“OK to Say Gay” Rally in Knoxville, Tenn., Sunday

In response to Tennessee's recently passed "Don't Say Gay" bill, the Tennessee Equality Project and the Knoxville chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) are sponsoring an "It's OK to Say Gay" rally Sunday at a church in Knoxville.

Devon Hicks, interim chair of the Tennessee Equality Project Foundation's Safe Schools Committee, says the rally is not about gay agendas or liberal agendas -- it's simply a matter of safety. "No student should feel unsafe going to school," Hicks said. "They shouldn't have to worry about who's going to be bullying and harassing them."

According to KnoxNews.com, the rally -- fueled by the Senate Bill 49, which Gary Elgin, former director of Knoxville Pride and Rainbow Community Awareness Project, says has caused the state "national embarrassment" -- will kick off "several Tennessee-specific events aimed at supporting and empowering GLBT teens, and educating their parents, teachers and communities."

"Tennesseans are not narrow-minded; it's only the fringe and the far right who have made their voices the loudest," says Elgin. "We are a state of peace-loving and quality-minded people, and our laws need to reflect that."

The "It's OK to Say Gay" rally is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.

For more details, read the full story here.