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SAFE!!!
WE
WON!.. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT HAS HELPED TO KEEP
DISCRIMINATION OUT OF OUR CONSTITUTION.
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Friends,
We did
it! We achieved something we never thought possible! OVER
3/4 of our legislature voted to KEEP DISCRIMINATION OUT OF OUR
CONSTITUTION!
We will never again have to worry about hospital visitation denial, and
social organization or business discrimination again. THANK
YOU! CLICK
HERE TO VIEW OUR 2 VICTORIES from June 14th, 2007
We have just a little bit more
to do to make sure we NEVER go though this again. OUR supportive
legislators are getting HIT HARD with angry calls! WE NEED TO
SHOW OUR THANKS!.
Many folks
have recently asked me, "Jerry, what are you going to do with all
your time now?"
Well
first, we are not quite done... there are 3 different bills
to be addressed this year that could prevent such a horrible
experience from ever happening again... 1) to change the petition
process so that 51% majority is needed instead of 25%
legislative approval as it is now. 2) A formal bill stating that
the petition process cannot be used to restrict protections of MA
Citizens and 3) a bill that formally defines marriage as the
union of 2 consenting adults.
Next,
I intend on following through on my promise to support all those who
have supported me
and THEN,,
I'm going to work in my garden, I'm going to get back to the gym, I'm
going to sail with my husband on our boat, I'm going to read the new
Tales of the City book coming out, I'm going to spend more time with
my family and I'm going to enjoy my freedom and spend time with all
the amazing new friends I have made over the last 3 years.
This has been
a long, exhausting fight. I am proud of myself and for all who
have helped to shape the history of this country. We really have
made history. In a time when our country has faced some of its
most divisive times ever, we have moved forward to UNITE.
I will
occasionally update my personal newsletter online and maybe send out a
few updates if necessary, but...
THIS IS MY
LAST OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER
Your friend,
Jerry
We must say thank you.
Amendment defeated 45-151
 In
the June 14 constitutional convention, state lawmakers defeated the
proposed amendment to the constitution that would have taken away the
civil right to marry from same-sex couples. The final tally on the
measure was 45 in favor and 151 against. The amendment needed just 50
votes to pass. The vote came just five months after the first vote by
lawmakers on the amendment in which 62 lawmakers backed it.
.
(Read
More)
JUBILATION: Same-sex marriage proponents cheer after an amendment that could have banned the unions is defeated
Before the votes were cast, Carol Gannon and De Larson already had tears in their eyes.
For the Quincy couple, who married after Massachusetts legalized same sex marriage in 2004, defeating the effort to put an amendment banning such unions on the state ballot was overwhelming.
‘‘I feel like my marriage really counts now, like I’m a fully accepted human being,’’ Gannon said, after the votes were counted.
Larson, an Army veteran, also felt vindicated.
‘‘The civil rights that I served to uphold, I’m now able to access them,’’ she said.
(Read
More)
Roll Call of Shame
The
following lawmakers voted in favor of the amendment to take away the
civil marriage rights of same-sex couples.
(Read
More)
Lawmakers withdraw support for anti-gay proposal
A bill sponsored by the anti-gay group MassResistance to restrict discussion of LGBT issues in schools has lost the support of nearly half its co-sponsors after a campaign by the group KnowThyNeighbor.org and its supporters asking lawmakers to reject the bill. In an unexpected twist, some of the co-sponsors who withdrew told Bay Windows that their decision was not a change of heart; they claimed that they never agreed to co-sponsor the legislation in the first place, and they were uncertain how their name was added to the co-sponsor list to begin with.
(Read
More)
What marriage equality advocates are saying
SOME ARE CALLING IT ME DAY; OTHERS, THE DAY THE LEGISLATURE PUT ITS COLLECTIVE FOOT DOWN AND STOPPED AN ASSAULT ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY.
What marriage equality advocates are saying about the June 14 vote at the Constitutional Convention..
(Read
More)
Tyranny by ballot
OPPONENTS of gay marriage say democracy was stolen by the Massachusetts Legislature. Former governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, "Unfortunately, our elected representatives decided that the voice of the people did not need to be heard."
To the contrary, the Legislature, by voting to keep a gay marriage ban off the 2008 statewide ballot, acted in the best tradition of James Madison.
(Read
More)
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