Tennessee Transgender News

TTPC President to be Honored at Nashville Black Pride

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition is proud that our President, Dr. Marisa Richmond, is one of the honorees at this weekend's Nashville Black Pride. She will be receiving the Community Award during the BASU Legacy Award ceremony this Friday, October 23. The other award recipients are:

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


TTPC Fifth Annual Dinner

We wish to thank all who came out and supported TTPC at our recent annual fundraising dinner in Nashville. We especially wish to acknowledge our Keynote Speaker, State Representative Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis).

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


Federal Hate Crimes Bill

We are still waiting on the Senate vote on the Conference Committee report on the Defense Authorization bill, which includes language making hate crimes based on sexual orienation or gender identity a federal crime. It was accepted in the House of Representatives by a vote on 281 to 146.

The Senate vote on the Conference Committee report is expected sometime this week, either Wednesday or Thursday. When the Senate voted earlier this year to add Hate Crimes to the Defense bill, both of Tennessee's Senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, were noticeably absent for the vote.


Employment Non Discrimination Act

The fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R.3017, which would protect LGBT employees from workplace discrimination, is headed to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives sometime this fall. 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.

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.


Upcoming Elections


We also encourage Tennesseans to support the other elections in November across the nation focused on the lives of LGBT people:

One Kalamazoo
IRTUAL HOUSE PARTY WITH MARA AND MASEN
Last year, Kalamazoo, Michigan passed a fully inclusive, non-discrimination ordinance that some people want to take away. Opponents of equality are using mean-spirited, anti-transgender tactics in their attempt to overrule the fair people of Kalamazoo who stand with us.

The good news is, we can win this fight. Local community leaders have banded together and formed a strong campaign to defeat the bigotry and preserve their town's values. They are advised by an incredibly talented campaign manager, Jon Hoadley, and bolstered by scores of hard-working volunteers who are going door-to-door, and talking with their neighbors.

Unfortunately, their opposition is bringing in outside resources and so OneKalamazoo needs our help now. You can support the One Kalamazoo Campaign by giving here.


Protect Marriage Equality in Maine

With the vote on marriage equality a month away, Maine Equality and the No on 1 Campaign have been working around the clock to raise enough money to keep their ads on the air and on Get-Out-The-Vote efforts, since the vote is expected to be very close. You can help on both fronts by (1) making a donation to the No on 1 Campaign and (2) Taking a "Volunteer Vacation" in Maine to work on and contribute to the success of this extremely important campaign.


Approve Referendum 71 in Washington State

Voters in Washington State will go to the polls to either approve or deny domestic partnership (DP) benefits for more than 12,000 registered domestic partners. The race is still too close to call. Equal Rights Washington is leading a broad-based coalition, Washington Families Standing Together, to get a yes vote on Referendum 71. Equality Federation sent an action alert to its supporters and member state equality groups throughout the country, so each group could then forward the alert to its members and supporters, urging them to support the Approve 71 campaign. A loss of DP benefits would be a huge setback for Washington's families. Please visit the Approve 71 campaign's website and lend your support!

There are also statewide elections in New Jersey and Virginia along with numerous local elections featuring out LGBT candidates.

And Please Save These Other Dates!

Saturday, October 31, 11am to 1pm CST
Letter Writing Campaign for Equal Rights
Caritas Village
Memphis


Monday, November 16, 7 pm CST
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Sarratt Cinema
Vanderbilt University
Nashville
co-sponsored by Vanderbilt's Office of LGBTQI Life and the Tennessee Vals
More ceremonies will be held across the state and we will list them as we learn more details.


Saturday, January 23, 2010, 6 pm CST
TTPC Winter Membership Meeting
Nashville
contact us for details


The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC) is an organization designed to educate and advocate on behalf of transgender related legislation at the Federal, State and local levels. TTPC is dedicated to raising public awareness and building alliances with other organizations concerned with equal rights legislation.

For more information, or to make a donation, contact:

Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition
P.O. Box 92335
Nashville, TN 37209
http://ttgpac.com
TTGPAC@aol.com
(615)293-6199
(615)353-1834 fax