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Sara Mitchell posted about Keep Tennessee Open For Business on Facebook 2016-04-10 08:31:38 -0500I'm endorsing Tennessee Equality Project. Please join me!
Keep Tennessee Open For Business
The response to discriminatory laws in Indiana, North Carolina, and Mississippi makes it clear that everyone is affected. So we all have a role to play in making sure that Tennessee is able to attract good jobs and keep our economy open for business. That includes conservatives, independents, and business people, too. Please, endorse Keep Tennessee Open For Business. Use your voice and your influence to speak out for a prosperous Tennessee.
Economic opportunity allows individuals to live up to their potential and keeps families strong. Discriminatory laws in other states have resulted in billions of dollars of losses because of boycotts and companies reconsidering their investments . Tennessee cannot afford to go down that road. Legislation like HB1840, which allows counselors to discriminate, and HB2414, which micromanages which bathrooms students are allowed to use, risks Tennessee's prosperity.
I endorse Keep Tennessee Open For Business to say that I stand for economic opportunity for our state and against discriminatory legislation that poses a threat to our future.
Endorse
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Sara Mitchell posted about VETO Hate Bill 1840, the Counseling Discrimination bill on Facebook 2016-04-07 12:55:52 -0500Sign the petition: VETO Hate Bill 1840, the Counseling Discrimination bill
VETO Hate Bill 1840, the Counseling Discrimination bill
Please, add your voice and urge Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to veto this discriminatory bill.
Dear Governor Haslam,
We urge you to veto HB1840, which allows counselors to turn away clients based on the counselor's biases and values. This bill puts the focus on the desires of counselors rather than on the needs of clients, damaging the counseling profession and putting clients at risk.
An anti-bullying amendment was stripped from the bill in the House Health Committee leaving youth vulnerable in areas where mental health services are not widely available.
Thank you for considering our views.
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Moving the Message Fundraiser
Moving the Message--it's a critical part of fighting back against hateful legislation in Tennessee. When we reach more people, more voices rise against discrimination. That means we have a fighting chance of winning.
Help TEP invest in new communication tools to bring more allies into the fight so we can win more battles!
Let's see how much we can raise by April 15.
Donate
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Sara Mitchell posted about Governor Haslam, Fight for trans students and against SB2387/HB2414 on Facebook 2016-04-05 00:27:18 -0500Sign the petition: Governor Haslam, Fight for trans students and against SB2387/HB2414
Governor Haslam, Fight for trans students and against SB2387/HB2414
Please, join us in encouraging Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to fight against this attack on transgender students.
Dear Governor Haslam,
We call on you to do everything in your power to lobby against passage of SB2387/HB2414, the anti-transgender student bathroom bill. We also ask that you VETO the bill if it reaches your desk.
The bill endangers vulnerable students and it risks significant U.S. Department of Education funds to Tennessee. If this bill became law, the enforcement would be a nightmare for school districts across the state.
Show the world that Tennessee is a welcoming state. Thank you for considering our views.
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The People's Resolution Opposing Tennessee House Joint Resolution 529 on Marriage Equality
Sign on as a co-sponsor of the People's Resolution Opposing Tennessee House Joint Resolution 529 on Marriage Equality.
WHEREAS, Rep. Susan Lynn has introduced a resolution urging the members of the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee to express their disagreement with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges; and
WHEREAS, the Tennessee Constitution affirms "That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together, for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances or other proper purposes, by address or remonstrance;" and
WHEREAS, the State of Tennessee ought to be focused on the legal equality of all its people rather than attacking the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community; and
WHEREAS, "the equal protection of the laws" is a cherished principle in American jurisprudence; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that we oppose House Joint Resolution 529 and urge the members of the 109th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee to uphold the entire Constitution of the United States, including the Fourteenth Amendment, and cease their legislative attacks on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
Endorse
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Updated with response: Stand against the hate of Minister Ben Bailey of the Central Church of Christ in McMinnville
UPDATE: Minister Ben Bailey of the Central Church of Christ called us this morning and talked about his views. He is not pro-equality, but he wants to make absolutely clear that he does NOT support the stoning of LGBT people. You can read his response at the link.
The New Civil Rights Movement has reported on the teachings of Minister Ben Bailey of the Central Church of Christ in McMinnville in which the pastor tries to justify the stoning of LGBT people as biblical.
People of faith and people of no particular faith alike reject the dangerous extremism of Pastor Bailey. At a time when hate crimes are up against LGBT people in Tennessee and at a time when the nationwide murders of transgender people in particular have reached crisis levels, such hate has no rightful place in religion or in civil society.
Despite the pastor's notoriety, hate will NOT define McMinnville or the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee. We were in McMinnville recently for the Summer of Love tour with a strong showing of equality advocates. Read the report if you doubt there are many great people in the area living their hopes for full equality. Upper Cumberland Pride, which serves the region, is an organization that is growing again and now reunited to TEP. We know they will continue to raise awareness for the safety and equality of LGBT people in the area.
We urge people of good will across the state and nation to stand with those in McMinnville and the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee and against the hateful rhetoric of Pastor Bailey. Add your name as a show of solidarity!
Endorse
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Tell Saks to do the Right Thing!
Add your voice to tell Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th (which has a store in Nashville), and their online stores that transgender employees deserve protection from discrimination on the job and that the company should rescind its position that gender identity is not covered by sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
You can read about the case of transgender employee Leyth Jamal and the repugnant Saks response here.
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Urge Yoke Ministries to Stop Discriminating
Cassie Hopkins, a young bisexual woman, had volunteered at Yoke Youth Ministries in Jefferson County. The program is interdenominational and draws on the work of young adults to mentor middle-school students. She had gone through the screening process and there were no complaints about her work as a volunteer. After disclosing her sexual orientation on Facebook, her supervisor told her that she would no longer be allowed to volunteer, even though there is nothing in Yoke's written policies about sexual orientation. Her supervisor compared bisexuality to alcoholism and drug addiction.
Let's show support for Cassie and remind our fellow Tennesseans and especially Yoke that people can serve and contribute to enriching the lives of youth in our state regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is a message Yoke and many others need to hear. Please, add your voice.
We are glad to partner with the LGBT Alumni of Carson-Newman on this project. They first brought the case to our attention.
Note: We are not arguing about whether anyone has the legal ability to discriminate in Tennessee. What we are contesting is whether it is right to exclude talented people from helping youth simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.