A look back on a year in the politics of equality in Tennessee: Photos from around the state

It's not over yet, but 2013 has been an incredible year in forward movement for equality in Tennessee.  We fought hard and even got some results.  Check out a few of the highlights.

Advancing Equality Day on the Hill brought advocates from East, West, and Middle TN to the Capitol to attempt to stop negative bills like Don't Say Gay and advance positive legislation like the Dignity for All Students Act.  Here we are preparing for a press conference in Legislative Plaza.

On July 22 the Knox County Commission passed an inclusive non-discrimination ordinance for Knox County employees.  Pictured are bill sponsor Commissioner Amy Broyles and supporters in Knoxville in Commission chambers after the victory.

When Rep. John Ragan, House sponsor of the Don't Say Gay bill received an award from Students First, 11-year-old Marcel Neergaard called foul.  As a student who has endured bullying for being gay, Marcel received national attention when he called on Students First to rescind the award, which they did.  Yes, a student really can teach the public about what's going on in our Legislature!  Marcel continues to inspire us all at TEP.  

In order to show the reality of discrimination, couples in Nashville and a couple in Wilson County...

as well as couples in Shelby County applied for marriage licenses.

 

 

 

 

Knoxville, Memphis, Cookeville, West TN, Chattanooga, and Nashville held rallies at the end of August to celebrate TN Marriage Equality Day to counter the Legislature's Traditional Marriage Day.  I think we had a better turnout than they did.

 

 

In September the push began for inclusive non-discrimination and anti-bullying policies in Rutherford County Schools after a teacher was told to take down a safe schools poster.  The fight continues today with advocates developing strategy to advance their proposal in the School Board. 

 

At Olympus TEP honored 8 Champions of Equality--7 from state media outlets and 1 Memphis City Councilman--for their work in advancing equality in Tennessee.  Nothing we do is possible without our allies!

The Memphis community gathered in October to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the non-discrimination ordinance.

Also in October attorney Abby Rubenfeld, other Tennessee attorneys, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed suit to have the marriage of couples who moved to Tennessee legally recognized.  TEP identified 2 of the 4 plaintiff couples.

Collegedale detective Kat Cooper (center) led her city to be the first in TN to offer partner benefits.  Knoxville soon followed by executive order of Mayor Madeline Rogero.  In November Chattanooga Councilman Chris Anderson passed his partner benefits and non-discrimination ordinance making it the third city in Tennessee to offer such benefits.  Also pictured is Kat's TEP Hamilton & Bradley Counties Committee co-chair Marcus Ellsworth (viewer's left) and TEP executive director Chris Sanders.

Knox County Election Commission a Pioneer in Open Government

The Knox County Election Commission does a great job of making candidate information public. They use a Facebook page to make citizens quickly aware of all kinds of candidate information that you'd normally have to hope reporters would find. Of course, you can always go down to a county election commission, ask for the information, and try to fish out the change for the copies. But in Knox County, you know who's running for office within minutes of a candidate designating a treasurer. You also get easy access to financial disclosures. I hope the other county election commissions around the state will find similar ways of making this information easy to find.

Making it official with bologna, Burchett running for Mayor

State Sen. Tim Burchett is announcing that he is running for Mayor of Knox County. He kicks of his candidacy with a bologna lunch at Powell Auction Co., perhaps in a nod to the tough economic times. But it is a very non-bologna platform that he's running on. No fillers, in other words. Sorry I couldn't resist.

-- Schools. “My degree’s in education (from the University of Tennessee). Both my parents were career educators. The best people to run the schools are teachers and parents. That’s the basics.”

-- Safe streets. “If the sheriff’s department does not have proper funding, crimes will occur.”

-- Low taxes. “We have got to figure out how to do it without (raising) taxes. We can’t tax ourselves into prosperity. If that were so, Russia and Cuba would be a mecca for people.”

The Senate's loss will be Knox County's gain if Burchett is successful. County government has been one long drama. Here's a sample: exhibit A, exhibit B, and exhibit C. He's got his work cut out for him and is to be commended for taking it on.

So who's taking his place in the Senate? There has been some talk about John Duncan III and Rep. Stacey Campfield.