Tag: Tennessee

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‘Slate Of Hate’ Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Moves Along In Tennessee

Several anti-LGBTQ bills have been working their way through the Tennessee state legislature that have come to be known as the ‘slate of hate.’

Pop star Taylor Swift brought the national spotlight to the issue when she donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project in early April.

Here’s an update on some of the bills that would negatively affect LGBTQ Tennesseans.

HB 1151puts transgender and non-binary people at increased risk of harassment by adding public restrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms to the state’s indecent exposure laws.

In its original form, the bill had specific anti-trans language saying there would be no exception for folks with a diagnosis of “gender dysphoria, gender confusion, or similar conditions.” While explicit anti-trans language has been removed, LGBTQ advocates worry the law will still be used to arrest trans people.

The legislation has passed in the state Senate and House, and heads to the governor’s desk for his signature.

Another anti-trans bill, HB 1274, has passed in the state House and the Senate is expected to take it up soon.

The legislation would push school districts to keep trans students from using the bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The legislation also requires the state Attorney General to defend discriminatory anti-transgender laws.

The sponsor of HB 836 has pulled his own bill from consideration even though the legislation had passed in the state House already.

The bill would allow state contractors who receive taxpayer funds for providing adoption and foster care services to refuse to place children with LGBT parents if the agency’s religious beliefs didn’t approve.

By spiking the bill, the legislation will now be shelved until the next legislative session.

And the so-called “Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act,” has also, thankfully, stalled.

The bill aimed to void recognition of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefellruling on same-sex marriage based on the premise that Tennessee has its own constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.

Many major companies like Hilton, IKEA North America Services, LLC, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Lyft, Marriott International, MassMutual, Nike, Inc. Replacements, Ltd., Salesforce, Unilever and Warby Parker have signed a letter opposingthe ‘slate of hate.’

Additionally, the Tennessee Titans have also come out against the anti-LGBTQ bills saying:

The Tennessee Titans oppose discrimination in any form. We are long-standing supporters of Tennessee Thrives. Discriminatory legislation hurts all of us.

It also impacts our ability to secure events like the 2019 NFL Draft, major conventions, major athletic contests and other events that benefit our local and state economy.

It also weakens our ability to recruit new business and industry to Nashville and to Tennessee. We would encourage our elected officials to keep us on a path that protects all our citizens, our growth and our economy.

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Taylor Swift Donates $133K To Fight Anti-LGBTQ Legislation In Tennessee

International recording artist Taylor Swift has donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project to aid in its attempts to stop state lawmakers from passing a slew of legislation that has been labeled as a “slate of hate.”
Taylor Swift

International recording artist Taylor Swift has donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project to aid in its attempts to stop state lawmakers from passing a slew of legislation that has been labeled as a “slate of hate.”

Chris Sanders, of Tennessee Equality Project, announced the donation.

“She sees our struggle in Tennessee and continues to add her voice with so many good people, including religious leaders, who are speaking out for love in the face of fear,” Sanders said on Facebook.

In a handwritten note to the organization, Swift praised the group for organizing a group of Tennessee faith leaders in a petition against the legislation.

“I’m so grateful that they’re giving all people a place to worship,” she wrote.

The bills being considered in the state legislature would:

• Allow adoption agencies to legally discriminate against prospective LGBTQ parents

• Ban transgender people from using the bathroom or locker room that aligns with their gender identity

• Ban marriage equality in spite of the 2015 Obergefell decision at the U.S. Supreme Court

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Celeb Baker Saves The Day After Couple Were Turned Away By Anti-LGBT Baker

Celebrity baker Jay Qualls (image via Facebook)

Last week, I reported on yet another baker who has refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple.

After meeting with Susie Dennison of Susie’s Sweets bakery in Burns Tennessee, Brandi Ray shared on her social media that Dennison sent her a Facebook message saying she wouldn’t make the cake in question because ‘Jesus.’

“I really enjoyed our time together and I truly wish you the best but after realizing that your union will be of the same sex, I cannot with my spiritual conviction and beliefs, do your cake,” wrote Dennison. She added, “I want you to know in saying that, I do love you in The Lord.”

Ray responded writing, “I’m sorry you feel that way. Have a good night.”

After the story went viral, celebrity baker Jay Qualls of Nashville stepped up and has offered to bake a free wedding cake for Ray and her fiancé, Michele Schmidt.

With over 30 years in the baking industry, Qualls has worked with Martha Stewart, appeared on TLC’s The Next Great Baker and Cake Boss, as well as Food Network’s Cuthroat Kitchen.

The veteran baker told The Tennessean the story left him “enraged.”

“This has to stop. It’s discriminatory,” Qualls told the newspaper. “I can’t sit back and allow this, as a gay man who has a very healthy and meaningful life with two adult children who are loved, and a very meaningful relationship.”

The baker shares that his outrage stems in part from having experienced discrimination himself when planning his second wedding.

Qualls was married to a woman for 13 years and has two grown children. He was 33-years-old when he came out, and three years ago was denied wedding services due to homophobia.

