Tag Archives: Tennesse

Kathy Griffin Testifies Over Viral Video Lawsuit Of Adult Harassing Teen In Prom Dress

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In April 2021, a 59-second video of Sam Johnson was posted online. In the clip, the businessman is seen standing next to an 18-year-old teenage boy named Dalton Stevens who wore a dress to his prom and bothers and berates him..

“I chose what I want to wear, so you can f— off,” the teen told Johnson. The businessman then said, “you look like an idiot.

Kathy Griffin retweet the video with the message, “If this is Sam Johnson in Nashville, Tennessee, the CEO of @VisuWell , healthcare-tech-growth strategist, married to Jill Johnson where they may reside in Franklin, Tennessee, it seems like he’s dying to be online famous.”

Johnson said Griffin’s tweet led to VisuWell firing him as CEO and removing him from the board. Days after the comedian fired off the message, the company released a statement distancing itself saying it, “unequivocally condemns the behavior exhibited by Sam Johnson.” So of course child abusing adult homophobe Johnson is suing Griffin for “doxxing” him.

In the lawsuit, Johnson’s lawyer wrote, “Ms. Griffin is a malign internet provocateur and is notorious for her disturbing posts on various social media platforms, especially Twitter. Her preferred method of online harassment is to “dox” private citizens.” and said the video was “incomplete, edited, and out-of-context.” His lawyer wrote, “The Video Clip only showed one minute of an incident that had been developing for over one hour. The implication created by the Video Clip—that Mr. Johnson instigated a confrontation to bully two LGBTQIA+ teenagers at a hotel—was deeply misleading.”

In her response, Griffin said, “This case tests a core feature of our democracy: the ability to participate in debate on a public issue without fear of punishment and involves a widely publicized incident in which [Samuel Johnson], a local health care executive berated a gay high school student who was taking prom pictures at the Harpeth Hotel in Franklin, Tennessee, early on a Saturday evening.”

Teabaggin Tennessee State Rep Tells County Clerks: Do not give marriage licenses to the gays!”

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Rick Womick

Tennessee State Rep. Rick Womick, R-Rockvale has gone rouge. 

The anti-gay politician has sent a letter to all 95 county clerks in Tennessee urging them to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and also claiming that the governor and attorney general are “bullying” county clerks into issue the licenses.

Womick is adamant the high court overstepped its legal bound.

“ Only Congress and state legislators have that power to create law. We will not be controlled by an oligarchy of five individuals in black robes,” Womick said. “If you really have a problem with that, you five justices, then come down to Tennessee and try to enforce your ruling.”

Womick is working with fellow crazed tea bagger bigot U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais to impeach those five Supreme Court Justiced and also co-sponsored TN HBHRJ0071, which “Proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Tennessee recognizing that our liberties do not come from governments, but from Almighty God, our Creator and Savior.” He also co-sponsored TN HB0615, which would have deemed The Holy Bible as the official state book of Tennessee

Womick sent his letter out by mail last Wednesday. So far, he has not received a response from any clerks indicating they would ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling.

 

WBIR.com

First Openly Gay Candidate In Chattanooga TN Chris Anderson Running For Public Office

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In this is refreshing news, Chris Anderson, from my home state of Tennessee is running as the first openly gay candidate for next week’s District 7 election. Anderson also states that he wanted to be open about his sexuality to be honest when other politicians have had to keep their sexual orientation a secret:

“I’m the first openly gay candidate for Chattanooga in any office. I’m also the only openly gay candidate running for office anywhere in Tennessee today.”

“I’d just as soon it not be the focus of the conversation, but I think people have a right to know. I don’t ever want to be in a place where I’m not honest with the people who I am asking to vote for me … Tennessee is not very socially progressive, but Chattanooga is socially progressive. I’d say [District 7] is the most socially progressive district in the city, and I don’t think it’s anything that is going to prevent me from winning.”

Anderson, 32, has been with his partner for over 10 years and serves as the Bluff View Art District’s director of food and beverages. Anderson is currently in Charlotte, NC for the Democratic National Convention joining roughly 400 others  to show favor for the Democratic Party’s platform on same-sex marriage.

His opposition who has served as the District 7 representative since 2005, Manny Rico, refreshingly said that he will not be focusing on Anderson’s sexuality but rather his experience:

“I’ve heard comments about it, but I’m not going there. It’s not the reason he would not make a good councilman—it’s just cause he’s not qualified. City Council is a full-time job, and Chris being openly gay has nothing to do with his ability to be a leader or an elected official.”

How civilized that Rico is focusing on real concerns for the candidate rather than his sexuality? Kudos. It is definitely a departure from Tennessee legislatures’ ridiculously unjust attempt to pass the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would’ve banned homosexual related from instruction in school.

Hopefully Anderson’s unabashed stance on his sexual orientation will encourage other politicians to do the same. Good Luck next week Chris Anderson!!!

