From: "Tina M. Wood" <al715@yfn.ysu.edu>

Hi again. You can read a little about those resolutions in the
Tennessee section of the QRD.  Basically what they are are non-binding
resolutions of the county commissions asking our US Senators and
Congresscritters to oppose the fedeeral LGBT rights bill and to
support a view of the US Constitution that would make prayer in
school legal.  The first resolution was passed in Blount County
(mostly rural Baptist area adjacent to Knox Co.)  LBGT community
leaders from Knoxville were scheduled to speak against it before
the vote, but the commission suspended the rules (illegal?) so
that the vote happened w/no discussion.  Next it came to Knox County,
and it was not so simple here.  We were ready.  Unfortunately, so
was the Tennesssee Christian Coalition, which is headquartered in
Knoxville.  Their director John Hanna is also general manager of a
"Christian" radio station, so they stirred up hysteria on the
airwaves, and so 500-600 people showed up in support of the
anti-gay resolution and the school prayer resolution.  Their
speakers, far from sounding like hysterical idiots, had a highly
calculated game plan, telling all kinds of lies about the
"homosexual agenda" and LGBTs as child molesters and "special"
rights--we know the whole routine by now.  Once our side got the
chance to speak, the circus had been going on for 3 hours, and so
they managed to get one of the commissioners to cut off the time
for public comment (also illegal), so many of us, myself included,
were denied the chance to speak.  The commission vote was 18-4.
Bee DeSelm and Frank Bowden voted no; Rudy Dirl and Madeline Rogero
abstained.  Billy Walker was absent.  The plus side to all of this
was that 3 different columnists in the _Knoxville News-Sentinel_
wrote columns condemning the resolution and the rude behavior of
its supporters.  The paper's offical editorial stance was that it
was not county commission's place to issue resolutions on things
that our elected US Reps are supposed to handle.  Letters to the
editor were a mixed bag, but I was quite impressed with those
that were on our side.  Also, out of this fiasco, 2 new LGBTetc
rights groups have formed here in Knoxville.   After the resolution
passed in Knox Co, it went on to be passed in Jefferson and Sevier
Counties.  Sevier County is home of the resort towns of Pigeon
Forge and Gatlinburg, and also Dolly Parton's them park Dollywood.
As far as I know, it hasnt been exported anywhere else.

That's basically the scoop.  If you would like to add this letter
to the QRD, feel free to do so.  There is one article in there
about this, but it does not go into quite so much detail.

Tina W.

--
Tina M. Wood                                al715@yfn.ysu.edu

 "And someone falls in love, and someone's beaten up, and
  the senses being dulled are mine." --the Smiths