Please contact your senators

[Front-Ranger]

The vote is today on the Federal Marriage Amendment that would write discrimination into the Constitution of the United States. All U.S. citizens, please contact your senators and express your outrage. The Constitution is a Bill of Rights, not a Bill of Exclusions! Check out this site for more information:

http://www.hrc.org/voteno/voteno.htm

[Front-Ranger]

I don't do this very often...but Bump!!

[bbm_stitchbuffyfan]

I just wrote to my bigot of a senator. He better damn well read that letter!

[Front-Ranger]

I don't have all the details yet, but word is this shame of a bill was resoundingly defeated yesterday. I'm going to write to thank my senator Ken Salazar (no thanks to the other one, homophobic Allard) --and a note of thanks from everyone would put the final nails in the coffin. Take that, Bush!! You won't have equality in marriage to kick around any more!!

[nakymaton]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/07/same.sex.marriage/index.html

I'm going to thank Salazar, as well. And I'm thinking of writing letters to newspapers, because I am soooooooo sick of hearing this absurdity about protecting marriage and kids. Tell you what, I'm married, and I've got a kid. Protecting our marriage is, frankly, nobody's business but ours; nobody else's marriage can threaten my own. And I think my kid is far more threatened by a world where "freedom" is used to justify taking rights from individuals (and from the states, as well; the amendment would prevent state legislatures from changing the rules if this country comes to its senses in the future).

I'm also wondering which groups are most effective in fighting the various anti-same-sex-marriage amendments on a state-by-state basis -- especially in rural areas. You know, Front-Ranger, that there's a group trying to get a referendum for a constitutional amendment in our state onto the ballot, don't you? And that our state constitution is easy to amend, but hard to fix once it's been screwed up with an amendment?

[belbbmfan]

Tell you what, I'm married, and I've got a kid. Protecting our marriage is, frankly, nobody's business but ours; nobody else's marriage can threaten my own. And I think my kid is far more threatened by a world where "freedom" is used to justify taking rights from individuals

Very well said, nakymaton.
In my country (Belgium) gay marriage and adoption has been made legal. A big argument was that all families deserve the same legal protection. Those politicians should just get over themselves!

[Front-Ranger]

Yes, Mel, I went to a Common Cause meeting a couple of weeks ago where Mayor Hickenlooper spoke out against the Colorado amendment, and I gave them a wad of money. Fortunately we have here in Colorado a few guiding lights, including Tim Gill, CEO of Quark, who started the Gay and Lesbian Fund of Colorado which has been very active. But we also have idiots like Allard, who brought the Senate bill to the floor, and Marilyn Musgrave, who co-sponsored an identical bill going to the House which will definitely fail. Colorado seems to be a remnant of the Wild Wild West with a bunch of varmints running around amongst the God-fearing folk. See my blog in Our Daily Thoughts for more.

[Front-Ranger]

Here's a story about the Denver Mayor, John Hickenlooper's support for the GL community.

http://groups.google.com/group/Lambda-Rainbow-GLBT-NEWS/browse_thread/thread/b140b72749374b9d/8e0bce0a73adea27?lnk=st&q=%22John+Hickenlooper%22&rnum=6#8e0bce0a73adea27

[Front-Ranger]

This November, there will be two bills on the Colorado ballot: one allowing civil unions among same-sex couples, and another to limit marriage to men/women combinations. It should be interesting. We are fortunate to have Tim Gill, a philanthopist and creator of the legendary software QuarkXpress, here in Colorado and supporting the push for the first bill.

[serious crayons]

This November, there will be two bills on the Colorado ballot: one allowing civil unions among same-sex couples, and another to limit marriage to men/women combinations. It should be interesting. We are fortunate to have Tim Gill, a philanthopist and creator of the legendary software QuarkXpress, here in Colorado and supporting the push for the first bill.

My impression is that Colorado, like California and Oregon and probably a few others, is one of those split-personality states -- ultra conservative in rural areas and smaller towns, liberal in Boulder and tourist towns and maybe Denver? Am I right? You never know what's going to happen in those states.

[nakymaton]

Or like Illinois or Minnesota, for that matter.

Colorado would be significantly improved if Colorado Springs would just secede and join Texas or something. 

I think the most conservative areas, actually, are suburban areas along the Front Range. But it's pretty easy to convince people in the rural areas that liberal folks are out to steal their freedom, and in cases like this, small-mindedness and bigotry often beat out libertarian tendencies in the rural areas.

I predict that my part of the state will be split on those two measures. Letters to the editor in the local paper should be getting ugly pretty fast.

[Bucky]

My state is completely hopeless.  All of its Representatives are Republican except one and he is a conservative Democrat.  Both of our senators are conservative Republicans.  We have several good Democrats that would make our state better and more accepting of others but the leaders of this state reflect the will of the majority of the people.  My state is a red state that is considered southern but is very similar to its next door neighbors in Indiana and West Virginia.  There is no chance that our present representatives or two senators would lift a finger to stop the discrimination amendment.  They are all playing up to the "Bible thumping" preachers in this very conservative state.  Some of the state colleges are a little more sympathetic to diversity but state wide we are not much different today than in 1963 or 1984.  The people would listen to the state leaders if they would speak out against discrimination but they won't do that.

[serious crayons]

Or like Illinois or Minnesota, for that matter.

You might be right about Illinois. I am still pretty unfamiliar with politics outside of Chicago (or inside of Chicago, for that matter). But in Minnesota, many small town and rural areas have historically been pretty liberal -- the Democratic party there is called the DFL for Democrat-Farmer-Laborer, the party of farmers and Iron Range miners as well as famous liberal urbanites like Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale and Paul Wellstone. Most MN governors and other public officials have been Democrats, along with occasional very moderate Republicans.

Sadly, like everywhere else in the U.S., that's changing --  the state is becoming noticably more conservative. Though my impression is that it's the suburbs that are the hotbed of conservatism.

There! More than anyone outside the state would ever want to know about Minnesota politics.