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Tennessee Law HB600 Which Prohibits LGBT Protection Laws

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Marisa Richmond, named plaintiff and lobbyist for Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition/TTPC and representative for Tennessee Equality Project/TEP, has stated in an email that the case Howe v. Haslam a lawsuit brought against Tennesse’s HB600 the “Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act” which was signed  into law on May 23, 2011  that prevents any municipality from extending non-discrimination protections to LGBT people because Tennessee state law does not currently cover sexual orientation or gender identity as a protected class has been dismissed.

Chancellor Carol L. McCoy dismissed the case on Friday, June 15, 2012 because Richmond and the TTCP did not acknowledge a very important part of the law, “(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to employees of a local government” and instead misrepresented it as that it did i fact target local government employees and all employers.

Chancellor McCoy dismissed the entire case because there is no evidence that any of the plaintiffs have suffered due to the law specifically, or as previous court record shows “the Court Finds No Controversy or Justiciable Injuries in This Matter.

Source:  The Examiner

Restaurant Refuses To Serve Anti-Gay GOP State Senator Stacey Campbell Because Of His Hateful Agenda

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Anti-Gay Tennessee Senator Stacey Campfield the force behind Tennessee’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill got a taste of his own hateful medicine this weekend when the restaurant owner Martha Boggs of the Bistro at the Bijou in Knoxville refused to serve Campbell over his anti-gay statements and hateful agenda and told him to leave.

“I didn’t want his hate in my restaurant. I told him he wasn’t welcome here. … I feel like he’s gone from being stupid to being dangerous, and I wanted to stand up to him.”
 
Besides the Tennessee’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill.  In recent months Campfield has asserted that bullying of gay kids “is a lark”, compared homosexuality to sex with animals, that homosexuality is “glorified” in the media, and that it’s “virtually impossible” for heterosexuals to contract AIDS and that AIDS was created by a gay man who had sex with a monkey.
 
Back2Stonewall.com applauds Martha Boggs for her courage and actions in standing up to this this hateful bigot.
 
You can Congratulate Martha and the Bistro at the Bijou via their Facebook page HERE

Gay Tennesse Couple Assaulted By Father (Who Is The Pastor) And Church Officials So They Couldn’t Attend Service

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Dustin Lee, and his boyfriend Jerry Pittman Jr were assaulted last week when they tried to attend a church service at Grace Fellowship Church in Fruitland, Tennessee by church officials under the orders of Pittman’s father who is the Pastor!

Pittman father instructed two deacons and Pittman’s uncle to attack the couple and physically prevent  them from entering the church

“My uncle and two other deacons came over to the car per my dad’s request. My uncle smash me in the door as the other deacon knocked my boyfriend back so he couldn’t help me, punching him in his face and his chest. The other deacon came and hit me through my car window in my back,” said Pittman. He said bystanders did not offer assistance. He said the deacon yelled derogatory homosexual slurs, even after officers arrived. He said the officers never intervened to stop the deacons from yelling the slurs.”

You can watch WBBJ video report HERE

DISGUSTING BEYOND BELIEF!

TN Gov. Bill Haslam After Signing LGBT Discrimination Bill Says He’s Not In Favor of Discrimination

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Now that  Nissan, FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa, and United HealthCare  who worked for MONTHS with the religious right and the GOP to pass HB600, an anti-gay bill prohibiting local municipalities from enacting their own anti – LGBT discrimination statutes have come out against it. (Which they came out against only came out against HB600 AFTER they were BUSTED and it was too late)  Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam who signed the hate law making it official in typical GOP weasel form had went on record as saying:

“We’re not in favor of discrimination in any form at all. We encourage businesses to put that into their policies themselves. We just think that businesses should get to decide for themselves what they have in their policies.”

That’s basically the same argument made by Aqua Buddha moron Rand Paul about civil rights legislation in the 60’s:  Business will do the right thing in order to succeed in the marketplace.  (And I’ll marry David W. Ross)

But he did come out against discrimination after the fact.  Just like those 13 companies did after they were busted and the Human Rights Campaign gave them a pass but Haslam better not hold his breath. 

You see unlike some of the companies involved in pushing HB600.  Haslam isn’t a sponsor and doesn’t donate to the HRC.

The REAL Reason HRC Gave A Pass To The Companies Behind The TN Anti-Gay Bill – MONEY!

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Yesterday The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement about the Tennessee’s LGBT hate law SB 632/HB 600 that repealed LGBT protections in Nashville and set into place a law effectively outlaws all local LGBT rights laws statewide and bans any future discrimination protections not already offered by the state of Tennessee which of course does not include sexual orientation.

