ACTION ALERT FOR HATE CRIMES LAW

With hate crimes against gays, lesbians and transgenders rising at alarming rates across the country, it's more important than ever to get the federal hate crimes law (the Matthew Shepard Act) passed - NOW.

This morning I received an email from Joe Solmonese, the President of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), asking for immediate help in getting this legislation, which is up for a vote next week, passed once and for all.

According to Solmonese,

This week, the right-wing Traditional Values Coalition blanketed Congress with a "fact sheet" saying the Matthew Shepard Act would protect "bizarre sexual orientations" like bestiality and necrophilia.

Once again, facts have nothing to do with it. Dozens of states have hate crime laws, and none get into this nonsense.

But these arguments can make members of Congress uneasy about voting for the bill – and we've heard repeatedly that right-wing groups have been FLOODING Congress with calls.

Please take just a minute (or less) and call your Representative's Office. If you don't know who that is or what number to call, click here for help in finding that out. Just fill in the state and your zip code and the name and contact information (w/phone numbers) will come up.

When you call, just tell the staff member answering the phone where you're calling from, and that you'd like to urge your Representative to work hard to pass the Matthew Shepard Act next week. If you choose, you can also add:

•Hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are on the rise. One out of every six hate crimes is because of the victim's sexual orientation.

•Hate crimes have more than one victim. They are intended to create an atmosphere of fear and terrorize entire communities.

•The Matthew Shepard Act targets only violent acts – not speech. It does not tell any clergy member what he or she can or can't preach.

Solmonese is also requesting that after you hang up, please let them know that you made the call. That will help HRC track how many members of Congress have been reached.

UPDATE...

According to Lez Get Real, the Matthew Shepard Act (HR 1913) was approved by the House Judiciary Committee yesterday (Thursday, 4/23/09) by a vote of 15-12. It will now move to the House floor for a vote expected to take place sometime next week.

If you haven't already, please email or call your representative and urge them to vote for this legislation when it does come up for a vote. See above for instructions.

WASHINGTON STATE EXPANDS DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP RIGHTS

In 2007, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire signed the state's first Domestic Partner bill into law. That bill was a domestic partner registry that provided some of the same rights bestowed on straight marriages to lesbian and gay couples and their families. In 2008, the Governor signed legislation that expanded those domestic partner rights to include 160 of the more than 400 rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples.

A couple of days ago, the Kirkland Reporter announced that on April 15th, the Washington State House of Representatives voted to expand those rights once again.

The new Domestic Partnership Expansion bill was passed in the House by a margin of 62-35 and in the Senate several weeks ago by a margin of 30-18. This new expansion now grants approximately 250 additional rights and responsibilities to registered domestic partners.

“We applaud the Washington state legislature for providing these important protections under Washington state law to committed lesbian and gay couples and we thank Senators Ed Murray and Joe McDermott and Representatives Jamie Pedersen, Dave Upthegrove, Jim Moeller and Marko Liias, as well as Equal Rights Washington for their leadership on this civil rights issue,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “This is another important step toward full equality, and it will provide tangible, much needed legal protections for families in Washington.”

Of course, the religious, right-wingnuts trotted out their old favorite scare tactics by saying that the bill would infringe upon religious freedom, cause social upheaval and that children who came from homes that didn't have both a mother and a father were more likely to become "delinquents".

Fortunately, thanks to the active and very public support of child care professionals around the world, most people - and, more importantly, most legislators are beginning to realize that all of those bogus arguments never were true.

The bill now goes to Governor Gregoire who is expected to sign it into law.

Congratulations to all those in Washington state who worked so tirelessly for this victory. I have no doubt that eventually the term "Domestic Partnership" will simply morph into "Marriage."