Regardless of which holiday you may celebrate, may your season be safe and joyous.

On this Veterans’ Day, we hope all will remember both our Veterans’ and active Service members who volunteer on behalf of their country, and ask Congress to end all discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people in both the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of Defense.

Currently, there is only one bill in Congress that addresses discrimination in the military, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1283).  This bill will repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which bans people who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, from serving in the military, but it will not lift the ban against transgender people.  The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition asks you to please call or email your Congressional Representative and urge that person to push to add “gender identity or expression” to H.R.1283, so that transgender people who wish to serve their nation can continue to do so.

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 earlier this year, both Shelby County and Metro Nashville, have all adopted such policies for their employees. Additionally, more than 150 Fortune 500 companies, including most recently, Federal Express, have enacted nondiscrimination policies protecting LGBT workers. Other 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.

At home, set up a visit!

The most effective action is a visit. Since Representatives will be home over the August recess (August 3 to September 7), now is a great time to start setting up a meeting with you and other community members to visit with the Representative (or their staffs) in their home district offices during this time.

Besides, Stephen Cohen and Jim Cooper, the remaining members of the Tennessee delegation who you should contact and ask to vote to end discrimination in the workplace are:

• Phil Roe, M.D.
• John Duncan, Jr.
• Zach Wamp, candidate for Governor of Tennessee
• Lincoln Davis
• Bart Gordon
• Marsha Blackburn
• John Tanner

For help setting up visits, check out:

• The Task Force ENDA Grassroots Toolkit
• National Center for Transgender Equality’s Making Your Voice Heard
• PFLAG’s Bringing the Message Home

Let us know!

Please let us know what your Senators and Representatives tell you about their support of ENDA using our Lobby Report Form
For more information about the United ENDA Coalition and additional available resources, go to www.unitedenda.org.
Send a letter to your Congressional Representative. Below is a sample letter:

Subject: Please Support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Dear [your Representative's name],

Representative Barney Frank, joined by a group of bi-partisan Representatives, recently introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. ENDA would extend the existing federal law prohibiting employment discrimination to protect people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.
Please support an inclusive ENDA – the bill that protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans from losing their jobs just because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity.

Federal law already bans job discrimination based on race, gender, religion, and other categories that are essential to a person’s being. But employers in many states can still fire people because they are transgender, lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

LGBT Americans deserve and need the ability to work–just like every American. Please help by cosponsoring and supporting an inclusive ENDA in 2009.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
(your name)

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition was one of many groups working across the country on behalf of this legislation which is the first law ever enacted by the Federal government that provides explicit coverage for transgender people, as well as for lesbian, gay, or bisexual people.

We applaud all who worked hard over the past several years tosecure adoption of this vital legislation which will now make it a federal crime to assault a person based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

This law will provide victims of hate crimes the opportunity to seek justice in federal courts.

We now challenge members of the Tennessee General Assembly to adopt HB0335, by Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis)/SB0253 by Beverly Marrero (D-Memphis) which would add “gender identity or expression” to Tennessee’s Hate Crimes statute. Currently, Tennessee is one of 38 states which does not provide protection for transgender residents. The rash of hate crimes against transgender persons, especially against African American transgender women in Memphis, make passage of this bill even more important here. Having an additional tool available to victims will make life safer for everyone and send a message that the lives of transgender people in Tennessee have value too.

Once again, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition thanks all who worked on behalf of the new federal law, especially those who rejected the claims that adding transgender people would be a bad “strategy.”

The vote this morning was 64 to 35. We are, however, extremely disappointed that both of Tennessee’s Senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, chose to vote No, despite the plethora of Hate Crimes against LGBT people, and especially against African American Transwomen, in Tennessee.

Hate Crimes legislation will be the first positive bill covering transgender, as well as lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, ever to reach the desk of the President of the United States. We look forward to seeing President Barack Obama sign this important piece of legislation into law.

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition also recognizes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which announced plans yesterday to establish the nation’s first National Resource Center to assist communities across the country in their efforts to provide services and supports for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals.

According to HHS statistics, estimates are that as many as 1.5 to 4 million LGBT individuals are age 60 and older. Agencies that provide services to older individuals may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the needs of this group of individuals. The new Resource Center for LGBT Elders will provide information, assistance and resources for both LGBT organizations and mainstream aging services providers at the state and community level to assist them in the development and provision of culturally sensitive supports and services. The LGBT Center will also be available to educate the LGBT community about the importance of planning ahead for future long term care needs.

The LBGT Resource Center will help community-based organizations understand the unique needs and concerns of older LGBT individuals and assist them in implementing programs for local service providers, including providing help to LGBT caregivers who are providing care for an older partner with health or other challenges.

Finally, TTPC also applauds the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which also annouced yesterday a series of proposals to ensure that HUD programs are open to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity as well as the first-ever nationwide survey of housing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. This historic announcement explicitly addresses discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time by a federal agency.

