Earlier this year, President Barack Obama took administrative action to see to it that benefits were provided for same-sex partners of federal employees, but those protections don’t extend to federal contractors.
This weekend, the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) is hosting rallies across the state to call attention to the need for basic workplace protections for LGBT employees of companies that contract with the federal government. Benefits aside, the group is asking the president to simply bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for federal contractors.
The Memphis rally will take place on Sunday, December 8th from 2 to 3 p.m. at the federal building at 167 N. Main. Advocates are asked to wear purple (or if you have one, a TEP “Equal Protection for All” t-shirt). Similar rallies are also being held on Sunday in Nashville and Cookeville.
The Memphis rally is co-sponsored by Latino Memphis, First Congregational Church, Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region, the Shelby County Democratic Party, Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center, Perpetual Transition, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and Tennessee Friends of People’s World.
