1.
Political Update... the view after day
one of the legislative session.
2.
Phelps Followers Back in Minnesota...
OutFront Minnesota's response to Phelps funeral
protests.
3. Faith Voices Speak Out...
report from Monday's roundtable and plans for People
of Faith rally.
4.
Volunteer Corner... March is the month of
phone banks!
5.
OutFront Minnesota Community
Calendar... what's new on our web
calendar.
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Political Update
As
reported in the February 28, 2006,
Star Tribune, proponents of an amendment to the
Minnesota constitution that would prohibit marriage or
any other form of legal status for same-sex couples in
Minnesota plan to barrage residents in 12 targeted
senate districts with DVDs and ad campaigns supporting
their cause.
The announcement came the day before the Legislature
began its regular 2006 session on Wednesday, March 1.
The proposed amendment is expected to be a focus of
tremendous controversy once again, as supporters
maneuver to get the bill approved by the Senate for
placement on this fall's general-election ballot. The
measure has already passed the House this biennium and
is awaiting action by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
OutFront Minnesota's response to the "Gang of 12"
campaign
OutFront Minnesota firmly believes that a mobilized
constituency is the best defense. When the "Gang
of 12" campaign was announced, OutFront quickly sent
action alerts to all of our members in the targeted
districts, asking them to call, email, or write their
legislators in a show of support. Members in these
districts were also given sample letters and encouraged
to write letters to the editors of local papers.
As a statewide organization, OutFront Minnesota believes
that action by local people on the local level is the
most effective response to this offensive campaign.
What you can do:
OutFront Minnesota has been hard at work at the State
Capitol for months seeking to line up enough votes to
keep the proposal from being approved. While we are
cautiously optimistic about chances for success in 2006,
we cannot do this alone! In addition to working closely
with allied individuals and organizations from every
corner of the state, OutFront Minnesota is once again
planning a massive presence at the Capitol during this
year's justFair Lobby Day, which will take
place on Thursday, April 27! Drawing some 4-5,000 people
each of the past two years, justFair Lobby Day
has become the second-most attended GLBT event in
Minnesota, following Twin Cities Pride. It is a critical
opportunity for GLBT Minnesotans and our families,
friends, and allies to make their voices heard both
inside and outside the Capitol. In recent years, we have
arranged meetings with nearly 80% of Minnesota's
legislators to bring names and faces to the issues they
debate, including but not solely the proposed amendment.
Take Action!
-
Plan NOW to attend justFair Lobby Day!
More information.
-
Attend your party precinct caucus.
Caucuses take place this year on Tuesday, March 7.
You can shape your party's platform by introducing a
caucus resolution opposing the anti-marriage
amendment.
For more information on locating your party's local
precinct caucus, please visit the websites of the
major political parties in Minnesota:
DFL:
http://www.dfl.org
Green:
http://www.mngreens.org
Independence:
http://www.mnip.org
Republican:
http://www.gop-mn.org
__________
Phelps Followers Back in
Minnesota
Recently, the group of anti-GLBT activists known for
staging protests at the funerals of Matthew Shepard and
Corretta Scott King has branched out. Claiming
that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as a
vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors
gays, Fred Phelps' crew from Westboro Baptist Church in
Topeka, Kansas visited a Minnesota soldier's funeral
last week.
Several state legislatures are now considering laws that
would ban funeral protests. Here in Minnesota, the
author of the bill that would write discrimination into
our constitution with an anti-marriage amendment is now
authoring a proposed ban on funeral protests, with the
hearty support of Governor Pawlenty.
OutFront Minnesota has dealt with the Phelps clan for
years, and couldn't agree more with the Star Tribune
editorial printed yesterday: "Fred Phelps is just plain
nuts, in the vilest sort of way." The Strib also
wrote that the proposed amendment that would ban
marriage and legal recognition for same-sex couples is
exactly the sort of thing that creates and encourages
the Phelpses of the world. Here, here!
Read the Star Tribune editorial..
__________
Faith Voices Speak Out
On
February 27, more than 50 people attended a People of
Faith Roundtable at Saint Joan of Arc Church, sponsored
by OutFront Minnesota and Faith Family Fairness
Alliance. The evening included a panel discussion and
small group breakouts. The panelists included Michael
Bailey, David McCaffrey, Thomas Garvey, and Julie
Madden. The focus of the People of Faith Roundtables is
to bring together all denominations of faith to work for
fairness for GLBT people. Watch your email for
information about the next People of Faith Roundtable,
or visit
www.outfront.org or
Faith Family Fairness Alliance.
If
your faith calls for fairness for gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender, and allied people, plan to join
OutFront Minnesota at an interfaith Rally at the
State Capitol from 7:30 - 9:00am on March 23. The
rally, co-sponsored by the Faith, Families, and Fairness
Alliance, is a time for members of the faith community
to speak out about the harm that the proposed
anti-marriage amendment would cause to Minnesota
families.
OutFront Minnesota also invites faith communities and
individual faith leaders to say no to discrimination by
signing a resolution stating opposition to the
proposed constitutional amendment. For more information,
visit
TogetherMinnesota!.
Be
sure to watch our
community calendar for more events of interest to
fair-minded people of faith. From the local
send-off for Soulforce's Equality Ride, to forums
at Shir Tikvah and Plymouth Congregational,
there is a lot happening in the faith community!
__________
Volunteer Corner
With the start of the legislative session, OutFront
Minnesota is kicking off a major phone banking campaign.
Through our phone bank, we'll be connecting people in
directly to the voicemail box of their elected
officials, so they can let their legislators know how
terrible a constitutional amendment banning same-sex
marriage would be for our community and our state.
Every legislator is facing intense pressure from our
opponents to allow the constitutional amendment to be
placed on the ballot this November. They need to
hear from their constituents that they have a duty to
protect our community from this discriminatory effort.
This March, they will hear our voices!
Our goal is to fill 100 volunteer shifts for the 10
nights of phone banks. We’ll be calling every Tuesday
and Thursday in March, plus Sunday the 26 and Monday the
27. All phone bank shifts run from 6 – 9pm.
Phone banking is an essential tool of grassroots
organizing. Its effectiveness has been proven time and
again, even in this age of caller ID and telemarketing.
Do not miss this opportunity to help people connect with
their elected officials! Contact OutFront Minnesota's
Volunteer Resources Manager, Connie Kauppi, to volunteer
for the March phone banks. 612.822.0127 x100 or
volunteer@outfront.org.
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OutFront
Minnesota Community Calendar
Events of interest to the GLBT and allied community
OutFront Minnesota's web-based
community calendar is THE place to go for events of
interest to the GLBT and allied community. This
week MCTC presents an event honoring Bayard Rustin,
openly gay civil rights activist, and Westminster
Presbyterian Church hosts a sendoff for the Soulforce
Equality Ride. Visit the calendar for more
information on these and other happenings.
Are you planning an event that you want the community to
know about? It's easy to
submit your event! OutFront Minnesota is proud
to offer community organizations this opportunity to
reach others.
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