York College Students Meet With Representative

NOTE FROM JAKE: This is a guest post from Cody Barnett, one of our most-fabulous activists at York College of Pennsylvania. He and several other students have worked on-campus over the past several weeks, raising awareness about statewide LGBT issues, and recently met with their own State Representative.

I and four other York College students had the pleasure of sitting down with State Representative Eugene De Pasquale (D) Tuesday March 4, to discuss his involvement with HB 1400 and SB 1250, and to present to him over 200 signed form letters that we collected during a three day tabling event held at York College of Pennsylvania. Between the five of us, we represented two distinct groups on campus, YCP Lambda (the Gay Straight Alliance) and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. This is the second time we have collaborated on a project to foster interaction between our two groups, and our relationship is one of the strongest on campus. De Pasquale was genuinely interested and spoke to us with respect and interest, as we conveyed to him our biggest concerns coming into the 2008 Presidential Election, and our growing concern for laws originating in the Pennsylvania Legislature aimed at reducing the legal rights for the LGBT community.

 

The best part about meeting with Representative De Pasquale was the feeling of genuine conviction for what he was doing that gushed from him as he shared personal stories about how his life has been positively impacted by LGBT people. De Pasquale also confided with us his belief that LGBT rights are a generational issue, one that in time within our lives will fade from the hot button issue it is today, to a completely accepted facet of life. I can honestly say that I’m proud to be served by a man of such high convictions and beliefs in Harrisburg as Representative Eugene De Pasquale

 

UPDATE: SB 1250 now on the calendar for Tuesday, March 18!

Just to again highlight the fluidity of the situation, Senate Bill 1250 is now slated to be discussed in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, March 18.

That means we now have TWO weeks to e-mail, call, and visit our State Senators and ask them to OPPOSE this legislation!

SB 1250 put on Judiciary Committee Calendar for this Tuesday, March 11!

The “Marriage Protection Amendment,” which is legislation to amend the PA constitution to define marriage as solely between one man and one woman, and prohibit civil unions, has been placed on the Judiciary Committee calendar for this Tuesday, March 11.

So that means we have just ONE week to really make our voices heard for the millions of Pennsylvanians who are opposed to this proposed amendment!  See the post below for many different action steps, but what we really need is for people to CALL their Senators, especially those who serve on the Judiciary Committee, and ask them to oppose SB 1250!

Here is a list of Judiciary Committee members, their district office phone numbers, and the counties they represent.  If you live in one of these counties, PLEASE call your Senator and ask them to oppose SB 1250!

Stewart Greenleaf, Chair.  (215) 657-7700.  Bucks, Montgomery

Mary Jo White, Vice Chair.  (814) 432-4345.  Erie, Warren, Forest, Venango, Clarion

Jay Costa, Minority Chair.  (412) 241-6690.  Allegheny

Joseph Scarnati, Leadership.  (814) 726-7201.  Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Warren

Pat Browne.  (610) 821-8468.  Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe

Jane Earll.  (814) 453-2515.  Erie

John Gordner.  (570) 784-3464.  Dauphin, Snyder, Northumberland, Montour, Columbia, Luzerne

Jane Orie.  (412) 630-9466.  Allegheny, Butler

Jeffrey Piccola.  (717) 896-7714.  Dauphin

John Rafferty.  (610) 831-8830.  Montgomery, Chester, Bucks

Lisa Boscola.  (610) 868-8667.  Monroe, Northampton, Lehigh

Wayne Fontana.  (412) 344-2551.  Allegheny

Michael Stack.  (215) 281-2539.  Philadelphia

Barry Stout.  (724) 225-5400.  Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, Washington, Westmoreland

“Marriage Protection Amendment” in Judiciary Committee!

I apologize for the small number of posts this past month, I have been out of the office recovering from a pretty nasty health issue—but as we’ve all seen, even when we have to take a break, the world keeps turning.

And unfortunately a lot has happened the past several weeks.  As most of you have seen, Senate Bill 1250, the “Marriage Protection Amendment,” has been introduced and referred to the Judiciary Committee.  This bill is yet another attempt to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to define marriage as solely between one man and one woman, and prohibit civil unions, among other forms of relationship recognition.  The bill currently has 18 co-sponsors.

Now that the bill is sitting in the Judiciary Committee, we need everyone to really step up and take action to stop this legislation!  The legislature is out of session and in budget hearings until March 10, which means a lot of your State Senators will be in their district offices— a perfect opportunity for you to stop-in for a visit and let them know how you feel about this bill.

The absolute most effective way to make your voice heard is to meet, face-to-face, with your legislators about this issue.  You know those in support of this bill are sitting down with their Senators, and if they do not hear from us, they’ll have no reason to oppose this bill!

