Answers to Your Questions about the Memphis Non-Discrimination Legislation

1. What's the purpose of the legislation?

The legislation proposed to the Memphis City Council promotes fair treatment for all citizens employed by city government and city government contractors regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. City services and facilities shall also be available without discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

2. Why does the City of Memphis need to add sexual orientation and gender identity to current city codes and policies on discrimination?

Amending current city codes and policies will protect people where the Shelby County, State of Tennessee and federal laws fall short. The Memphis Code of Ordinances and its policies should establish fair practices in employment and government services that protect ALL citizens from discrimination based on religion, race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, creed, political affiliation or other non-merit factors.

According to Dr. Sharon Horne, Psychology Professor at the University of Memphis, discrimination is a common occurrence in Tennessee. In three separate national studies she and her colleagues found the following for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents of Tennessee:

25.8% of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Tennessee residents reported discrimination in housing, services or employment because they were thought to be GLBT (Rostosky, S. S., Riggle, D. B., Horne, S. G., & Miller, A. (2009). The 2006 Marriage Amendments and psychological distress in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) adults. Journal of Counseling, Psychology, 56, 56-66; Riggle, E. D. B., Rostosky, S. S., & Horne, S. G. (2009). Marriage amendments and Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual individuals in the 2006 Election. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 6, 80-89).

39.3% of gay male Tennessee residents reported experiencing discrimination in the workplace in the two years prior to the study (Horne, S. G., & Manley, E. [2005]. Gay men in dual-career couples: A national study).

23.2% of lesbian and bisexual Tennessee residents reported discrimination at a job, housing, or services [when asked separately: 16.1% job; 5.4% housing; 5.4% services]. (Horne, S.G., & Biss, W. (2009). Equality discrepancy between women in same-sex relationships: The mediating role of attachment in relationship satisfaction. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 60, 721-730).

11.2% of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Tennessee residents reported physical attack because someone thought they were GLBT (Rostosky, S. S., Riggle, D. B., Horne, S. G., & Miller, A. (2009). The 2006 Marriage Amendments and psychological distress in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) adults. Journal of Counseling, Psychology, 56, 56-66; Riggle, E. D. B., Rostosky, S. S., & Horne, S. G. (2009). Marriage amendments and Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual individuals in the 2006 Election. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 6, 80-89).

7.1% of lesbian and bisexual women Tennessee residents reported being victims of a crime such as physical attack, sexual assault, or robbery due to their sexual orientation. (Horne, S.G., & Biss, W. (2009). Equality discrepancy between women in same-sex relationships: The mediating role of attachment in relationship satisfaction. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 60, 721-730; The role of faith affiliation for women in same-sex relationships. The Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 4, 165-179; Hiestand, K., Horne, S. G., & Levitt, H. M. (2008). Lesbian gender identity in health care access and treatment. Journal of GLBT Health, 3, 15-27).

25% of gay Tennessee residents reported being told offensive jokes about lesbians, gay men or bisexual people by their coworkers and supervisors (Horne, S. G., & Manley, E. [2005]. Gay men in dual-career couples: A national study.)

14.3% of gay Tennessee residents reported discrimination when seeking employment (Horne, S. G., & Manley, E. [2005]. Gay men in dual-career couples: A national study.)

38.8% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Tennessee residents reported verbal harassment because someone thought they were GLBT. (Rostosky, S. S., Riggle, D. B., Horne, S. G., & Miller, A. (2009). The 2006 Marriage Amendments and psychological distress in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) adults. Journal of Counseling, Psychology, 56, 56-66; Riggle, E. D. B., Rostosky, S. S., & Horne, S. G. (2009). Marriage amendments and Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual individuals in the 2006 Election. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 6, 80-89).

21.4% of gay Tennessee residents reported homophobic remarks made by coworkers and supervisors (Horne, S. G., & Manley, E. [2005]. Gay men in dual-career couples: A national study.)

10.7% of gay Tennessee residents reported being denied a promotion, raise or other career advancement (Horne, S. G., & Manley, E. [2005]. Gay men in dual-career couples: A national study.)

10.7% of gay Tennessee residents reported their workplace atmosphere was oppressive with respect to sexual orientation. (Horne, S. G., & Manley, E. [2005]. Gay men in dual-career couples: A national study.)

