Speaking of spineless dems, Governor Bredesen continues to take the No Position position. The Democratic Gov. has no opinion on any of the many bills now on the legislature's homophobic agenda. Little wonder that Republicans love the Dem. Gov. so very much.
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After a very long struggle and riots in the streets, Tennessee lawmakers are no longer free to write laws based on racial prejudice. Instead, they’ve moved on to writing laws based on sexual prejudice.
The Tennessee General Assembly is determined to strip LGBT citizens of the right to adopt children, the right to foster-parent children, the right to enter civil unions, and any and all hope of the right to marry.
While all of these efforts are equally alarming, if the same-sex marriage ban passes, it will be on the ballot in 2006 and almost assuredly become enshrined in the constitution, making it much more difficult to undo than the other discriminatory laws.
The same-sex marriage ban passed in the House Committee by a vote of 13 to 4. Two Reps. declined to vote. Apparently they believe there is some political advantage to gain by failing to stand for anything.
The four who voted against the marriage ban are all democrats. They are all women. Three out of four are African American.Tennessee progressives should remember their names: Kathryn Bowers (D-Memphis), Barbara Cooper (D-Memphis), Joanne Favors (D-Chattanooga) and Beverly Marrero (D-Memphis).
According to Out & About, “Representative Sherry Jones, widely seen as a supporter of the GLBT community, surprised many when she passed on the vote.” Jones was the only democratic woman who did not oppose the measure.
No one should have been surprised. When the House passed the anti-gay amendment last year, Jones declined to vote.
What is particularly disturbing is that when the LGBT community held a fundraiser for Jones last summer at the Lipstick Lounge, Jones was billed as a strong opponent of the anti-gay amendment. According to an email promoting the “Sherry Jones Fundraiser,” distributed by the Tennessee Equality Project:
“Sherry took a strong stand against adding language to our state's constitution to take away rights from women and to ban marriage/union rights for gays and lesbians. We watched as she stood toe to toe with House leadership. Sherry's actions were brave and true.”
It’s true that Jones voted against the civil union ban and the anti-choice amendment. Unlike the marriage ban, these two measures had strong opposition and were consequently defeated.
The suggested contribution for the LGBT sponsored fundraiser was $250 per couple.
In an interview featured in the Tennessean last year, Jones was advised that she had been called a “liberal.” She responded: “They don’t know me very well.”
The Davidson County Rep. has a point.
It appears that the anti-gay bill will soon go to a full House and Senate vote. According to Democratic House Committee Chairman John DeBerry, the bill is moving at record speed because legislators have "already heard the voices of the people. We got a chance to really debate this issue last year and get everything out of our systems. Now everybody knows where they stand and where the other man (sic) stands."
I’m not sure where the debate DeBerry refers to took place; perhaps it was in his living room. The House passed the marriage ban last year with no discussion. The vote was 86-5. Despite Davidson County’s reputation as a liberal or ‘blue’ county, Rob Briley (D) was the only Davidson County Rep. to vote against the marriage ban.
Tennessee democrats have no hesitation when it comes to soliciting money and volunteers from Davidson County, or from the LGBT community, but when it comes time to represent us, democrats seem to have us confused with the residents of Rhea County.
As Speaker of the democratic-controlled House, Jimmy Naifeh is a man known for the power he wields over House democrats. Despite Naifeh’s reputation as a leader who can bend the will of his fellow democrats, when it comes to the anti-gay bill, Naifeh is apparently impotent.
Repeatedly, the democrat has said the anti-gay bill will put discrimination into the constitution. It is “bad public policy.” he insists. Repeatedly, the democrat has said he will support the bill. ''I can't slow this train down. It's going so fast and hard. I don't want to slow it down.'' Naifeh can’t and Naifeh doesn’t want to. Naifeh is yet another democrat who declines to stand for anything.
Same-sex marriage is already illegal in Tennessee. Legislators claim they need to make it doubly illegal by inserting a ban into the constitution. They reason that a deluge of legally married same-sex couples will come to Tennessee in search of civil rights. This justification for embedding discrimination in the constitution is best expressed in the now infamous words of the bill’s sponsor, Senator Jeff Miller (R): “They could come to Tennessee and claim rights. That’s what I’m afraid of."
Imagine that, American citizens coming to Tennessee and expecting to have rights!
Contact Speaker Naifeh, tell him to act responsibly and stop “bad public policy” from being law. (Naifeh: 615.741.3774) speaker.jimmy.naifeh@legislature.state.tn.us