For information on setting up a meeting with your law-makers, click here.

For talking points on Senate Bill 1250, click here.

To send an e-mail to your Senator asking them to oppose this bill, click here.

It only takes 30 seconds to send an e-mail, and you really can have an impact.  That said, it only takes 5 minutes to make a phone call, and only slightly more time to make a visit. If you have ANY questions about going to meet with your Senator about this, just e-mail Jake.

With your actions, with thousands of other fair-minded Pennsylvanians, we will once again successfully defeat this amendment!

Statewide Week of Action!

This week we’ve been working with our partnered organizations and activists all-across Pennsylvania to better engage our amazing supporters in advocacy to improve the lives of LGBT people in the state.

We have a ton of very exciting things happening throughout the state this week, all with the goal of moving pro-LGBT legislation forward in the state.

Equality Advocates is taking an active role during the Week of Action and providing several opportunities for activism:

Sunday, January 27- SNAP Advocacy Workshop at York College of Pennsylvania, 6:00-8:00pm (students only)

Monday, January 28- Volunteer Night in our Philadelphia Office, 5:30-7:30 pm

Tuesday, January 29- People of Faith Lobby Day in Harrisburg, 10:00- 3:00 pm

Tuesday, January 29- Liberty City Volunteer Night in our Philadelphia Office, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Additionally, we’re asking our supporters to call, e-mail and visit their State Representatives to advocate for the successful passage of House Bill 1400, legislation that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing, and public accomodations.

For more information on HB 1400, and ways to become involved, click here.

For more information on any of the above events, just e-mail Jake.

Stop the “Marriage Protection Amendment!!!”

They’re at it again. On Thursday, January 17, State Senators began work to introduce a “Marriage Protection Amendment” that would define marriage as solely between one man and one woman, and prohibit civil unions.

With all the legislative priorities in Harrisburg, this amendment is the last thing our Senators need to be working on. Please take a moment to call and e-mail your State Senator and ask them NOT to co-sponsor this amendment.

To send an e-mail and for more information, click here.

Off to a GREAT Start

We’ve started the year off right!  This week we held our first Volunteer Night of 2008 and six amazing women hit the phones to drum up support for passing a state non-discrimination bill. We made calls to supporters across the state asking them to contact their State Representatives in support of House Bill 1400.

Thank you to everyone who came out and volunteered, and don’t forget our next Volunteer Night will be held in Philly on Tuesday, Februay 12!

Making a REAL Difference

Throughout the summer and fall as I criss-crossed Pennsylvania getting folks to sign letters to their legislators in support of the non-discrimination bill, I’d often get a sad response: “Sure, I’ll sign this, but it won’t do a bit of difference.”

I want to share a recent example of how these efforts REALLY are paying off. Two weeks ago we sent over 6,000 letters to almost every state representative from constituents asking them to co-sponsor non-discrimination legislation. People in almost EVERY SINGLE DISTRICT showed their support for equality, and asked their elected officials to stand with them on this important bill.

Several letters were sent to freshman Republican Representative Susan Helm, who represents a district in the Harrisburg area. After receiving these letters, and speaking with people in the community, she’s signed on-board as a co-sponsor.

Our efforts are making an impact. If you live in Rep. Helm’s district, please take a moment to call and thank her for co-sponsoring House Bill 1400! Her district office number is 717-651-0100.

As we gear up for our Statewide Week of Action in January, I hope this one example helps inspire you all to take that next step and speak to your own legislator. As you can see, it truly makes a difference!

Celebrating Human Rights Day

Cody Barnett, of Lambda at York College of Pennsylvania, brought to my attention that today is Human Rights Day.

Human Rights Day 2007 marks the start of a year-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For more information, click here.

To commemorate this day, the Lambda group will be tabling at their Student Union until 2pm and asking fellow students to sign letters in support of state non-discrimination legislation to protect LGBT people from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accomodations.

MAJOR thanks to Lambda!! To send your own letter in support of this bill, just click here.

6,000 Letters from ALL-ACROSS PA!

Over the summer and fall, we’ve been criss-crossing the entire state and collecting letters in support of non-discrimination legislation to send to state legislators.  We’ve collected these at Pride events, college campuses, parties, and right on the street— and this week we were finally ready to send them to the statehouse!

Over 6,000 (!!!) letters were sent to 94% of the 203 state representatives and all 50 state senators. Think about that for a minute– almost every single house member, even those from crazy-small districts in the middle of nowhere, just received physical letters from their own constituents asking them to support non-discrimination legislation for the LGBT community.

Amazing.  Thank you to everyone who has helped collect these letters—and keep them coming!