TTPC

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC) applauds federal lawmakers for introducing a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R.3017, which would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees from workplace discrimination. The bill, which enjoys bi-partisan support in Congress, would add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to existing federal employment non-discrimination laws.
We would like to single out Representatives Stephen Cohen and Jim Cooper, who are among the 120 original sponsors of the bill filed in the House of Representatives last night.

We urge all Tennesseans to thank Representatives Cohen and Cooper for their support.

Currently, 12 states and more than 100 localities have LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination protections, covering nearly 40 percent of Americans. The State of Tennessee is not one of those states, but the Tennessee Board of Regents, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and on June 1, Shelby County, have all adopted such policies for their employees. Additionally, more than 150 Fortune 500 companies have enacted nondiscrimination policies protecting LGBT workers. Some agencies and private employers based in Tennessee do have such policies in place, but many remain unprotected.

And, according to numerous surveys, large majorities of likely voters in the U.S. support federal employment non-discrimination laws to protect LGBT people. Polling data from 2006 shows that voters are more likely to support a candidate who votes for LGBT discrimination laws than they are to vote against.
In 2007, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition was a key coordinater of the organizing efforts in Tennessee in support of a gender identity inclusive ENDA, which included sending transgender people to Congressional offices in Tennessee and Washington, DC, to lobby their legislators.