Dear Governor Haslam,

We urge you to sign an executive order protecting Tennessee state government employees from job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the same protections that Ohio state government employees enjoy thanks to the recent executive order signed by outgoing Ohio Governor John Kasich.

Employees of our public colleges and universities already enjoy these projections as do the public employees in Metro Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, and Knox County.  Everyone deserves the opportunity to work without the fear of discrimination. 

Thank you for considering our views.

Governor Haslam, please continue to oppose HB2414 and listen to the voices of transgender students and the business community speaking out against the bill.  Thank you for considering our views.

This week the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is holding a conference in Nashville on marriage, sexuality, and gender.  Add your voice to urge them to consider the impact of their teachings on violence against LGBT people and LGBT youth homelessness.  According to national estimates, up to 40% of the youth homeless population is LGBT.  Many of those youth were turned out of their homes because of certain kinds of religious bias.  We believe that rather than holding conferences on how to preserve marriage discrimination, the Southern Baptist Convention's leadership should begin to address the ways in which their teachings contribute to harms to LGBT people. 

TEP joined OutCentral and Vanderbilt Divinity School in organizing a protest of the event outside the Opryland Hotel.  TTPC and PFLAG also participated.  Your voice can help highlight needed changes in the Southern Baptist Convention's approach.