LGBT face challenges in rural Tennessee

Shayne Bilbrey cares about same-sex marriage, but he worries about other things.

Driving home alone at night, his heart skips a beat if headlights pop up in his rearview mirror. Still living with his parents, he wonders whether anyone will rent him an apartment in Monterey, Tenn.

As a 24-year-old gay man living halfway between Knoxville and Nashville, he knows the need-not-apply expression when he hands someone a job application.

So does Jennifer Hughes. She's a trans woman living in Savannah, a town on the Tennessee River halfway between Memphis and Nashville. Having begun her transition at age 13, she sees people every day whom she grew up with, including those who once passed around petitions to have her suspended from school for dressing different.

It never ends, she said. At age 24, she had to ask an administrator for protection at the technical college she attended when another student harassed her.

They say you have to be tough to be LGBT in rural Tennessee. An all-day summit in Nashville on Thursday will focus on the issues they face. The summit has been scheduled as a bill struggles to make its way through the legislature that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to state laws protecting people from discrimination.

"Marriage is an issue for people in rural parts of Tennessee, but whether to be out or not is one of the defining issues," said Chris Sanders with the Tennessee Equality Project. "Connected with that is the fear of violence and job discrimination because there are no legal protections."

Bilbrey uses one phrase repeatedly when talking about his life: "uphill battle."

But Bilbrey appreciates the victories, such as a strong anti-bullying policy adopted by the local school district and finally getting a job with an employer that respects a diverse workforce. He works at a Perdue chicken processing plant.

"What lured me to Perdue is I actually work with a transgender Hispanic woman," Bilbrey said. "That's what sold me to the company. If a transgender woman can work on a production line in Monterey, Tenn., then this little gay boy from Monterey can actually work on a production line there."

Hughes is still looking for a job.

"What it boils down to is not as many people care enough, especially in areas like this, to grasp the concept of what being trans is," she said. "It's almost like they see it as a perversion or something. I guess the way they see it is like a fetish. It is really not. It is who you are and how you identify."

While Bilbrey and Hughes are just getting started in life, Lisa McMillin of Lascassas and Jimmy Edge of Morristown are middle-aged people with their own homes and same-sex spouses. They have entered into marriages not recognized by Tennessee.

McMillin has been married for three years to her wife and they have a 2-year-old child together.

"On March 27, I am actually having a meeting with my attorney to do a will because if something happens to me, my wife doesn't get anything unless there's a will," McMillin said.

Edge said that even though he works in human resources he has difficulty understanding how differing federal and state policies affect his marriage. And while he's out of the closet, he's not parading.

"We don't walk down the street holding hands," Edge said. "We don't go to romantic dinners. We don't do that there. We went on vacation to Key West and we did hold hands going down the street there."

The summit in Nashville, which will be held at the Oasis Center, is part of the Rural Pride campaign sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Assistant Secretary of Civil Rights. Ashlee Davis, the director of the summit, said the series of meetings in different states is an unprecedented level of engagement between the federal government and the rural LGBT community.

Tennessee follows North Carolina, West Virginia, Nebraska, Texas and Louisiana on the summit itinerary. The RSVP event is nearly maxed out with reservations, but people can still register on EventBrite.

Abby Rubenfeld, a Tennessee lawyer arguing the legal case for same-sex marriage in federal courts, will give the keynote address. About two dozen others will lead panel discussions that begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.

Reach Tom Wilemon at 615-726-5961 and on Twitter @TomWilemon.

If you go

What: Summit on issues the LGBT community faces in rural Tennessee

When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday

Where: The Oasis Center, 1704 Charlotte Ave., Nashville

RSVP:www.eventbrite.com/e/the-lgbt-ruralsouthern-summit-series-nashville-tn-tickets-15222716555