TTPC

Knoxville Journal
Advocates and Lawmakers Meet for Equality Day
Scott Brooks

This week the Knoxville Journal reported on Advancing Equality Day in Nashville:

Knoxville-area advocates for the gay, bisexual and transgendered community took their message to state lawmakers Feb. 17 as part of the annual Advancing Equality Day on the Hill.

“We had a mostly-favorable response, depending on which lawmakers we talked with,” said Todd Cramer, organizer of the group of 20 or so people who traveled to Nashville for the event.

Cramer said this is the fifth year for the day sponsored by the Tennessee Equality Project.

The group from Knoxville included gays and lesbians, transgendered individuals as well as straight couples and their children.

They joined with similar groups from around the state, roughly 75 people in all, to meet with lawmakers and discuss issues affecting their community.

Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition members Bree Miller, Robin Hill, and Carla Lewis were present with the Knoxville group to make sure the legislators understood the the impact of the two bills that would affect the transgender community.

One bill would add “transgendered” to the list of protected classes under an expanded Hate Crimes law.

The other would allow anyone who has surgery to change from one sex to another to change their gender legally on a birth certificate.

Those measures are especially important to Carla Lewis. Born a male she has lived the last nine years as a female in Blount County.

This was her first year to attend Equality Day.

“I wanted our representatives to see the faces of people this affects,” she said. “Overall, the response to our visit and our message was very positive.”