32.1% of gay Tennessee residents reported that in their workplace gay employees fear job loss because of sexual orientation (Horne, S. G., & Manley, E. [2005]. Gay men in dual-career couples: A national study.)

3. What is sexual orientation and gender identity or expression?

Sexual orientation means a person’s real or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.

Gender identity or expression means a person’s gender-related self-identity, appearance, expression or behavior, regardless of the person’s assigned gender at birth.

4. How many municipalities and counties currently have ordinances like the one proposed?

By enacting the proposed non-discrimination provisions in the City Code of Ordinances, Memphis would join nearly 200 municipalities and 20 states that currently protect their citizens from harmful discrimination. More and more cities, counties and states are passing comprehensive nondiscrimination laws to protect their citizens' human rights. Many Southern cities, including Nashville, Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin and Dallas, as well as peer cities, such as Louisville and Indianapolis, already offer protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Memphis is one of five cities its size that do not already offer some form of GLBT inclusive workplace protections.

For more information, see the following:

Jurisdictions with Explicitly Trans-Inclusive Discrimination Laws

Years Passed between Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression

5. Will passing such non-discrimination legislation have a positive effect on the economy in Memphis?

YES! Employers will be able to attract (and retain) talented professionals to Memphis and Shelby County. A report commissioned by Shelby County Government, the City of Memphis and the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce in 2002 describes ways to predict which cities will perform as "talent magnets" in what Prof. Richard Florida calls high capital individuals. Successful economies need to focus on technology, talent and tolerance.

Richard Florida is an American urban studies theorist who focuses on sociology and economics. Currently a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management, at the University of Toronto, he also heads a private consulting firm called the Creative Class Group.

Florida is best known for his research on his concept of the creative class, and its ramifications in urban regeneration. This research was expressed in Florida's best selling books The Rise of the Creative Class, Cities and the Creative Class, and The Flight of the Creative Class.

6. What does technology, talent and tolerance have to do with the proposed legislation?

From Technology, Talent, and Tolerance: Attracting the Best and Brightest to Memphis:

Talented technology workers want to live in places with a “thick” labor market, i.e. one with many attractive employment options. Thick labor markets develop in places where talented individuals feel immediately comfortable, find other creative people in many fields, and have the opportunity to make an immediate contribution – places that welcome and value people of every kind.

In short, tolerance attracts talent; talent attracts technology-driven growth.

Prof. [Richard] Florida conducted an analysis comparing measures of tolerance, diversity, and high-technology success in 50 metropolitan areas. Interestingly enough, he found that the leading indicators of a metropolitan area’s high-technology success are a large gay population and a high concentration of artists and foreign-born residents. Prof. Florida has melded these three factors – the presence of gay men and women, artists, and foreign-born individuals – into a measure of overall openness he calls the “Diversity Index.” Cities that score high on the Diversity Index attract talent.

As Prof. Florida and Gary Gates of the Urban Institute wrote in The Brookings Institution Survey Series (Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, “Technology and Tolerance.” 6.01). “Tolerance and diversity clearly matter to high-tech concentration and growth. Having large representations of gays or bohemians or immigrants in a population does not, of course, directly cause a technology industry to spring up. Instead, people in technology businesses appear to be drawn to places characterized by inclusiveness, open mindedness, and cultural creativity – attributes whose presence is often signaled by, and therefore strongly correlates with, a cosmopolitan and diverse local population. The point isn't that high-tech jobs follow gays; it's that gays and high-tech jobs both gravitate to the same kinds of places.”

The above report included specific recommendations for our community for promoting tolerance. Shelby County Government, the City of Memphis and the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce should:

Visibly and officially embrace diversity as an economic and civic development goal that is as good for the whole community as it is for those who are labeled as “minority.”

Expand the definition of diversity as an economic and civic “good” to include all people with talent, whatever their dress, religion, musical tastes, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or country of origin.

Use images of diverse Memphians and their lifestyles in branding and image strategies.

Support the International Freedom Awards as an event with global recognition and stature, and use it as a means of branding Memphis internationally.
Develop and support visible celebrations of diversity.

