OK. As everyone probably knows, Massachusetts is ground zero in the matter of same sex marriage. There are three special elections for state representative that could determine its future.
I diaried about this this morning:
MA Special Elections & Marriage Equality, so I will briefly recap, and cut to the chase.
Last year the MA Supreme Judicial Court legalized same sex marriage. In the resulting hoo ha, the legislature passed a constitutional amendment that would ban same sex marriage, but legalize civil unions. It needs to pass the legislature again this year, in order for it to go to the voters for ratification in 2006. The vote, which will be held next Fall will be close. If the amendment is defeated, marriage equality will remain a constitutional right in MA, (although opponents will probabaly not give up), but we can mostly move on to other issues. If the amendment passes, the referendum will be a central issue in the 2006 gubernatorial race and huge amounts of time and money will be spent trying to defeat the referendum. Marriage equality is a just cause in its own right and deserves support. But anyone who would like to increase the chances that republican governor Mitt Romney will be defeated in 2006, can help by helping elect pro-marriage equality candidates for the legislature now, and keeping the marriage amendment off the ballot.
Supporters of marriage equality and other progressive groups, are rallying around two candidates running in the democratic primaries, (while taking a pass in the third race because everyone running opposes the amendment.)
Below, I am reprinting the email I just received from Mass Equality which crisply lays out the details regarding how to contribute to these campaigns. Please contribute generously. Lets show once again what the netroots can do.
MassEquality PAC Endorses
Linda Dorcena Forry
to Replace Tom Finneran
Tim Schofield
to Replace Brian Golden
Dear Frederick,
The day has finally come! You can help replace former House Speaker and foe of equality Tom Finneran with a strong supporter of equal marriage rights! And you can help elect an openly-gay candidate to fill the seat of anti-gay former Rep. Brian Golden. The election is less than one month away- on March 15- so we are asking all MassEquality supporters to help out.
MassEquality PAC evaluated both races closely. To replace Tom Finneran, MassEquality has thrown its strong support behind Linda Dorcena Forry, a committed public servant from Dorchester. And to replace Brian Golden, the PAC is supporting Tim Schofield, an openly gay attorney active in political and community affairs. Both candidates have also received the endorsements of the National Organization for Women. To learn more, go to www.Lindadorcenaforry.com and www.Timforrep.org
In the third race on March 15 - to replace anti-gay legislator Peter Larkin in Pittsfield - we are extremely fortunate that all three candidates in the Democratic primary, as well as the lead candidate in the Republican primary, support equal marriage rights. As a result, the PAC did not make an endorsement in that race.
Please help by providing financial support - of whatever amount you can afford. The candidates have less than one month to get their message out. To do so, they need to raise funds quickly!
Use your credit card to contribute to Linda's campaign online by visiting Contribute to Linda or send a check to The Committee to Elect Linda Dorcena Forry, 123 Richmond St., Dorchester, MA 02124.
Contribute to Tim online by visiting Contribute to Tim, or send a check to Schofield Committee, 1686 Commonwealth Avenue, Brighton, MA 02135.
If you write a check, make sure to let the candidates know you are a MassEquality supporter!
If you are able to come to Boston to help on the campaigns, a schedule of volunteer opportunities is available at contribute to MassEquality
.
Also, please consider supporting MassEquality's work today. While these special elections are a great opportunity for us, they are unexpected, and therefore were not in our budget. Please contribute to MassEquality today so that we can continue to make a difference. To make a contribution, please visit www.massequality.org. As a special bonus, your contribution today will qualify for our $200,000 matching challenge.
Thanks very much for your consideration of Linda and Tim. Working together, we will elect both of these excellent candidates and be two steps closer to preserving equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Thank you,
Your MassEquality.org Update Team
P.S. Check out today's Bay Windows, article on the March 15th special elections:
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MassEquality.org is dedicated to ensuring that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision on marriage equality is upheld, and that any anti-gay amendment or legislation is defeated.
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