Indiana

Rally at the Indiana Statehouse to Oppose SJR-7

A while back, I wrote about SJR-7, the bill to amend the Indiana constitution to eliminate equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, and I urged people to contact the legislators responsible for this atrocious piece of legislation.

Well, there’s more you can do.

Indiana Equality is organizing a rally at the State House to oppose this amendment, and to support two other pieces of legislation that help protect lgbt people – a hate crimes bill that covers sexual orientation and gender identity, and an anti-discrimination bill, both of which are being introduced this legislative session.
The rally — called the “Read the Fine Print” — will feature Candace Gingrich, sister of Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

WHAT: “Read the Fine Print!” Rally at the Statehouse
WHEN: Monday, February 19, 2007 from 1:00 pm — 2:30 pm
(Presidents Day)
WHERE: Indiana Statehouse, North Atrium, 200 W. Washington
(Enter off Ohio Street)

Enter the Statehouse using the Ohio Street entrance. Please allow extra time, as you may have to go through security. Also be aware that street parking may be hard to find. The Circle Center Mall garage is only a few blocks away and relatively inexpensive.
Note that this is on President’s Day – a day when many people already have off work — so you can attend this rally. I’ll be there. You will have the opportunity to meet with your legislators at some time during or after the rally to speak your mind if you like (see information on training below.)
You can RSVP that you will be attending at this Indiana Equality link.

ALSO…

You can get training to lobby your legislator prior to the rally, in the morning on the same day. Indiana Equality, Human Rights Campaign, and Stop The Amendment will be providing a two-hour crash course in techniques for constituents to successfully communicate with and educate their State legislators.

WHAT: Lobbying Your Legislator 101
WHEN: Monday, February 19th, 2007 from 9:30am – 11:30am
(President’s Day)
WHERE: Christ Church Cathedral, 125 Monument Circle
COST: $5 (includes training, materials, and continental
breakfast)

Reserve your spot in lobbying training.
Topics of this session will include:
Do’s and Don’ts when talking to legislators
The “Marriage” Amendment

  • Process of amending Indiana?s Constitution
  • Background on the Amendment
  • Facts, talking points, and likely objections

Hate Crimes Legislation

  • How a bill becomes law
  • Background on Hate Crimes legislation
  • Facts, talking points, and likely objections

Street parking may be hard to find. The Circle Center Mall garage is only a few blocks away and relatively inexpensive.

Continue ReadingRally at the Indiana Statehouse to Oppose SJR-7

Anti-Marriage Equality Amendment Introduced to Indiana Legislature

As Bilerico is reporting – the massively flawed legislation to put an anti-marriage equality amendment (banning civil marriage for same-sex partners) on the ballot for voting had been re-introduced to the legislature.

Here’s the proposed bill:

DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Definition of marriage. Provides that marriage in Indiana consists only of the union of one man and one woman. Provides that Indiana law may not be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.

That second line — that’s the massively flawed part. The idea is not only to prevent us from getting married, but also to prevent civil unions. But the wording of this bill is so bad that it has ramifications FAR BEYOND same-sex couples, and far beyond civil unions. This is what happened in Ohio – domestic violence laws are being invalidated for heterosexual couples who are unmarried – and women are being victimized as a result, because they’re abused by their live-in boyfriends, but the police can’t prosecute because they aren’t “married.”

Read that second paragraph again, and think about it for a minute.

Now think about that in context of Stephanie and I, trying to build a life together – to protect our joint property and provide for one another as we get older. That can invalidate wills, powers of attorney, living wills, assets and trusts.

We have to spend thousands of dollars that heterosexual people don’t to protect our lives – you get it just by getting a $10 marriage license. And that second line of this bill – can throw all of it out the window.

This bill is CRAZY – and it’s going to be voted on in the legislature a second time. It’s called SJR-7 – Senate Resolution 7. You can track what’s happening to it at that link.

The Homophobic Hate-Filled Bigots Responsible

Republican Senator Brandt Hershman (Wheatfield) – the Majority Whip

These people know what that second line means – they know how harmful it can be. They’re aware that we could lose our assets and be out in the cold, and they know about the problems in Ohio – but they’re so filled with hatred they don’t care.

Please contact every single one of these utter jackholes (information at the links) and tell them that they’re not good Christians for supporting this kind of discrimination, (make sure to say SJR-7) and call them on being the evil, hate-filled bigots that they are.

Stephanie and Steph

Do it for us — aren’t we cute? Shouldn’t we get to have a life together? Don’t you love us? Let these guys know that what they’re doing hurts people you care about.

Why this should be decided by courts, not by ballot

Civil rights should not be subject to the tyranny of the majority. That’s the key that sets America apart from other democracies – We have a Bill of Rights that protects the rights of the individual from the whims of the masses.

If we let people vote on civil rights, Rosa Parks would still be sitting at the back of the bus right now. Fortunately, the wiser head of a court system were allowed to interpret the law and decide discrimination was wrong.

But if we let Indiana citizens AMEND THE CONSTITUTION just to arbitrarily discriminate against a group of people, we’ll be betraying every principle the country stands for.

Continue ReadingAnti-Marriage Equality Amendment Introduced to Indiana Legislature

House District 97 Vote Recounts

Taking Down Words gives a nice run-down of what’s going on in my district with the “still-up-in-the-air-due-to-polling-screw-ups” race between Mahern and Elrod, who are just 65 votes apart.