Memphis can officially embrace diversity by passing a non-discrimination legislation that expands fair treatment for all people regardless of their dress, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and national origin. Implementing the recommendations of the Technology, Talent and Tolerance report by the City of Memphis is long overdue.

Hear more about this phenomenon directly from Richard Florida. Read more about the relationship between promoting diversity and economic growth here, here, here and here.

7. But isn't Memphis and Shelby County already a tolerant place for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people?

Most residents of Memphis and Shelby County welcome their GLBT neighbors and co-workers. However, recent incidents in our community point to troubling bias and violence directed toward GLBT citizens.

In fall of this year, the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center celebrated the month leading up to National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11) with a series of billboards to raise awareness and understanding about the issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Memphians. On September 25, 2009, that gesture of openness was met with violence as one of the billboards was torn down in chilling act of hatred.

In 2008, Memphis and Shelby County gained a national reputation for violent crimes committed against GLBT people (particularly African American transgender people). Shelby County was “ground zero” for many of the most publicized hate crimes perpetrated against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens in Tennessee. Most prominent among these crimes was the transphobic police beating of Duanna Johnson at the Shelby County Justice Center. A video of the incident exposed a violent bias against GLBT minorities in Memphis and Shelby County. Before the beating began, police officers called Duanna a “faggot” and a “he/she.” Shelby County Justice Center staff did nothing to intervene as Duanna endured blow after blow.

More attacks of transgender women of color followed later in the year. Ebony Whitaker was murdered near the Memphis airport over the summer. While Duanna Johnson's civil rights case against police was still pending, she was shot in the street in November. Leeneshia Edwards was shot before Christmas Eve but survived her injuries.

According to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation statistics from 2001 to 2007, the total number of hate crimes committed against Tennessee citizens based on sexual orientation has nearly tripled since 2005.

These violent hate crimes serve as a “wake up” call for reform in our community. Hate crime trends indicate that GLBT people and property are unjustly targeted for violence. The same homophobia and transphobia that motivate these crimes exist in the workplace too. These fears lead employers to act unfairly in reviewing employment applications, hiring, promoting, disciplining, and terminating employees for non-merit reasons.

It’s time to reclaim Memphis and Shelby County as a community that welcomes diversity, values safety and security, and promotes fairness and equality for all. Non-discrimination legislation is the first step toward setting morally acceptable community standards for fairness and equality.

8. How many employers doing business in Shelby County currently include sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression in their equal opportunity employment policies?

Hundreds! As of February 2009, 423 (85%) of the Fortune 500 companies had implemented non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation, and 176 (more than one-third) had policies that include gender identity or expression. The HRC’s Corporate Equality Index has a complete listing.

Click here for a partial list of employers in Shelby County that currently include sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression in their equal opportunity employment policies.

9. Who is supporting the non-discrimination legislation for the City of Memphis?

Click here for a complete list.

10. How can I support this legislation?

Determine who represents you on the Memphis City Council at the web site for the City of Memphis or by clicking the “Precinct Locator” link on the Shelby County Election Commission web site. You can advocate for the legislation by doing the following:

Write a letter or send an email to the City Council members to ask them to vote for the non-discrimination legislation. Every Memphis resident has four council representatives (one in District 1-7 and three in Super District 8 or 9). Handwritten letters addressed to council members at 125 North Main St, Room 514 Memphis, TN 38103 are best. Click here for guidelines on how to write a good letter.

Host a letter writing party with your friends, family, club, or other organization. Contact TEP at shelbycounty@tnequalityproject.com to learn more about this option.

Call your City Council members at 901-576-6786 to tell them you support the legislation.
Attend Memphis City Council meetings on the first floor of 125 North Main Street in Memphis when the legislation will be read. This is very important. The outcome of legislation is often determined by how many citizens appear at council meetings. Two separate non-discrimination ordinances will be read a total of 3 times by the full council over a 6 week period. Currently, TEP anticipates these readings will occur on Nov. 17, Dec. 1 and Dec. 15. City Council meetings begin at 3:30 PM on the first and third Tuesdays of every month (barring conflicts with a holiday)

Make a donation to the Tennessee Equality Project to help advance fairness and equality in Memphis and Shelby County.

Encourage your friends, family, co-workers and church members to do any and all of the above!