ACT On Principles

Evan Dalzell — Thursday, October 15, 2009

It’s time to take a drive for Equality.

If you are within driving distance to Maine, consider making a trip to Maine and help us protect Marriage Equality.  In just 19 days Maine will decide the direction for the national marriage equality movement.  With a dead heat in the polls, this vote may come down to just a few votes.  When the election results come in, can you risk not doing all you can to protect Maine’s Marriage Equality.

We are asking you to gas up the car and take a drive ( or carpooling) up to Maine for a week, weekend or even just a day.  We have launched a new website called Drive for Equality to help you plan your trip.

http://www.driveforequality.org

No experience is required. Traveling volunteers will canvass, call voters, support our data or logistics teams and take part in campaign events.

Sign up to Drive for Equality to Maine. Your short road trip will make a big difference.

P.S. Can’t make it to Maine? Join Call for Equality, our virtual phone bank program, and help contact voters from your home or office. All you need is a phone and an internet connection to make a difference. Sign up here:

http://protectmaineequality.org/callforequality

Marriage Vote Could Be Coming – Call Your Senator Today!

Governor Paterson has announced that he will be calling the legislature back to Albany at the end of October to deal with the state’s budget deficit and other important issues.  This is the best opportunity in months that our community has had to get the State Senate to debate and vote on the marriage bill. We also believe that this will very likely be the last chance that we have to get a vote on marriage this year.
Last week, State Senator Tom Duane, the marriage bill’s lead sponsor, said that he believes a vote could come before the November 3 elections. And today the Times Union in Albany called on the State Senate to stop delaying and vote on marriage immediately.

It’s been a frustrating year for all of us. There have been unforeseen roadblocks that have prevented legislation—crucial human rights bills—from getting their due attention in the State Senate.

We now have an opportunity to get a vote on marriage, and we need to make sure you deliver the message to your Senator that we’re done waiting. It’s time to vote.

Click here to find your State Senator’s phone number. Nothing is as effective as making a phone call to deliver the message that you expect a vote on marriage before the end of the month.
It is very important for our community and allies to step up now and demand that equality for our families takes priority. Call your Senator today and stay tuned for more updates from the Pride Agenda.

A major victory for LGBT New Yorkers could literally be days away.

P.S.  Please know the Pride Agenda is actively talking to all sides in the State Senate and many Senators are ready to support us, but they must hear from you—even if you’ve contacted them before—so that they are reminded that this issue is not going away and needs to be taken up now.

You should also know that a decision from our state’s highest court is coming out before the end of the year that could undermine the protections thousands of New York LGBT couples have sought for their families by going out-of-state to get married.  If the State Senate had already passed the marriage equality bill, our families would not be in this vulnerable position.

Call now so your Senator hears from you!

The House is poised to take a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) soon. While the real fight is going to be in the Senate, it is worthwhile to pause for a moment and take note of where we are in the House. Crunch time is coming, and it won’t work to call the day before the vote.

There are, according to my calculations, 212 likely yes votes in the House. That is 5 shy of the 217 needed to win a majority of votes. (Normally it’s 218, but there are two vacant seats, California’s District 10 and Florida’s District 19, and I don’t believe these vacancies will be filled prior to the ENDA vote in the House. Feel free to correct me if you have better info.)

Two weeks ago, there was a vote to strip hate crimes from the Defense Authorization Act in the House. It lost, but I and many others took the opportunity to note which Representatives showed their true colors. For those legislators who voted to strip us out, and were previously unconfirmed on ENDA, I moved to the “probable no” column. We need to focus our limited time and energy (though I hope some will step forward on ENDA). That leaves 36 U.S. Representatives who are unconfirmed on ENDA. Their emails (and phone numbers) are after the jump. Please contact those near you and ask for their support on ENDA.

Click here for contact info for those 36 U.S. Representatives.