Seems that the touch-screen voting stations available at each of the polling places weren’t counted, and the state has just now decided to turn them on and get the votes from them. The touch screens were in place for disabled voters, but were available for use by anyone. Why did someone decide not to count the touch-screen votes? Who knows.
Turns out in some precincts, voters weren’t given a choice and were told to use them. Why? Good question. No one has an answer.

There are over 500 of these machines, and with a difference of just 65 votes between the two candidates, this could mean a lot.

Continue ReadingHouse District 97 Vote Recounts

Four Indianapolis Races Affected by Missing Votes

According to the Indianapolis Star:

Sadler said vote tally cards from 66 precincts remain out or have been misplaced with other election material. Election workers are searching for those documents this morning. She said the initial emphasis is on the 27 precincts that are involved in the four tight races.

Sadler said that voting machines that had to be disabled at about 500 precincts also must be returned to election headquarters to confirm the votes cast on those machines before they were shut down. She said the total votes involved is likely less than 500.

My district — Elrod vs. Mahern — is one of those close races. I’d be interested to find out if my precinct is one of the 27. I wish they clarified which ones in the story.

Continue ReadingFour Indianapolis Races Affected by Missing Votes

Drinking Liberally Election Night Party

Drinking Liberally Election Night Party
Election Night — Tuesday, 11/7
6pm-whenever
Spencer’s Stadium Tavern
802 S. West St (SW Corner of West & McCarty)
Drinking Liberally Indianapolis is having a special “Election Night” edition of their regular weekly gathering (usually held on Thursday nights, but switched to Tuesday this week for the election.)
I haven’t had a chance to attend one of these yet, but I’m on their mailing list and I keep it on my radar. I really want to go if I can clear out my schedule. Unfortunately, I’ll be at the gym for this event.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, Drinking Liberally is a national thing with local chapters, and Jason from X-TraRant puts together the local event. It’s a way for liberals to get together and talk politics and network.

Continue ReadingDrinking Liberally Election Night Party

A Commonplacebook Candidate Endorsements

These are Marion County, Indiana Democratic candidates who have shown strong stances and leadership on progressive issues including improving education, finding health care solutions for all Hoosiers, property tax reform and equality for GLBT citizens.

I’ve personally shaken hands with all of these candidates at one time or another and discussed issues with them. I met with Russel Brown, Dr. David Orentlicher and John Barnes last week and think highly of their plans for office. I’ve recently had an email exchange with Susan Fuldauer and was equally impressed. I’ll sit down and write about the discussions I’ve had with all of them more fully this weekend.

Candidates with strong, sound stances deserve our support, and your dollars can make the difference. Please make a contribution to this critical cause, either to all of the candidates or on an individual basis.

Julia Carson (IN-07) $
Russell Brown (IN-SD-31) $
David Orentlicher (IN-HD-86) $
Susan Fuldauer (IN-HD-88) $
John Barnes (IN-HD-89) $
John Day (IN-HD-100) $
Edmund Mahern (IN-HD-97) $

If you’d like to promote any of these candidates on your own site, you can link to this page to encourage contributions:
http://www.actblue.com/page/marion_county_indiana

And you can add some nice graphics from this page. Like this one:
Act Blue: Support
Progressive Candidates

UPDATE: The Indiana Stonewall Democrats are endorsing J. D. Lux for House District 57, which is in Shelbyville, Indiana. He doesn’t seem to be plugged into the actblue.com website yet, so visit his page for more information on him and to figure out how to make contributions to his campaign.

Continue ReadingA Commonplacebook Candidate Endorsements

Blogger Forum with Progressive Candidates

I attended a blogger forum at lunch to day, where three local progressive candidates for office met with local bloggers to answer questions and talk about their political issues and campaigns.
The candidates were:

Russell Brown ( Democratic candidate, Senate District 31)

Dr. David Orentlicher (Democratic Representative, House District 86)

John Barnes (Democratic candidate, House District 89)

And the other bloggers:
Taking Down Words
Stallio’s Way
Resisting Inertia
ManfredEye
Confessions of a Hoosier Democrat
bilerico.com
Advance Indiana

I took some pretty extensive notes, so I have to look them over and take a little bit of time to write up some of the discussion.

Continue ReadingBlogger Forum with Progressive Candidates

Eric Dickerson’s not just slinging Mud

Indy Star Matt Tully’s analysis of the recent polling in the Carson/Dickerson battle for made my jaw drop in shock:

No mudslinging: Carson took hard personal shots at Dickerson last month, but the Republican remained positive. He knows there is nothing to gain by trading potshots and respectfully argues that Carson’s time as an effective politician has simply passed.

WHAT? This campaign is the dirtiest, slimiest one I’ve ever known, and it’s not coming from Carson’s end. I’m sorry — Dickerson is slinging more than any candidate I’ve ever seen, but it’t not mud he’s slinging — it’s shit, plain and simple.
He’s feeding libelous allegations and smear tactics to the IndyUndercover site (which is run not by cops or sheriff’s officers, but by the Republican Party — current investigation points toward Ike Randolph as the responsible party) and to Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana. Go to these site and read what they’re saying about Julia Carson.
They’re alleging she stole someone’s wallet, for pete’s sake. Tell me that’s not shit-slinging. Tell me that’s positive campaigning.

Continue ReadingEric Dickerson’s not just slinging Mud