Attorneys for six Tennesseans have filed a lawsuit challenging
the Tennesee law which prohibits same-sex sexual contact.
Named as defendants were Tennessee governor Ned McWherter,
state attorney general Charles W. Burson, and Davidson County
DA Torry Johnson.  Plaintiffs in the suit include Penny 
Campbell of Nashville, a longtime activist; Chadwick Freeman
Presswood, a student at UT-Knoxville Law School; James Tallent,
chair of Knoxville Pride '93; and Christopher Simien, a grad
student in psychology at Vanderbilt University.  The other
plantiffs are "John Doe" of Rutherford County and "Jane Roe" of
Davidson County.  Attorneys for the plaintiffs are Abby
Rubenfeld of Nashville, Jacqueline Kittrell of Knoxville, Susan
McKenzie of Memphis, and Christine Freeman of Nashville.

Rubenfeld says that the suit challenges the law as violating
both the right to privacy (which is very clear in the Tennessee
constitution) and equal protection under the law, since only
same-sex sexual relations are criminalized.  Currently, same-sex
sexual acts are classified as a Class C misdemeanor with a possible
maximum sentence of a $50 fine and/or 30 days in jail.

James Tallent told me that the attorneys involved are working on
a volunteer basis and in some cases paying their own money for
fees.  If you would like to send donations to help them, here is
the address:
Abby Rubenfeld
2505 Hillsboro Road, Suite 201
Nashville, TN 37212
(615) 386-9077

Be sure to earmark any donations for this case.

I have seen a copy of the lawsuit, and based on my admittedly limited
knowledge of the law, it looks like this suit has a good chance.
Each of the plaintiffs list in the suit how the law puts their
careers in jeopardy (since in many cases they are required to
report being convicted of a crime on applications for licensing, etc).
I'll keep the net posted as I find out more.


Tina M. Wood                                al715@yfn.ysu.edu
  Activist geek healer curmudgeon One Life to Live fan
"God, grant me the serenity to just remember who I am."
Geek code: GSS/O d+ p- c++ l- m+ s-/ !g w+ t- r- x+