No Excuses: Jim Cooper Meeting
October 9, 2009
Last month in the Volunteer State, 15 of Nashville’s LGBT community members came together at the downtown library to meet with Representative Jim Cooper’s staff about moving forward on issues like the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Respect for Marriage Act (repeal of DOMA) and the Uniting America’s Families Act. As the No Excuses team touched on each issue, Lisa Quigley, Rep. Cooper’s Chief of Staff, and James Leuschen, the Congressman’s Legislative Director, remained engaged in the conversation and seemed to be in-tune with our legislative priorities, according to the meeting participants. A particular highlight of the Music City meeting occurred during the discussion of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, when Billy Leslie of HRC’s local Steering Committee made the analogy that the Military Readiness Enhancement Act is like ENDA for the military. Quigley and Leuschen, knowing their boss’s full support and cosponsorship of ENDA, mentioned that they had never heard it put in such a way and really seemed to appreciate the comparison. As far as the rest of the meeting, Nashville activist Victoria, reported: “I met the most interesting people and I feel we got a huge amount done. Everyone around the table gave their brief "from my perspective" talk about who they knew, the problems they experienced, what needed to be done, and why the current situation is untenable and unfair. The collective push was really strong and effective.”
