AMERICAblog: Californians need your help on the anti-gay ballot measure
devlzadvocate
· 1 year ago
The first thing we all need to do is get the 56 days thing out of our heads. Try 26 days. Applications for absentee ballots are going out NOW. Voting with absentee ballots will BEGIN ONE MONTH prior to the election.
Some states have EARLY VOTING.
Basically, most voters will have made all of their decisions by October 15. The way the polls look around the 15th is what you will get on election day.
Bostonian_Queer_in_Dallas
· 1 year ago
And keep praying that the unpolled (cell phone kids) are being ignored and will turn out in droves....Obama Teeshirts are way up in sales....they will defeat the evangenital white trash Prop 8.
scooter in brooklyn
· 1 year ago
you asked, i gave. thanks for the heads up john.
cmpnwtr
· 1 year ago
Talk to the pro-McCain gays.. what's their self-hating problem? Log cabin Republicans- self haters!
Talk to the Human Rights Campaign. They gave $10,000 to those self-hating Log-Cabin republics who then turned around and gave it to McCain and Palin.
Then the Human Rights Campaign turns around and wants MORE money to defeat McCain and Palin. ENOUGH!
shell
· 1 year ago
One thing we need to do is: PHONE BANKS. They cost nothing and make a difference.
Last weekend, an anti-gay phone-banker called me to push her cause. You could tell she was just calling from her home, because the Caller ID showed the number. (Professional ones show "Blocked" or "Private." Not this one.)
Indigo
· 1 year ago
The richest state in the nation wants me to help by donating cash from my limited retirement pittence. Yeah, that's gonna not happen.
TampaZeke
· 1 year ago
Then consider contributing to the No On 2 campaign in the not so rich state of Florida where the Amendment will not only ban same-sex marriage but will also ban civil unions and domestic partnerships (90% of which are between straight couples; especially elderly pensioners) at state institutions (like universities) and municipalities across the state.
This last week the 6000 churches kicked into high gear vowing to preach against marriage equality and for the amendment every Sunday between now and the election. We have NOTHING on our side to match this level of mobilization of a captive and receptive audience. All we can do is educate friends, family. neighbors and co-workers and try to run ads that inform people about the ture consequences of this hateful and hurtful amendment.
We need a lot of money to do that.
Consider contributing at VoteNoOn2.com (Fairness for All Families) or SayNo2.com (Florida Red and Blue).
SanDiegoGuy
· 1 year ago
On Sunday I marry my partner of 25 years. We've registered at www.eqca.org to preserve this freedom. I didn't think Marriage would make a difference in our relationship, but it does - believe me. Most of all, our marriage is attracting public and tangible expressions of support that we NEVER received as Domestic Partners. I take comfort in annoying the likes of Sarah Palin. Thanks for helping us all to beat Prop 8 in November.
barts
· 1 year ago
I will give. I think that if California can stand up to the Marriage foes it will send a strong signal to the rest of the nation that California, Mass and Canada will not suffer punishment under God's will for allowing marriage and that life will go on normally. In fact California's economy will be helped enormously as a result.
I sure hope that Lorri Jean taps some of the rich Hollywood types who don't want to live a State with discrimination written into their state constitution.
If I give, please don't overburden me with an onslaught of emails. To this day I get on average about 25 emails from the groups I've made donations to in the past and I just don't have the time to respond to all of them.
devlzadvocate
· 1 year ago
I'll give a small amount, but I'm wondering where everybody was when Michigan was passing an amendment to the State Constitution to deny marriage, CIVIL UNIONS and DENY DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS to public employees.
Oh, but that was Michigan and this is California. Some are more equal than others.
S1AMER
· 1 year ago
This civil marriage rights battle in California is absolutely the SECOND most important election issue this fall (after the presidency, natch). You don't have to live in California to support this fight, and you don't need to be a gay American. Whoever you are, wherever you are, please follow the link and contribute. The future will thank you.
And, yes, the battles in Florida and Arizona are also extremely important. (California matters so much because the state is so big.) Do whatever you can, wherever you can. It matters so much.
voxbear
· 1 year ago
I have very mixed feelings about this plea from California...
I lived in California the past 3 years and wanted nothing more than the chance to form a legal union with my partner. The California legislature passed a Marriage Bill in 2006 and Gov. Ahnold promptly vetoed it. Yet when Ahnold ran for re-election in 2006 many prominent voices in the gay community and media supported him out right or offered tepid support to Angelides.