He and his fiancé had made plans to hold their ceremony at Montgomery Bell State Park’s Cumberland Presbyterian Church. But when the couple went to pay the facility fee, they were turned away due to the same-sex marriage.

At the time, he didn’t go public with the story because he didn’t want his wedding “turning into a circus.”

But this time, he’s speaking out on behalf of Schmidt and Ray, and told the couple they can have “anything they want.”

Over his 30+ years as a professional baker, Qualls says he’s “sat across from thousands of couples over the years,” and some of them he didn’t share the same beliefs. But he didn’t turn any of them away.

“When you are serving the public, you have to be willing to serve all the public,” Qualls said.

(h/t The Tennessean)

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Another Day, Another Homophobic Baker Refuses To Bake A Wedding Cake

A baker in Tennessee told a lesbian couple she wouldn't make a wedding cake for their wedding because of her deeply held religious beliefs
(image via Depositphotos)

Another day, another baker refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

This time, the baker is Susie Dennison of Susie’s Sweets bakery in Burns, Tennessee.

Brandi Ray shared in a Facebook post that she met with Dennison to arrange for a wedding cake for her upcoming nuptials.

Apparently the chat was very pleasant, but Ray received a note from Dennison via Facebook afterwards saying she would not be able to make the cake because ‘Jesus.’

Dennison’s message read:

“I really enjoyed our time together and I truly wish you the best but after realizing that your union will be of the same sex, I cannot with my spiritual conviction and beliefs, do your cake! I want you to know in saying that, I do love you in The Lord! Had I known before you left, I would have said something then!”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Ray responded. “Have a good night.”

Dennison claims in her note that she didn’t know it was to be a same-sex wedding, but Ray posted a photo of the invoice Dennison hand-wrote which clearly shows both brides’ names.

She also shared on her Facebook post that she mentioned her fiancée’s name, Michele Schmidt, “like 10,000 times” when she and Dennison met at the consultation.

According to the bakery’s website, Dennison says she “can bake any type of sweet treat you need for any occasion.”

Well, clearly not “any” occasion. Nowhere on the website does Dennison say she doesn’t make wedding cakes for same-sex couples.

We’ve seen cases like this before, most notably in Colorado where anti-LGBTQ baker Jack Phillips, of Masterpiece Cakeshop, refused to bake a cake for a gay couple for their wedding celebration.

Phillips took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where he won a narrow victory when the high court ruled the Colorado civil rights commission had appeared to view his case with anti-religious bias.

Unlike Colorado, the state of Tennessee has no legal protections for LGBTQ citizens, so Dennison’s behavior here is totally legal.

🙁

Ray hasn’t indicated if she plans any kind of legal action.

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News Round-Up: February 8, 2019

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk ‘Steve In LA’ wants you to remember to consider adopting from a dog rescue next time you want to expand your furry family. OMG, I want all four! 

• The Arizona state government has raised over a million dollars for a notorious anti-LGBTI group, Alliance Defending Freedom, by selling specialty license plates.

• Things got way out of hand last night at popular West Hollywood gay bar, Micky’s, when a patron being escorted out of the establishment turned and stabbed the security guard twice in the back.

• Tennessee state Sen. Joey Hensley, virulently anti-gay and professes “deeply held religious convictions,” has introduced legislation in his state that would allow adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples. Hensley, who has divorced four times (sanctity of marriage my ass), was named in a divorce proceeding in 2017 for sleeping with another man’s wife. #DeeplyHeldReligiousBeliefs

• One of the highest ranking officers in the California National Guard has announced the state won’t discharge transgender soldiers from its ranks even as the Trump administration continues to move its ban on trans military service members.

• The president of Brazil has announced plans to remove all references to homosexuality, feminism, and violence against women from public school textbooks. President Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign for the presidency proudly included anti-LGBTQ policies.

• Laverne Cox was giving you LIFE as she closed the 11 Honore fashion show finale during New York Fashion Week.

The event is a first for 11 Honore as it only featured plus size clothes from designers.

Wearing a gown by Zac Posen, the Orange is the New Black star twirled on the runway, serving up glamour, and clearly having the time of her life. Get it, diva!

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Tennessee Hardware Store Puts Up Sign “No Gays Allowed”

In response to the recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding in 2012, a Tennessee hardware store put up a sign which read, “No Gays Allowed.”

From USA Today:

Jeff Amyx, who owns Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies in Grainger County, Tennessee., about an hour outside of Knoxville, added the “No Gays Allowed” sign on Monday, because gay and lesbian couples are against his religion.

Amyx, who is also a baptist minister, said he realized Monday morning that LGBT people are not afraid to stand for what they believe in. He said it showed him that Christian people should be brave enough to stand for what they believe in.

“They gladly stand for what they believe in, why can’t I? They believe their way is right, I believe it’s wrong. But yet I’m going to take more persecution than them because I’m standing for what I believe in,” Amyx said.

