I am writing today heartbroken with what I witnessed at the Colorado capitol last night as the civil unions bill died because the leadership in our state house would not bring it to the floor for a vote.
I write today even more reminded that I am a second-class citizen.
I write today in firm knowledge that the social conservatives in Colorado have a power that wreaks of inequality, bigotry, and injustice.
If you follow us on Facebook or twitter you got a lot of information last night. I tried to pass along information as I got it, or as I understood it. I was very fortunate to have been invited on the house floor by my state rep Sue Schafer and equally grateful to my upcoming state rep Max Tyler (because of district changes) for keeping me posted on how he felt things were going.
This civil unions bill was not perfect. It was not full marriage equality. That will only come when the Defense of Marriage Act is overturned on a federal level, and even then it will mean a lot of work. Yet it was a step. And if it had been allowed a vote on the house floor, it would of passed. At least six republican reps said they would vote yes.
I must admit that it was hopeful to see people in the gallery area shouting "shame on you" to Republican lawmakers when it was clear that no vote would be allowed. A mostly passive community might ignite. I certainly hope so.
For those who want what happened with civil unions to ignite action a couple of things need to happen:
People have got to know who represents them at the state level and get to know them. Make sure they know you are for equality. Both in the state house and state senate. If you don't know you can go to http://votesmart.org/
If you live in a state house district where the Democrat is in a safe seat, volunteer for and donate to a campaign in a district that is a challenge. I am thinking more of Colorado with this idea as I believe the only way the house will vote on this is if the leadership is Democratic.
It is vital that we gay and lesbian folks constantly remind our friends, family, and co-workers that we are second-class citizens. I spoke with several people over the past week who were shocked that Mike and I did not have the same rights as they did with their spouse.
Donate to One Colorado http://www.one-colorado.org/ They are definitely our voice at the state capitol and I watched their staff ROCK IT. Even a small donation goes along way.
Today is the last day for our state legislature in Colorado. They will not reconvene until January of next year unless a special session is called (which I have no idea will happen or not).
Thanks for reading. And thank you for your support!
Very disappointing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dan, for giving definitive steps for us all to follow. That's quite helpful! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I see what a great person you are and what nasty people those naysayers are, I feel my blood boiling at the unfairness of it all.
If only I could remain as calm as Ghandi when he said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
Keep being your wonderful self. I feel very certain we will see true equality and justice for all U.S. citizens within our lifetime. Then we can tell them about the "bad old days" and how these crazy people tried to control marriage. We'll annoy the hell out of the bored youth, who will only know marriage = love.
It is getting ready to turn.......it seems. First a big fight. The two sides are getting further apart and I was actually going to vote green just because the dems have been SO lazy and lack of integrity and lack of courage to do the right thing on so many fronts. But Obama surprised me, even though it was a very "calculated" risk, I was happy that they "made" it public and now the dems who go back on this issue look dated. Maybe CA and CO push back hard, because so much of these states are so progressive that there is more tension and conflict. You are NOT second class citizens by nature, and hopefully one day the law will reflect that.
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