Aired on Tues., March 14, 2023 on 99.5 FM, WBAI/NY
Press green button below to download the sound file of the program.
Fran Hutchins, Executive Director of Equality Federation
Our focus on March 14th’s show is current anti-trans and anti-drag legislation in Tennessee and the national implications behind those bills. Since 2022, some 340 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in states across the U.S. (according to the Human Rights Campaign). Since 2015, TN has enacted more anti-LGBT laws than any other state in the country. Among the slew of bills getting railroaded through the legislative process are:
- TN House bill 1215, which would deny reimbursement for gender affirming care, would also deny Medicaid contracts to major insurance companies who provide such care anywhere in the U.S.
- TN House bill 239, which would create a definition of sex based on birth anatomy and would revert changes trans people have made on identity documents back to original gender assignments made at birth.
- Tennessee’s anti-drag bill, which would classify drag performances or story hours as adult entertainment, effectively imposing restrictions that would deem a second offence a felony to allow children access drag expression.
Ray Holloman, a Black queer transgender man and Chair of the Tennessee Transgender Task Force
Guests to discuss the Tennessee bills are Ray Holloman and Dahron Johnson from the Tennessee Equality Project. Also with us will be Fran Hutchins, the Executive Director at Equality Federation. Ray Holloman is a Black queer transgender man who is the Chair of the Tennessee Transgender Task Force, and a member of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center LGBTQ+ Advisory Board.
Dahron Johnson, Tennessee LGBTQ advocate in faith spaces
Also joining us will be Dahron Johnson, who has served as an advocate in faith spaces, clinical, and research environments, currently serving as a chaplain in a mid-TN hospice. She is the chair of a regional community advisory board for LGBTQ health; a member of a state-wide council focused on resources and support for those with intellectual & physical disabilities; and member of a board overseeing research efforts with veterans.
Holloman and Johnson will also discuss the national context of the resistance to anti-trans and anti-drag legislation.
Both Ray Holloman and Dahron Johnson have been working closely with the TN Equality Project, testifying before Assembly and House committees.
Fran Hutchins is the Executive Director of Equality Federation, the national strategic partner to state-based organizations working to win equality in all 50 states. She has been with the Federation since 2012 and has worked on the ground with state partners to build strong organizations, develop tailored strategies, and create data-driven solutions to meet the needs of the movement. Her career has focused on building a strong progressive movement that changes the way we approach some of the most pressing social problems: poverty, homelessness, education, economic inequality, and discrimination. She is especially proud to have served as Regional Field Director for Mainers United for Marriage, the successful 2012 campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples in Maine. Fran grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and now lives with her wife, Laura Kalba, a professor at the University of Minnesota.