G O O D B Y E 
F I N N E R A N ! ! !
WELCOME SAL DiMASI!..
  ... We've been waiting for you!!!
 
Friends,

The fight for civil rights in MA is far from over, but it just got a little easier to win now that the Thomas Finneran has stepped down from his position of MA State House Speaker. 

The House Speaker holds tremendous power over other legislators.  Finneran was one of the politicians that wrote up the discriminating amendment that recently passed by a narrow vote earlier this year.  He even had a representative FROM MY TOWN of Quincy that was known throughout the Statehouse has his "runner".  A runner is someone that supports the agenda of the Speaker instead of his constituents. The runner "runs" through the State house pressuring other reps to side with the Speaker on important issues.

Finneran has been replaced by Salvatore F DiMasi, a passionate defender of civil rights.   Goodbye Finneran; THANK YOU Sal!

Please click here to write Sal DiMasi an email of congratulations!

This helps our battle within the state but does not win it, never mind the overall WAR over civil rights in this country.  There is a LOT riding on this November election that many do not realize.  Governor Romney has helped to fund a record amount of anti-gay Republican challengers, and who ever wins the US Presidential election will be replacing several retiring Supreme Court Justices... Its a very scary time.   
GOOD LUCK (in the debate) TONIGHT JOHN!

Notable items this week:

Prospects shift as DiMasi takes over for Finneran
Foes of gay marriage see blow to amendment hopes 
The effort to bring a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to voters in November 2006 suffered a major setback yesterday with departure of House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran and the elevation of Salvatore F. DiMasi, whose arrival is expected to shift the Massachusetts legislative agenda to the left on social issues such as gay rights, abortion, and stem cell research. 

Full Story 

---

House moves to boost hate crimes bill, but...
... While the Senate passed a version of the bill last June, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has refused to bring the measure to a full House vote. Instead, he and several conservative colleagues are pushing for a vote on Thursday that would amend the U.S. Constitution to forbid same-sex couples from marrying

Full Story 
  

---

Please Read, Take Action and Forward...

Dear Jerry,

As I write this message, we are experiencing a monumental shift on Beacon Hill. Today, Massachusetts state representatives will elect Sal DiMasi the new Speaker of the House. On behalf of supporters of equality across the Commonwealth, I congratulate Representative DiMasi on his election.

Throughout his distinguished career, Representative DiMasi has been one of our legislature's strongest supporters of fairness and equality. We truly look forward to working with him as our next Speaker. Much has been made in the press about this change in leadership; In yesterday's Boston Globe, House Minority Leader Brian Lees was quoted saying our campaign "is pretty much over."

Despite Representative Lees' assurances, we continue to strengthen our operations so that we can organize better around the state to meet any political challenge that could turn back the clock on equality for same-sex couples. OUR CAMPAIGN IS NOT OVER. We still have a tremendous amount of work to do up through November and then the next Constitutional Convention to ensure that equal marriage rights are here to stay.

Our legislative team is working hard to assess the implications of the leadership changes, and we will continue to let you know how you can have the greatest impact in our campaign to preserve equal marriage rights in Massachusetts. Our recent history in the September 14th primary elections -- every pro-equality incumbent won, two anti-equality incumbents were turned out of office, and we increased momentum in the legislature to defeat the discriminatory amendment -- proves that the sustained efforts of MassEquality members can make an important difference on Beacon Hill.

Of course, we need to redouble our efforts over the next few months to ensure that we reelect all of our legislative allies and create even more momentum heading into the next Constitutional Convention. We will be calling upon you to donate your time and financial resources to pro-equality candidates and to our work at MassEquality supporting those candidates.

Our fiscal year ends tomorrow, and it seems unlikely that we will meet the $100,000 fundraising goal we had set at the beginning of the month. Meeting this goal will allow us to end the year on budget. Please take a moment today to consider the value of what MassEquality has done so far this year, our shared successes, and the groundwork we have laid to more fully prepare for the challenges of the future. If you believe, as I do, that our efforts have been a success and that we are preparing wisely to meet the new challenges we will surely face, I hope you will help us close out our fiscal year on a strong footing by making a contribution today online at www.MassEquality.org.

TAKE ACTION HERE

Dontamend.com

Dearmary.com