What did Ahnold do again in 2007? He vetoed the bill again JUST AS HE PROMISED, and the gays stood by and watched waiting for the Supreme Court to come to their rescue.
Now I know Ahnold is not supporting the inititiave to repeal the marriage ruling, but I maintain that if the gay community had supported a governor would be have signed this bill, the right wing opposition would had a much tougher row to hoe to repeal it than their tirade about unelected judges legislating from the bench. Hence, its their as much their blame that they find themselves in this place today. I say go ask the rich Hollywood and San Fran gay community to put their money where their mouth is and live with the consequences of their actions.
As a resident now of one of the other 49 states, I see nothing good coming to marriage equaltiy for the rest of us as a result of this initiative passing or failing. I'll go for a civil union bill won with hard work and honor such as we saw in NH and CT before sending money to buy ads to make the California media richer.
Judas Peckerwood
· 1 year ago
From what I've seen, the "No on 8" folks have a pretty crappy fundraising operation. I gave a fairly substantial donation online a couple of months ago, and aside from a brief thank-you e-mail have heard nothing from them since. Keeping your donors in the loop and hitting them up for more cash is Fundraising 101. I'll still give them more, but I'm not impressed.
Judas Peckerwood
· 1 year ago
From what I've seen, the "No on 8" folks have a pretty crappy fundraising operation. I gave a fairly substantial donation online a couple of months ago, and aside from a brief thank-you e-mail have heard nothing from them since. Keeping your donors in the loop and hitting them up for more cash is Fundraising 101. I'll still give them more, but I'm not impressed.
rja4429
· 1 year ago
California has its concerns, for sure, and we wish them the best in their efforts. But here in the hate state of Florida, we have our own huge problem. We already have a law on the books banning gay marriage. Now voters are being cajoled into turning it into a constitutional amendment so to prevent "activist judges" from overturning the law. I surely hope California Gays win their battle, but we've got our hands full here and can't spend our time and money elsewhere. Florida's Jesus-freak, hate-mongering "Christians" are going all out to get this amendment passed -- in the name of a proclaimed "loving" God. And Floridians, assuming their votes will be counted this time (you can be sure these votes will), will never vote against God. Too bad we can't get some leadership from pretend straight Governor Charlie, so we've got to fend or ourselves.
RCS
· 1 year ago
I had a letter published a while back in an Oregon paper on just this topic. It states my own thoughts quite clearly. Here it is:
"Victory in California" was the title of an editorial in your publication, but that victory has to be fought for again if it is truly to be won. The enemies of the Supreme Court decision giving gays and lesbians the right to marry are pouring all of their energy and resources in the effort to pass Proposition 8 and overturn the court’s action.
Now I do not live in California, nor am I currently in a relationship with anyone whom I would want to marry. However, that does not stop my recognizing just how crucial it is that we triumph and defeat this referendum. The most important battle for gay rights in 2008 is not being fought in our own home states. It is being fought in California, and the outcome there will affect all of us.
Enormous attention is being paid to what is happening in California by states such as New York and New Jersey where legislators may very well pass gay marriage into law if the anti-gay referendum in California is defeated. A gay rights win in California could have ripple effects not just in those two states, but possibly even in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, the District of Colombia and New Mexico. It could, also, have an impact on the court case in Iowa. However, Proposition 8 has to be defeated first.
In the neighboring states of Oregon, Nevada and Arizona, the impact could be just as dramatic. It might be possible to resist the trend for a while, but a solid victory in California will eventually make the unthinkable in the surrounding states thinkable. So, this is not just a struggle for the right to wed in California, but one for that right throughout the whole West.
There may not be any immediate future wins in western state legislatures for full gay marriage, but who knows what will happen eventually in the courts should gay marriage start rippling across the country from California? The whole legal topic could be reopened and determined a different way. After all, the United States Supreme Court reversed itself on the matter of private adult sexual conduct. With a change in California, the same thing could happen with marriage rights in western state supreme courts.
This is the crucial one that we have to win. In this case, money is one of our strongest weapons. It’s time for gays and lesbians everywhere to open their wallets and pocketbooks, and make as large a donation as possible to this good fight. Contributions can be made directly to Equality California at www.eqca.org. This battle is our battle, and together we can win a permanent victory in California.
All Comments
Some states have EARLY VOTING.
Basically, most voters will have made all of their decisions by October 15. The way the polls look around the 15th is what you will get on election day.
Log cabin Republicans- self haters!
