PFLAG Knoxville

Happy New Year everyone!
I hope we’ve all recovered from the holiday season and are ready to continue our fight for equality.  The TN Legislature is back in session and that means it’s time to get ready for the 2012 Tennessee Equality Day on the hill.  It’ll be Tuesday March 13th this year and I hope that we have an even bigger group this year.

In preparation for that event we’re going to host a Lobbying 101 training session to bring everyone up to speed on how the legislative sessions work and how we can successfully make our case to lawmakers.  I strongly encourage anyone who’s interested in working directly with our elected officials to attend but especially those who are considering coming to the Day on the Hill this year.  There will be 3 sessions that I know of at this point.  Planned Parenthood will be hosting on Saturday Feb 11th, PFLAG Maryville will host one at their regular meeting on March 1st, and TEP Knox will host one as well.

we narrowed it down to 3 days in February:  Mon Feb 20th (Presidents day), Thursday the 23rd, or Saturday the 25th.  Please respond to me with the date that you’d prefer by WEDNESDAY (Jan 25th)  and based on that feedback I’ll send out the decision next weekend.

Thanks for all you do,

On May 16, 2007, Sean Kennedy, a 20-year old gay man, was attacked on the streets of Greenville, South Carolina. He died of his injuries later that night. Yet, because of the lack of hate crimes legislation, his attacker may be eligible for parole in February!

Sean was a brave young man with a bright, infectious smile. But his life was cut short and justice left unserved. Now, PFLAG is joining with Sean’s mother, Elke Kennedy, and asking all of our members to write to the parole board and urge them to rule that Moller must serve his complete sentence for this heinous, anti-gay crime.

Because South Carolina – and many other states- lack protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, Moller was able to plea-bargain to involuntary manslaughter charges (considered a “non-violent crime”) and received a suspended five to three years sentence for his crime. Because of the credit he received for time served before sentencing, his full sentence means that he will be free in September 2009. And he is also eligible for parole in February, which means that he will have served only 8 months of his full sentence for Sean’s death.

The parole board is currently conducting a review on whether to grant Moller parole. It is critically important that they hear from our community, and that we each send a strong message that it is unacceptable to grant such early parole following a brutal anti-gay murder!

Please join us in writing a letter to the parole board, and ask them to deny Stephen Moller’s parole. If you have the time, please write a personal letter by hand or by computer, as those will be the most effective, and if you knew Sean or his family personally, please include that information.

Also, please let Elke Kennedy, Sean’s mother, know if you send a letter. Elke has asked that you also send her a copy of the letter, so she can have copies to take with her to the parole hearing. This will help her in building her case – and send a clear message that PFLAG families won’t tolerate anti-gay violence.

Be sure to include Moller’s full name and ID number: Stephen Andrew Moller – SCDC ID # 00328891.

Send your letters to:
Department of Probation Pardon and Parole Services
2221 Devine Street, Suite 600,
PO Box 50666
Columbia, SC 29250

Also, please be sure to send a copy to Elke Kennedy, Sean’s mother. You can send materials to her at: elke@seanslastwish.org

Or via mail: Elke Kennedy
PO Box 5697
Greenville, SC 29606

Be sure to read about PFLAG’s policy position in advocating for federal hate crimes legislation, too – to ensure that all people in all states have protections, and that future anti-gay violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!

What: MILK Film Screening w/ Info & Q&A to Follow

When: December 14, 2008 12:30 PM

Where: Downtown West Theater

Please join the Knoxville Human Rights Group, TEP and others in hosting a special screening of MILK, the new film about the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to a major political office in America.

The screening will be followed by information and a Q&A on how YOU can get involved, whether running for office yourself, or lobbying those that represent you on behalf of your community and interests important to us.

Tickets can be purchased NOW, online at MILK tickets online.

Make sure and select the 12:30 show and do it now as the discussion and Q&A will only be at this special showing.

There will be t-shirts, posters, etc. donated by the studio and lots of good info, so I hope you’ll come join us and spread the word!

Duanna Johnson is the third African American transgender woman to be murdered in Memphis in as many years. Her brutal murder is both shocking and tragic.

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition has set up a donate button on its website for those who would like to help defray the costs of the funeral expenses.

All donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. All funds collected will be paid directly to N.J. Ford and Sons Funeral Home, 12 S Parkway W, Memphis, TN. Any funds collected over and above the goal of $1195 will be given to Ms. Johnson’s family.

For more information, please visit the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition website.