnson, Curtis G.       District 68            741-4341

Johnson, Phillip            District 78            741-7477

Lundberg, Jon              District 1               741-7623

Marsh, Pat                   District 62            741-6824

Matlock, Jimmy           District 21            741-3736

McManus, Steve         District 96            741-1920

Miller, Don                  District 10            741-6877

Pody, Mark                 District 46            741-7086

Roach, Dennis E.         District 35            741-2534

Sargent, Charles          District 61            741-6808

Sexton, Cameron        District 25            741-2343

Shepard, David           District 69            741-3513

Sontany, Janis Baird   District 53            741-6861

Todd, Curry                District 95            741-1866

Towns, Joe , Jr.           District 84            741-2189

Williams, Kent             District 4               741-7450

Wirgau, Tim                District 75            741-6804

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.

Family Action's war against health information: Wise as doves, innocent as serpents

Jesus recommended the reverse, of course--being wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:6). But the Family Action Council of Tennessee's continued screeching about a service learning project offered by Nashville CARES will leave students neither wise nor innocent. And even though the Tennessean says that Metro Schools and Nashville CARES are working together to determine how or whether to go forward with the project, Family Action isn't giving up.

In a message to members this week, Family Action president David Fowler noted, "While AIDS is an awful disease and we would never wish anyone to suffer from it, we also should not want our young people to be exposed to graphic demonstrations of sexual acts for which our bodies were not designed and which are not healthful." Besides that, the class might "make most people blush or cringe."

Where to begin? The basic false assumption is that the service learning class is teaching students TO use their bodies in certain ways that Family Action considers contrary to design. Teens in Tennessee may or may not be having sex more than teens in other states, but the teen birthrate in Tennessee is significantly higher than the U.S. rate as a whole. Teens in Tennessee are certainly getting STDs. So it's pretty clear that projects like the one Nashville CARES is offering are not teaching students TO have sex. Students are "learning" somewhere else.

Instead of acknowledging these facts, Family Action wants to focus on "propriety" and divert everyone's attention by arguing that the Nashville CARES service learning project is designed to "advance a sexual agenda." That would be the sexual agenda that makes people blush. But I would say that blushing and even cringing beat an unwanted pregnancy or an STD any day.

Projects like the one led by Nashville CARES at Hillbsoro High School help give students the information they need to prevent unwanted pregnancy and avoid deadly STDs. But those concerns only get a dependent clause in Family Action's message. In fact, they've moved way beyond the life and death question of health. Their focus is collecting stories in cities across Tennessee so that they can carry on their fight against information. They tell their members to report more of these stories that make people blush. They ask, "...will you let us know?"

So we can expect more attacks on health information around Tennessee in the name of "worldview." But the health of Tennessee teens is what is really at stake, not a worldview.

Straight male ministers' Day on the Hill

The Tennessean profiles Family Action's Ministers' Day on the Hill. It would more aptly be called conservative Evangelical Protestant straight male ministers' day on the hill. The article is at pains to point out that there were white and African-American ministers present. That's an improvement over previous years when the demographic was largely white as this video shows:



No clergy who are women are visible in the video and none are mentioned in the article. Obviously no openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender clergy were present. And why not? The agenda was an attack on the rights of women and the GLBT community. Oddly, they're still talking about "gay marriage," which makes no sense since we've already dealt with that in the Tennessee constitution. But Family Action has an odd habit of chattering about marriage no matter what equality issues comes up, as they did when we were working on the successful non-discrimination ordinance in Nashville.

So why is Family Action trying to add racial diversity to its Day on the Hill? It's simple. African-American lawmakers must not be voting with them on a lot of their legislative package. And my guess is that until they embrace an agenda of justice including jobs and education, that's not going to happen.

And until this day on the Hill reflects the diversity of ministers in Tennessee, we'll continue to call attention to the fact that it's really conservative Evangelical Protestant straight male ministers' day on the hill.

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 targets ENDA and DOMA and so do we

The Family Action Council of Tennessee has been writing about the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Respect for Marriage Act, which would overturn the so-called Defense of Marriage Act.

Family Action's objection to ENDA is that it would cause a problem for employers with religious objections to people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender and want to have the ability to fire them or not hire them in the first place. It should be noted that ENDA does not apply to religious organizations. But it would apply to organizations and businesses that are not religious in nature such as Exxon or the State of Tennessee. What if there is a director in one of their departments who has a religious objection to hiring people with different sexual orientations or gender identities? Too bad. I fail to see how a religious understanding of sexual orientation or gender identity should be the basis of whether someone at Exxon or in State government gets a job.

That's really the issue. It's not that the top leadership of most large employers like the State of Tennessee have established some policy that seeks to root out GLBT people. The problem with large employers with hundreds or even thousands of supervisors is that some of them will bring their views of us to the workplace and use their power to deprive us of work. ENDA would deter that sort of discrimination.

Family Action is nervous about the Respect for Marriage Act, not because it would immediately lead to same-sex marriage in Tennessee, but because of the surprising ways that federal action reaches into the states. I agree that the Repeal of DOMA will not immediately lead to marriage equality in Tennessee. But working to repeal DOMA is the one constructive thing people in Tennessee can do to bring it closer.

So this coming Sunday, which is National Coming Out Day, we'll be gathering to contact our Members of Congress about ENDA and the repeal of DOMA--two pieces of legislation that can make a big difference in states like Tennessee where the advances in equality are beginning but small.

Fowler on Stanley: Oh, wait, he's too busy with the Metro ordinance

If you're looking for any denunciations of Sen. Paul Stanley's behavior on the Family Action Council of Tennessee's website, you won't find them. Thanks to Jeff Woods at the Nashville Scene, we do know what they consider the real threat to marriage to be--employment protections for Metro workers. That's where they're spending their time.

As their Church bulletin insert notes:

We need to appreciate that God will not be mocked; protecting and even fostering behaviors that violate God’s creational design for marriage and intimacy cannot, in the long run, serve the common good as they undermine the God-endowed foundational importance of the family.

Adultery, photographs, cover ups... are these part of God's design? Where's the outrage, Mr. Fowler? Employment protections are more of a threat than this? Are you not denouncing Sen. Stanley's behaviors because he was one of your go-to guys on so-called pro-family legislation?

Lemmings and Lawsuits: Debunking the arguments against the Metro NDO

The Tennessean explores how far ahead much of the private sector is on non-discrimination policies compared to Metro Nashville government. Family Action's David Fowler is quoted opposing the ordinance. His first argument sounds like the parent who asks the teenager, "If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you?"

"Just because someone else does something doesn't mean it's right, and we learned that when we all took off from kindergarten," said David Fowler, a former state senator and president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee. "So unless we are going to act like lemmings and just blindly do what everybody else is doing, we need to stop and think before we make this a law."

The Metro non-discrimination is not a lemming move. It is a policy that many people have carefully thought through for years. It has been tested in other cities and the private sector. It is a measured step that will be a real improvement for Metro government employees.

Fowler's other argument is that it would expose the city to lawsuits. One of the TEP district captains asked the general counsel for the Tennessee Board of Regents how many lawsuits based sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination have come forward since they adopted their non-discrimination policy. The answer is zero. The lawsuit myth is used to scare people based on the idea that the city will incur some huge expense. It just doesn't happen. The point of the policy is to prevent discriminatory incidents!

Look for more lies, myths, and scare tactics to emerge before the second reading of the ordinance.