Dear Governor Haslam,

We ask you to veto SB1085/HB1111.  This bill, as the Attorney General has noted, is broadly written.  Its vagueness could result in conflicts with existing laws about judicial interpretation.  These conflicts are likely to cause discrimination against LGBTQ people, particularly with respect to marriage, adoption, and legal documents.  This bill risks subjecting Tennessee to the same scrutiny that North Carolina has received.  We cannot afford hundreds of millions of dollars in economic boycotts and sanctions.  Please, veto this bill so we can avoid judicial chaos and costly discrimination.  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.