LIBERADIO(!)

Members of the Tennessee Equality Project and their supporters tried to advance equality on the Hill today by meeting with their elected representatives: Senator Diane Black (R-18, Robertson and part of Sumner Counties), Senator Paul Stanley (R-31, Part of Shelby County), Rep. Jason Mumpower (R-3, Johnson and part of Sullivan Counties), Rep. John DeBerry (D-90, Part of Shelby County), Rep. David Hawk (R-5, Unicoi and part of Greene Counties), Rep. Frank Nicely (R-17, Part of Jefferson and Knox Counties), and Rep. Stacey Campfield (R-18, Part of Knox County)

Most of the legislators actively listened. Some tried a little artful dodging. Below is audio from conversations I had with some of the participants.

Rep. John DeBerry and Senator Paul Stanley (Memphis)

Four men from Memphis met with Rep. John DeBerry and Senator Paul Stanley, and received two very different receptions. Two of the four are a committed couple who are currently trying to adopt in Tennessee. They describe the process. Link to the mp3 (2:30)

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Republican House Leader Rep. Jason Mumpower (Bristol)

Joseph Rymer, from Bristol, is the Tri-Cities committee chair of the TNEP. He met with Jason Mumpower who told him he was interested in finding “middle-ground” and “working towards inclusion of all people.” Link to mp3 (2:00)

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Rep. David Hawk (Greeneville)

Mr. Rymer, who had an ambitious agenda of meeting with a total of 9 legislators in one day, also spoke with Rep. Hawk – a man seemingly torn between his personally beliefs and political expediency. He also let me know what it’s like to live as an openly gay man in a very conservative area. Hint: It’s exhausting to live in fear until you make it to one of your safety zones. Link to mp3 (1:40)

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Senator Diane Black (Gallatin)

Part 1 – One of the more dramatic series of events was the cancellation of the Sumner County delegation’s meeting with Senator Diane Black. The day before, Senator Black made a personal phone call to Anne Miller, who had set up the meeting, to explain why meeting would be a waste of time. Link to mp3 (1:25)

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Part 2 – Senator Black then confirmed to another of her constituents, Susan Brown of Springfield, that if she disagrees with you, she sees no value in meeting. Interestingly, however, during their short conversation, Senator Black indicated that she would support the bill to allow gender changes on birth certificates. Link to mp3 (1:07)

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Part 3 – The meeting with Senator Black was set for 2:00 PM, and even though it had been canceled the night before, Anne, Tara, Susan, and Maria Brewer decided to go to her office at the appointed time to see if they could get in to see her. Senator Black – luckily or unluckily depending on your perspective – came out of her office just as the women arrived and, caught by surprise, agreed to give the group five minutes. Maria recaps. Link to mp3 (1:53)

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Rep. Frank Nicely (Knoxville)

Brad Coulter and his family drove from Knoxville to meet with their representative and were stood up. So they decided to wait outside a committee room to see if they could grab a few minutes of Rep. Nicely’s time. For Brad, the TNEP’s Advancing Equality Day on the Hill was very personal – his sister is gay and had to move with her partner and baby son to another state so her partner could become a legal parent to the child. As Brad puts it, it’s a shame that Tennessee had to lose two valuable members of the community because they didn’t feel welcome. Link to mp3 (1:51)

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Brad later called to tell me – excitedly – that he and his family had met with Rep. Nicely and he was receptive and cordial.

Rep. Stacey Campfield (Knoxville)
Rep. Campfield was a no-show for his appointment. Then he rescheduled and missed that meeting too.

The most disturbing part of the day – other than not being able to hear the stories of each of today’s civil rights citizen lobbyists (I heard there were productive meetings with Senator Joe Haynes, Rep. Gary Odom, Rep. Mike Turner, and others) – was Senator Black’s insistence that there was no need to meet with her constituents because she didn’t agree with them. I guess just like George W. Bush in 2004, she has one accountability moment every 6 years.

UPDATE: Chris Sanders, president of the Tennessee Equality Project recaps the day on his blog, Grand Divisions, and Jeff Woods at the Scene weighs in.

UPDATE II: Jeff Woods at the Nashville Scene’s Pith in the Wind does some seriously good editorializing on why Senator Black’s actions were inexcusable: “With a series of audio reports on the Liberadio(!) website, Mary Mancini paints a picture of democracy in action–Tennessee style. Any oily lobbyist with a checkbook can waltz into any legislative office at any time of the day or night and receive a full hearing. But when gays and lesbians and their supporters tried to lobby the legislature yesterday like any other citizens of this great land, their elected representatives often were less than alert and receptive listeners.”