According to the HUD announcement, the proposed rule by HUD will make three important changes to federal regulations. First, it includes language that ensures LGBT families are recognized and covered by HUD programs, including affordable housing assistance. Second it requires organizations that administer HUD grants to abide by state and local laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Third it prohibits consideration of factors other than creditworthiness, including sexual orientation and gender identity, in the awarding of mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

All three of these actions from the Nation’s Capitol are major steps forward in ensuring that LGBT individuals and families are treated fairly and with respect across the nation.
We thank all who made this possible.

At the present time, Representatives Stephen Cohen and Jim Cooper are among the original sponsors of the bill filed in the House of Representatives.

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

The remaining members of the Tennessee delegation in the House who you should contact and ask to vote to end discrimination in the workplace are:

• Phil Roe, M.D.
• John Duncan, Jr.
• Zach Wamp(candidate for Governor of Tennessee)
• Lincoln Davis
• Bart Gordon
• Marsha Blackburn
• John Tanner

We also urge all Tennesseans to contact Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, and ask them to support the Senate version of ENDA, S.1584, to end discrimination in the workplace against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in this country.

For help contacting Members of Congress, check out:

• The Task Force ENDA Grassroots Toolkit
• National Center for Transgender Equality’s Making Your Voice Heard
• PFLAG’s Bringing the Message Home

Let us know!

Please let us know what your Senators and Representatives tell you about their support of ENDA using our Lobby Report Form

For more information about the United ENDA Coalition and additional available resources, go to www.unitedenda.org.

Representative Jeanne Richardson delivering her Keynote Address during TTPC Dinner

Her colleague, State Representative Mike Stewart (D-Nashville), also attended the event to show his commitment to the transgender community of Tennessee. We greatly appreciate his support.

We would also like to thank Stirrup Nashville for being a sponsor of TTPC.

Stirrup Nashville 615-782-0043
1529 4th Ave. South; Nashville, TN 37210
stirrupnashville.com/stirrupnashville.com/Welcome.html

• Organization: Nashville CARES
• Business: OutLoud Books & Gifts (Ted Jensen & Kevin Melody, owners)
• Media: Linda Welch (Inside OUT© Nashville & XENOGENY©)
• Visual Arts: Bobby Jones (Son of Ellis)
• Individual: Jim Hawk
• Group/Entertainment: MAC Productions

The 2009 BASU Legacy Award recipients will be honored during the Nashville Black Pride© opening ceremony on Friday, October 23, at 7 PM at the Hotel Preston, 733 Briley Parkway, Nashville, TN 37217. The gathering is free and open to the public and is the official kick off of the Nashville Black Pride© theme “YEAR OF CHANGE”. We congratluate all of this year’s honorees.

For more information on Nashville Black Pride #7, Year of Change, contact:

• E-mail: NashBlackPride@aol.com
• Web Site: www.brothersunited.com/blackpride.htm
• MySpace: www.myspace.com/nashvilleblackpride
• You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/nashvilleblackpride

• As a member of the United ENDA Coalition, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition lobbied members of Congress from Tennessee in favor of legislation that would make Hate Crimes, and discrimination in Employment, based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, federal crimes.
• Lobbied members of the Tennessee General Assembly in favor of equal rights for all LGBT persons.
• Participated in Equality Federation meeting in St. Louis, July 29 to August 2.
• Appeared on Out and About Today from Nashville on August 7.
• Spoke to Employee Brown Bag Luncheon at WTVF/News Channel 5, in Nashville on August 19.
• Participated in LGBT Leadership Summit in Nashville on September 10.
• Worked for fully inclusive Non-Discrimination Ordinance, which passed in the Metro Nashville Council on September 15, and signed by Mayor Karl Dean on September 25.
• Participated in National Transgender Convening, hosted by Gill Foundation, National Center for Transgender Equality, and Transgender Law Center, in Chicago, September 18 to 20.
• Participated in Southern Comfort Conference in Atlanta, September 22 to 27.

Upcoming for Fourth Quarter 2008:

• Will appear on Queer Talk Radio on WRVU (91.1) in Nashville, on October 10.
• Will participate in PFLAG Regional Directors Meeting, in Washington, October 10.
• Will participate in the National Equality March in Washington, October 10 and 11.
• Will participate in Tennessee Valley Pride in Chattanooga on October 11.
• Fifth Annual Fundraising Dinner in Nashville, on October 17.
• Will participate in Nashville Black Pride # 7, October 24 to 26.
• Will participate in Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremonies across the state.

Dr. Ginger Irwin

• Member, SCC Planning Committee
• SCC Big Brother/Big Sister Program

Dr. Marisa Richmond, President

• Co-presenter, Running a Transgender Support Group, Thursday, 10:35 am
• Co-presenter, Raising our Southern Voices: Transgender Activism in a (Sometimes) Hostile Region, Saturday, 10:35 am

Keegan Selby

• Member, SCC Planning Committee
• Co-host, Female to Male Newcomer’s Reception, Friday, 3:30 pm