On Tuesday, Amyx removed the “No Gays allowed” sign and replaced it with a sign that says: “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who would violate our rights of freedom of speech & freedom of religion.”

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Tennessee: State GOP Uses Gay Couple’s Wedding Photo In Attack Ad

A gay couple in Tennessee were surprised recently to find their wedding photo being used in a political attack ad by the Tennessee Republican Party.

The couple’s ceremony was officiated by the Democratic candidate for State Senate District 14, Gayle Jordan, and the state GOP party used the photo without permission.

The couple, Shane Morgan and his husband Landon, are private citizens and they feel the attack ad is using their wedding illegally.

After years in the Air Force and enduring the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” years, Morgan says wearing his wedding ring has deep personal meaning. “More than words can say,” Morgan said.

After nine years together, the couple married this past December.

The photo was taken from Jordan’s Facebook page where she had posted the pic with the joking caption, “Doing my part to destroy the fabric of American society.”

The attack ad features the picture with the text, “Liberal Gayle Jordan will ‘destroy the fabric of American society.’ Take her word for it.”

According to the Nashville NBC affiliate, the state GOP organization says the comment is very serious and the mailer has nothing to do with the couple.

Morgan and his husband have hired attorney Sunny Eaton of Eastside Legal, who asserts her clients’ privacy has been violated and they have been exploited for political purposes.

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News Round-Up: November 20, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Alex Abramov (above) seems to be handling the cold weather in NYC quite well 🙂

• According to a professor at Cornell University, young men are becoming comfortable identifying as “mostly straight” (as opposed to bisexual) which might be linked to relaxed millennial attitudes toward sexuality.

• Out singer Colum Scott of Britain’s Got Talent fame has a new song – “You Are The Reason.” He says the song is a “thank you to those special people who make our lives better, simply because they’re in it.” Watch below.

• True Blood star Rutina Wesley has come out and announced her engagement.

• A Tennessee town has banned drag shows as being “sexually oriented business.”

• The mother of one of Kevin Spacey’s accusers says 8 more men have shared allegations with her.

• And, as today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, let’s take a listen to these trans young people about their feelings on how they are perceived and how they’d like to be seen:

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Tennessee “Don’t Say Gay” Lawmaker Accused Of Adultery With Second Cousin

File this under “Christian Values Hypocrisy.”

Ye who protesteth the loudest, do it the mosteth!

Tennessee state Sen. Joey Hensley, four times married and divorced “Christian family values” crusader, has been named in the divorce filing for a local couple.

According to court documents, both parties in the divorce allege he’s been “having relations” with the wife for three years.

Apparently, having sex with your married second cousin is ok with Jesus, but whatever you do, “don’t say gay.”

From The Nashville Scene:

Hensley, 61, was subpoenaed to appear last week in Williamson County Circuit Court to testify in the divorce proceedings of Hohenwald Vice Mayor Don Barber and his wife Lori. He refused to show up, citing legislative and medical privilege. “I didn’t have time to do it,” Hensley said when contacted on Friday afternoon. “I had nothing to do with the court case, and any testimony I would have given wouldn’t have made any difference.” But according to the sworn testimony of both Barbers, Hensley has been having an affair with Lori since 2014. Lori, 48, is a part-time nurse in Hensley’s medical practice in Lewis County; she is also his second cousin.

Hensley gained national notoriety in 2012 as a sponsor of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would have banned public school teachers from even mentioning that homosexuality exists. During one hearing that year, Hensley commented, “I don’t think Modern Family is appropriate for children to watch” — because it features a married gay couple raising children. This session, Hensley is sponsoring a bill from the Tennessee Family Action Council that would make children created using donor sperm illegitimate — an attempt to make it harder for gay and lesbian parents to establish paternity. He is also a sponsor of the so-called “Milo Bill,” aimed at liberal practices on college campuses.

But Lori Barber is not just a friend or a cousin or a lover — she is also Hensley’s patient. Barber testified in court that Hensley is her only doctor other than a cardiologist, and that she relies on him for recurrent Botox injections. She also said he has regularly prescribed her the hydrocodone pill Lortab — a Schedule II controlled substance — for “chronic back pain,” which she said Hensley first diagnosed after she hurt her neck.

Bolding is mine.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Tennessee Lawmakers File Legislation To Defy SCOTUS Ruling On Same-Sex Marriage

Anti-LGBT lawmakers in Tennessee have filed legislation that would instruct state agencies to defy the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.

From the local NBC affiliate:

It’s called the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act, with bills filed by Sen. Mae Beavers in the Senate and Rep. Mark Pody in the House.

The bills define marriage as between one man, and one woman in Tennessee, despite what outside courts decide.

Both Sen. Beavers and Rep. Pody declined comment on the bill, telling News 2 that questions would be answered at a press conference next week.

They argue that despite the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling, same sex marriage is unlawful and all unlawful orders “remain unlawful and should be resisted.” The time and date for the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act has not been set.

Truly an exercise in futility.

Watch the news report below: