TTPC

Last night, the Council of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County adopted a fully inclusive Non-Discrimination Ordinance, which bans discrimination against Metro employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The vote was 24 to 15. In the process, Nashville joins a growing list of communities all across the country to provide an explicit ban on discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, and the first city in Tennessee to do so.

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition appreciates the work of all who made this possible, especially the 24 members of the council who cast a vote last night against discrimination:

• Megan Barry (At Large)
• Tim Garrett (At Large)
• Ronnie Steine (At Large)
• Rev. Jerry Maynard (At Large)
• Lonnell Matthews, Jr. (District 1)
• Frank Harrison (District 2)
• Walter Hunt (Distict 3)
• Mike Jameson (District 6)
• Erik Cole (District 7)
• Pam Murray (District 7)
• Karen Bennett (District 8 )
• Darren Jernigan (District 11)
• Anna Page (District 16)
• Sandra Moore (District 17)
• Dr. Kristine LaLonde (District 18)
• Erica Gilmore (District 19)
• Buddy Baker (District 20)
• Edith Langster (District 21)
• Emily Evans (District 23)
• Jason Holleman (District 24)
• Sean McGuire (District 25)
• Greg Adkins (District 26)
• Carter Todd (District 34)
• Bo Mitchell (District 35)

At Large Councilman Ronnie Steine and TTPC President Dr. Marisa Richmond, at TEP and Friends Thank You Party, September 15, 2009. Photo courtesy of Joey Leslie, Out and About Newspaper.

There was also a second non-discrimination ordinance, BL2009-526, which was offered by opponents of equality for LGBT epople, which initially did not have an explicit ban on discriminaiton based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Language banning discrimination against LGBT workers was added to the bill by amendment. Sadly, the amendment to add “gender identity” prompted cynical and offensive comments by several Councilmembers about transgender people and bathrooms. Fortunately, this desperate attack was rejected and the Transgender Amendment was adopted 22 to 17. The council members who stood for the rights of Transgender workers were:

• Barry
• Garrett
• Steine
• Maynard
• Matthews
• Harrison
• Hunt
• Jameson
• Cole (sponsor of the Transgender Amendment)
• Murray
• Jernigan
• Page
• Moore
• LaLonde
• Gilmore
• Langster
• Evans
• Holleman
• McGuire
• Adkins
• Todd
• Mitchell

This alternate ordinance, which is now fully inclusive of the entire LGBT community, will have its Third and Final Reading on Tuesday, October 6.
We thank everyone who worked on these two ordinances for your support. Please be sure to add your own voice of thanks to all the councilmembers who voted to ban discrimination in Nashville.

Marisa Richmond
President