human rights campaign

Full-page newspaper ad says Gov. Bill Lee ‘enjoyed drag’

The Human Rights Campaign is running a full-page ad in the The Tennessean featuring a photo of Gov. Bill Lee wearing women’s clothing while in high school.

“This kid enjoyed drag. Guess what happened to him?” the ad says. “He’s our governor.”

Lee last week signed bills banning transgender surgeries on minors targeting “adult cabaret” drag shows on public property or where children are present.

Here’s the ad:

7 Tennessee companies get top rating from Human Rights Campaign

Seven Tennessee-based companies received the highest rating for their policies toward LGBTQ employees in the latest Corporate Equality Index by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. They are AllianceBernstein, Asurion, Bass Berry & Sims, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Genesco, Haven Behavioral Healthcare, and Unum Group.

Seven other companies rated at below 40 on the group’s 100-point scale: Autozone, International Paper, Community Health Systems, Delek Holdings, Envision Healthcare, Lifepoint Health, and Tractor Supply Company. The last two received zero out of 100.

Here’s the full release from the Human Rights Campaign:

WASHINGTON – America’s leading companies and law firms are stepping up in record numbers to adopt increasingly forward-looking policies and practices to meet the needs of their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workers in the U.S. and abroad, according to the 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) released today by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.

In the most rigorous assessment of LGBTQ-inclusive workplace policies and practices to date, a record of more than 680 companies have been designated a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality by the HRC Foundation for their efforts in satisfying all of the CEI’s criteria results, earning them a 100 percent rating. Top-scoring companies include seven in Tennessee.

In total, 1059 companies and law firms were officially rated in the new CEI, up from 1028 in last year’s survey. The report also unofficially rated 122 Fortune 500 companies, which have yet to respond to an invitation to participate in the CEI survey assessing their LGBTQ policies and practices. The average score for companies and law firms based in Tennessee is 70 percent. Of the 25 companies ranked, seven earned 100 points, 13 earned 90 points and above, and 15 earned 80 points and above.

For the first time, HRC this year is giving special recognition to the 11 companies that earned top marks on all three of HRC’s workplace equality assessments: the CEI, as well as Equidad MX and Equidad CL. HRC’s groundbreaking Equidad program recognizes Latin American companies and U.S. multinational companies for their work in Mexico and Chile.

“These companies know that protecting their LGBTQ employees and customers from discrimination is not just the right thing to do — it is also the best business decision. In addition, many of these leaders are also advocating for the LGBTQ community and equality under the law in the public square,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “From supporting LGBTQ civil rights protections in the U.S. through HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act, to featuring transgender and non-binary people in an ad in Argentina, to advocating for marriage equality in Taiwan — businesses understand their LGBTQ employees and customers deserve to be seen, valued and respected not only at work, but in every aspect of daily life.”

Employer Headquarters Location State 2020 CEI Rating
AllianceBernstein LP Nashville TN 100
Asurion LLC Nashville TN 100
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC Nashville TN 100
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Chattanooga TN 100
Genesco Inc. Nashville TN 100
Haven Behavioral Healthcare Nashville TN 100
Unum Group Chattanooga TN 100
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC Memphis TN 90
Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. Nashville TN 90
Change Healthcare Nashville TN 90
Dollar General Corp. Goodlettsville TN 90
Eastman Chemical Co. Kingsport TN 90
Nissan North America Inc. Franklin TN 90
FedEx Corp. Memphis TN 85
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. Lebanon TN 80
First Horizon National Corp. Memphis TN 75
HCA – Hospital Corporation of America Nashville TN 70
Regal Entertainment Group Knoxville TN 60
AutoZone Inc. Memphis TN 40
International Paper Co. Memphis TN 30
Community Health Systems, Inc. Franklin TN 20
Delek US Holdings Brentwood TN 20
Envision Healthcare Holdings Inc. Nashville TN 20
LifePoint Health Brentwood TN 0
Tractor Supply Company Brentwood TN 0

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