As for family values- here's Nat. Enquirer vetting Palin, since no one else will:
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/_palin_family_s...
Then the Human Rights Campaign turns around and wants MORE money to defeat McCain and Palin. ENOUGH!
Last weekend, an anti-gay phone-banker called me to push her cause. You could tell she was just calling from her home, because the Caller ID showed the number. (Professional ones show "Blocked" or "Private." Not this one.)
This last week the 6000 churches kicked into high gear vowing to preach against marriage equality and for the amendment every Sunday between now and the election. We have NOTHING on our side to match this level of mobilization of a captive and receptive audience. All we can do is educate friends, family. neighbors and co-workers and try to run ads that inform people about the ture consequences of this hateful and hurtful amendment.
We need a lot of money to do that.
Consider contributing at VoteNoOn2.com (Fairness for All Families) or SayNo2.com (Florida Red and Blue).
I sure hope that Lorri Jean taps some of the rich Hollywood types who don't want to live a State with discrimination written into their state constitution.
If I give, please don't overburden me with an onslaught of emails. To this day I get on average about 25 emails from the groups I've made donations to in the past and I just don't have the time to respond to all of them.
Oh, but that was Michigan and this is California. Some are more equal than others.
And, yes, the battles in Florida and Arizona are also extremely important. (California matters so much because the state is so big.) Do whatever you can, wherever you can. It matters so much.
I lived in California the past 3 years and wanted nothing more than the chance to form a legal union with my partner. The California legislature passed a Marriage Bill in 2006 and Gov. Ahnold promptly vetoed it. Yet when Ahnold ran for re-election in 2006 many prominent voices in the gay community and media supported him out right or offered tepid support to Angelides.
What did Ahnold do again in 2007? He vetoed the bill again JUST AS HE PROMISED, and the gays stood by and watched waiting for the Supreme Court to come to their rescue.
Now I know Ahnold is not supporting the inititiave to repeal the marriage ruling, but I maintain that if the gay community had supported a governor would be have signed this bill, the right wing opposition would had a much tougher row to hoe to repeal it than their tirade about unelected judges legislating from the bench. Hence, its their as much their blame that they find themselves in this place today. I say go ask the rich Hollywood and San Fran gay community to put their money where their mouth is and live with the consequences of their actions.
As a resident now of one of the other 49 states, I see nothing good coming to marriage equaltiy for the rest of us as a result of this initiative passing or failing. I'll go for a civil union bill won with hard work and honor such as we saw in NH and CT before sending money to buy ads to make the California media richer.
"Victory in California" was the title of an editorial in your
publication, but that victory has to be fought for again if it is truly
to be won. The enemies of the Supreme Court decision giving gays and
lesbians the right to marry are pouring all of their energy and resources
in the effort to pass Proposition 8 and overturn the court’s action.
Now I do not live in California, nor am I currently in a relationship
with anyone whom I would want to marry. However, that does not stop my
recognizing just how crucial it is that we triumph and defeat this
referendum. The most important battle for gay rights in 2008 is not being
fought in our own home states. It is being fought in California, and the
outcome there will affect all of us.
Enormous attention is being paid to what is happening in California by
states such as New York and New Jersey where legislators may very well
pass gay marriage into law if the anti-gay referendum in California is
defeated. A gay rights win in California could have ripple effects not
just in those two states, but possibly even in Connecticut, Rhode Island,
Maryland, the District of Colombia and New Mexico. It could, also, have
an impact on the court case in Iowa. However, Proposition 8 has to be
defeated first.
In the neighboring states of Oregon, Nevada and Arizona, the impact
could be just as dramatic. It might be possible to resist the trend for a
while, but a solid victory in California will eventually make the
unthinkable in the surrounding states thinkable. So, this is not just a
struggle for the right to wed in California, but one for that right
throughout the whole West.
There may not be any immediate future wins in western state legislatures
for full gay marriage, but who knows what will happen eventually in the
courts should gay marriage start rippling across the country from
California? The whole legal topic could be reopened and determined a
different way. After all, the United States Supreme Court reversed itself
on the matter of private adult sexual conduct. With a change in
California, the same thing could happen with marriage rights in
western state supreme courts.
This is the crucial one that we have to win. In this case, money is one
of our strongest weapons. It’s time for gays and lesbians everywhere
to open their wallets and pocketbooks, and make as large a donation
as possible to this good fight. Contributions can be made directly to
Equality California at www.eqca.org. This battle is our battle, and
together we can win a permanent victory in California.
RCS