Signs of Spring in PA

Blog for Equality Pgh Central
Aaah! The signs of spring in Pennsylvania are upon us: Daffodils and tulips bloom, winter coats are put away, and some douchebag in the PA State House offers up a "Marriage Protection" amendment to our Constitution.

This time around it's Daryl Metcalfe. (Serously, it's apparently a real Rite of Spring with these guys --see here and here.)

Don't let them succeed in their sad little dance. Sign the petition here to stop House Bill 1434.
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A Win For Equality

In case you missed it, 8 out of 14 PA Senators on the Judiciary Committee voted to table SB 707.

Great job to everyone who called/emailed committee members!

And, kudos to the 20+ bloggers who participated in Blog for Equality Day.
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MAKE THAT CALL!

From Equality Advocates Pennsylvania:

SB 1250, the anti-family constitutional amendment was voted out of the the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 5 and a full Senate vote can occur as soon as May 6. We need your help NOW!

Please call your state Senator and Representative on Tuesday and ask them to oppose SB 1250. To find out the name of your state legislators and their contact information, visit our Legislator Locater -- just enter your address, then click on the "state" tab above the legislators' pictures.

Please visit our website for updated information.

Thank you to everyone who attended today's rally! There were approximately 400 people who opposed the legislation in the Capitol rotunda. Senators Connie Williams, Jim Ferlo and Vince Fumo spoke against the bill, as well as Representatives Babette Josephs, Dan Frankel and Mike O'Brien. Senator Wayne Fontana and Representatives Steve Nickol, David Steil, Kathy Manderino and Mike Gerber were also in attendence.

Other speakers included members of the Value All Families Coalition: Stacey Sobel of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania; Karen Buck of the SeniorLAW Center; Rev. Paul Fullmer, Chaplain, Lebanon Valley Community College; Diane Topakian, SEIU; and Andy Hoover of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

Legislators, staffers and citizens heard and saw the rally. In fact, legislators said that they could hear the chants of "STOP THIS BILL" on the House floor.

Thank you to everyone who has called, written and visited your state legislators -- it truly makes a difference!

Much more on this issue can be found at Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents including a list of local Senators:

Jay Costa: Harrisburg (717) 787-7683, Pittsburgh (412) 241-6690
Sean Logan: Harrisburg (717) 787-5580, Pittsburgh (412) 664-5200
Wayne Fontana: Harrisburg (717) 787-5300, Pittsburgh (412) 344-2551
John Pippy: Harrisburg (717) 787-5839, Pittsburgh (412) 262-2260
Jim Ferlo: Harrisburg (717) 787-6123, Pittsburgh (412) 621-3006
Jane Orie: Harrisburg (717) 787-6538, Pittsburgh (412) 630-9466 j
J. Barry Stout: Harrisburg (717) 787-1463, Pittsburgh (724) 225-5400 b
Gerald Lavelle: Harrisburg (717) 787-3076, Pittsburgh (724) 654-1444
Mary Jo White: Harrisburg (717) 787-9684, Pittsburgh (814) 432-4345
Donald C.White: Harrisburg (717) 787-8724, Pittsburgh (724) 357-0151
Robert D. Robbins: Harrisburg (717) 787-1322, Pittsburgh (724) 588-1323
Bob Regola: Harrisburg (717) 787-6063, Pittsburgh (724) 600-7002
Richard Kasunic: Harrisburg (717) 787-7175, Pittsburgh (724) 626-1611

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Maria's "Blog for Equality Day" Post

The subject of the "equality" of this day is an attempt to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to define marriage as solely between one man and one woman as part of a "Marriage Protection Amendment."

First, let's throw out any straw man arguments: we are talking about the legal institution of marriage. We are not speaking about any particular religion's take on the subject -- they are free to define marriage exactly as they want.

What we are talking about is a legal contract between two adults. A contract that, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, confers over 1,000 protections and benefits to couples who enter into it. A contract that is currently only available to heterosexual couples. This despite the fact that there are already thousands of families in Pennsylvania headed by gays and that society has determined that encouraging stabile, monogamous relationships is healthy for children in these and all families.

Moreover, this proposed amendment could possibly remove existing legal protections for committed long-term couples and their children and would prohibit civil unions by heterosexual couples.

So, what exactly is being "protected" here?

No one has ever been able to adequately explain how allowing gays to marry weakens hetero marriages.

The only thing that this amendment does is "protect" gays from having the same rights, benefits, privileges and protections as heteros and "protect" children with gay parents from having the same security that children have whose parents are straight.

It "protects" and enshrines inequality and therefore must be protested.

Equality Advocates Pennsylvania asks that you do the following to register your disagreement with this amendment:

Click HERE to e-mail your State Senator!

Click HERE for more information on setting up a meeting with your Senator!

Email Jake at jkaskey@equalitypa.org to help out!

It's a good start.
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"Blog For Equality"

Let me just say that as someone who will be getting married soon (no date set, yet, sorry), I am just so grateful to the Pennsylvania legislature for acting to protect the institution of marriage from those despicable homosexual hordes. I mean if my gay friend Sue - and don't get me wrong, I don't hate teh gays, some of my best friends are gay - but if she were allowed to marry her partner it would disturb my life in many many many frightening ways. Ways I can not now imagine without some horrific soul-crushing shudder.

What would we tell the children (who, let's face it are the products of the regular natural het'rosexual process) if they were to ask about Heather's two mommies? It's a completely uncomfortable discussion that no right thinking straight person should be forced to have. All we hear about these days are equal rights for teh gays. What about my right not to have to think about them? What about my right not to have my regular het'rosexual lifestyle disturbed by such notions? Why should I waste my beautiful mind on such things?

Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to teh gay lifestyle (as unnatural as it obviously is, Leviticus 18:22), but I just don't want to see it. If only those people could cover it up and at least look straight and normal - that would make me much more comfortable in my own life.

And so in response, I think it's utterly reasonable to limit the constitutional protections of those sad, misguided people. I mean they made their choice not to have a normal regular life, didn't they? Let them live with the consequences! Make them second class citizens! We should all make sure that we're pleasing the Almighty (who, let's face facts here, single handedly created America to be a Christian-Nation) by making sure we do His will by being hateful and intolerant to teh gays whenever we think He'd want us to.

I just wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that some gay person somewhere might actually be getting equal treatment under the law.

And so, we have to change the law.

--Dayvoe

PS if you don't get the joke, you're reading the wrong blog.