5/26/2007
Edition		   Jerry's 2007, Update on the Fight for Marriage Equality
 

  
PLEASE COME TO QUINCY
THIS COMING WEDNESDAY NIGHT
The new group that I have co-founded is holding a candle light vigil in our legislators front yard 
- we need high attendance 

ALSO: I have heard, direct from the State House, that our side has NOT been calling or writing in!.. 
This is VERY disturbing!
  

Friends,

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone.  Again before anything else, special THANKS to our friends Jeff and Scott for the great letters to the editor in this past weeks Globe!  This week's newsletter is brief because I am very focused on the success of the local group that I have co-founded here in Quincy, a group that needs the help of my friends outside of town.

This week's newsletter focuses on 2 major topics...  June 14th and the targeted actions we can take to ensure that date goes down in history as a VICTORY for civil rights. 

Quincy For Marriage Equality (QFME), the group that I have co-founded, has taken off at an exciting pace; just after 2 weeks, it has grown to over 100 members.  Within these two weeks we have already participated in 1 pubic event, held a membership meeting (with yet another surprisingly high turnout) and have another 2 event planned within the next 4 days.  Events that can use your support:

Quincy's Memorial Day Parade: QFME will be meeting on the steps of the United First Parish Church (you know the one with the GIANT Marriage Equality Banner) and collect signatures for our membership, which will eventually be used in an advertisement in our local papers. Please contact me if you are able to volunteer.

MOST IMPORTANT FOR ALL MY FRIENDS IN TRAVELING DISTANCE.  Please help my new group by attending THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT with the most potential impact before the the June 14th vote.  PLEASE COME TO THE QFME CANDLELIGHT VIGIL, THIS COMING WEDNESDAY IN QUINCY AT 7:00 PM  (link to more detail)   Friends, I need your help, this event needs people from Quincy, AND friends who support the people of Quincy.  Please try to make it, we need you here.

The other topic to fill you in on is the Constitution Convention itself on June 14th.  It is looking VERY likely that this is THE day the legislators will vote and I have learn from an email sent out by our opposition that they are putting everything they've got into building up the biggest State House attendance to day.  WE NEED A BIGGER TURNOUT!  PLEASE PLAN NOW TO TAKE JUNE 14TH OFF FROM WORK TO MAKE A STAND AT THE STATE HOUSE. The earlier you can get there, the better.  Our opposition has busses planned to leave from almost every town in the state (14 stops in my area of the state alone!)

It is now more important than ever that you take action land then encourage other to as well, just like I am doing with you.

  

  

I have heard, direct from the State House, that our side has NOT been calling or writing in!.. This is VERY disturbing!

  FIRST AND FOREMOST CALL YOUR SENATOR AND REP'S OFFICE: This is THE MOST POWERFUL WAY to make a difference... If you are not comfortable speaking live, then wait until after hours and leave a message.  

  Write a letter to your representative and to your senator (even if you already have, in the past) asking that they reject the marriage amendment. Email are ok, but hand-written letters that include your address and phone number have the most impact.   Your letter can be as simple as the phone script listed above.  You can find out who and where to write to at either:

 http://massequality.com/action/start.php 
or  www.wheredoivotema.com 

  Discuss the issue with someone new and get as many others as possible to take action too. 
It is the people that legislators have not yet heard from that can make THE DIFFERENCE to vote our way.

  Write a "Letters to the Editor" of your local papers... 

Specifically, the PATRIOT LEDGER has asked for your letters. (this publication covers many targeted legislators- who could potentially switch to support us - they ARE watching)

(if you need inspiration on what to write, please check the "editorial watch" listed below)

Not a writer or uneasy or not sure of the facts?..  I have a crew of writers willing to ghost write or help edit your letters.  The best letters are the ones that speak from the heart.

Tips for Writing Letters to the Editor are located on this PDF file (click here)

  If you, or anyone you know, lives in Quincy, PLEASE join the "Quincy for Marriage Equality" list of supporters by sending an email with your name, address and phone number to: contact@quincyformarriageequality.com  

or check out www.quincyformarriageequality.com for more information

  Contact me and let me know how you've helped... 

 

If you have comments/feedback or info that I should include next week, please feel free to use the feedback link to the left. 
   

  

Sen. Jarrett Barrios to leave office in July
THINKS LEGISLATIVE VOTE ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY WILL HAPPEN BEFOREHAND 
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation announced on Tuesday, May 22 that Sen. Jarrett Barrios, (D-Cambridge), will serve as president of the Foundation starting in July, giving the out senator only a handful of weeks to ensure marriage equality in Massachusetts remains in effect. 

But his decision to resign, said Barrios during a telephone interview on Wednesday, was the result of a perfect storm of events, not the least of which is his desire to be more available to his two sons ("they want to have their dads around," he said) and the unanimous support marriage equality has in Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Sal DiMasi. (Read More)

MassEquality unveils television campaign
THREE SEPARATE STORIES TOLD IN 30-SECOND TV COMMERCIALS  
With only four weeks left on the calendar before a scheduled vote (June 14) by lawmakers on a measure that would ban same-sex marriage by amending the state's Constitution, the media-savvy group is not taking any chances. (Read More)
  

Contact your lawmakers! 
The legislature will take up an amendment to the state constitution sometime in the next few months that, if passed, will go before voters in 2008. If voters approve it, the amendment will prohibit lesbian and gay couples from marrying. Your state representative and state senator need to hear from you about this amendment. Click here to find out who your local lawmakers are. Scroll down to District Representatives and select “Senate in General Court” and “Rep in General Court.” You can e-mail directly from the resulting pages or use the contact info to call or write them. Do it right now, with the information before you!. (Read)   
  

  

Mass. Gay Marriages Leveling Off
 (Boston, Massachusetts) The number of same-sex couples marrying in Massachusetts, the only state where gay marriage is legal, has dropped significantly. 

Statistics released this week by the Department of Public Health which records marriages in the state in the first four months of this year only 87 same-sex couples have tied the knot in Massachusetts. 

Same-sex marriage became legal on May 17, 2004. In the six months that year gay and lesbian couples were able to wed, 6,121 couples were married. In 2005 it dropped to 2060, and in 2006 1,427 were married. (Read More)

 

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Please take note, that you don't need to be from my area of MA anymore to get a letter to the editor published. PLEASE help to counter the anti-gay comments being printed and to help educate the general public. You can take a look at the recent letters in my "Editorial Watch" below for inspiration then submit your own letters.

PLEASE HELP by forwarding to me (sscivilrights@comcast.net,) "letters to the editor" and "news editorials" from any/all sources possible so that we can keep track and try to respond.