HRC’s Statement read:

“In an apparent attempt to score cheap political points, Tenn. Governor Bill Haslam has ignored the business community and signed into law a bill that wipes out county and city anti-discrimination laws, despite the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry reversing their earlier support and now opposing the bill. The measure – SB 632/HB 600 – passed the legislature last week and was designed to remove protections for LGBT Tennesseans by prohibiting cities and counties from enacting discrimination bans. Since there are no state protections for sexual orientation or gender identity, the Governor’s signature of this bill becomes a green light for anti-LGBT discrimination across the state…….Discrimination should have no place in the Volunteer State and the Chamber [of Commerce]’s opposition to this law sent a strong signal that corporations are on the leading edge of positive change. In contrast Governor Haslam has put discrimination ahead of the state’s values and even business interests by signing this horrible legislation.” – Joe Solmonese

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and some o the following companies that were behind this bill: Nissan, FedEx, AT&T, Comcast, DuPont, Pfizer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, KPMG, Whirlpool, Embraer, Alcoa, and United HealthCare.  Did indeed come out against the bill. ONLY after they were caught and it was apparent that they knew the ramifications of this Bill against the LGBT population of Tennessee and ONLY when it was too late to do any good. 

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce held its statement until 20 seconds – literally 20 seconds – before the governor signed the bill into law, making it utterly worthless

So why is Joe Solmonese and the HRC, the United States’ largest LGBT advocacy group giving the companies listed above that worked with the GOP and the religious right to push this hateful anti-gay bill a “get out of jail free card”?  MANY of them are highly rated on HRC Equality Index and are also HRC Sponsors.

A simple Google search shows:

*  Comcast – Annually sponsors various Annual HRC Fundraising Galas   *AT&T  –  Donates and sponsors HRC Events and even has an award named after it, the AT&T E-Hero Award  which is presented at the HRC Fundraising Gala.  *DuPont has been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the best places to work for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people*  Dupont has been officially recognized as one of the BEST companies for LGBT workers.  *Pfizer is a sponsor of HRC and has also scored a 100% on HRC’s Equality Index for 6 consecutive years.  *Blue Cross/Blue Shield sponsors the HRC Equality Gala in North Carolina.  *Whirlpool’s  Mark McLane is currently the Director of Global Diversity of Whirlpool is on the HRC Business Council and Whirlpool also scored a perfect 100% on HRC’s Equality Index

In less than 10 minutes I found out that almost half the companies involved in backing Tennessee’s LGBT hate law SB 632/HB 600 are sponsors of, and have connections to the Human Rights Campaign.   THIS is the real reason HRC is giving them a pass and has sent out press releases with enough “spin” to make a whirling dervish nauseous to cover for the companies asses that are involved.

Obviously money and sponsorship to keep their Gala’s rolling, their 8 million dollar headquarters all nice and shiny, and Joe Solmonese’s 350k a year salary intact is more important than standing up, putting the blame where it should lay and the LGBT Community’s Equality.

I’m not really a religious man to say the least, but there is a passage from the Bible that rings true.

No man can serve God and Money.  And obviously in the HRC’s case, the HRC cannot serve Equality and Money. The HRC should be ashamed.  And we should be ashamed to have them as “our leaders”

A time for a change has come. 

Homophobic Tennesse Judge George Ellis Rebuked By Appeals Court, Lesbian Couple Reunited With Their Children

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In May 2008 homophobic Gibson County Judge George Ellis, prohibited overnight stays of Angel Chandler xhildren from her previous marriage at her house while her current  partner Mary Counce was in residence giving her the choice of her children or livng with her current partner of more than 10 years of living together.

The so-called “paramour clause” was first imposed Gibson County Chancellor George Ellis, prohibiting overnight stays by Counce. The restriction was not requested by Chandler’s ex-husband and came despite a psychological evaluation finding no harm to their children, who are now ages 17 and 15.

“I just thought it was insane when the judge said I couldn’t stay in the house from 11 to 7,” said Counce, who has two college-aged children of her own. “If we could have been married, I wouldn’t have been a paramour, but how can we be married when it’s not allowed? It’s a Catch-22 and Bigots like Ellis love that kind of stuff.”

Despite Angel Chandler moving North Carolina, Ellis maintained jurisdiction over the case since Chandler’s ex-husband continued to live in Gibson County. The Tennessee appeals court struck down Ellis’ ruling last year, but he issued a new ruling in March, again imposing the paramour clause, stating, “a paramour overnight, abuse of alcohol and abuse of drugs are clearly common sense understanding that children can be adversely affected by such exposure …”

In its Tuesday ruling, the Tennesee appeals court once again over-turned Ellis’s ruling and stated that this time Ellis had abused his position and  power.

“The record is devoid of any evidence whatsoever to support the finding that a paramour provision is in the best interests of the children,” the court wrote. “In fact, the record contains evidence demonstrating that a paramour provision is contrary to the best interests of the children.”

Chandler said Ellis effectively criminalized her relationship with Counce.

“He acted like a marriage certificate hanging on the wall equaled good parenting because that’s all he really cared about,” Chandler said. “(He thought) If you’re gay, you’re not good parents and the evidence didn’t matter. There was nothing rational or logical about it. It was all just basically bias and bigotry.”

James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project.states that “Hopefully such a stern rebuke from the appeals court will send a loud and clear message to judges across the state that these kinds of restrictions are unduly burdensome on lesbian and gay parents who are just as capable of being good parents but don’t have the option of marrying.”

Hopefully yes.

Realistically as long as the bigots are out there we will always be fighting.