🚀 go-pugleaf

[ also mailed to: chi-motss@espada.chi.il.us,
  marriage@abacus.oxy.edu ]

This is an update on Illinois Senate Bill 1773, which would
prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages in Illinois.  If
you do not live in Illinois, thanks for your support but please
don't act on any of these items yet -- we are not at the point
where external input is likely to make a difference.

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SB 1773 has moved to the Senate floor.  We expect that the vote on
this bill will be Thursday, March 21.  It's imperative that the
Senate hear from us BEFORE that date, loudly and clearly
denouncing the bill.  If you can come to Springfield to help lobby
against the bill on March 21, please call Roger Leishman at the
ACLU, (312) 201-9740.

OUR VOICE IS BEING HEARD.  One senate staffer I spoke with said
that "the Springfield secretaries were going nuts last week" and
that one "committee member's phones were ringing off the hook!"
We CAN win on this one!  Please keep those letters and faxes
coming!

The message needs to be simple: "I oppose this bill."  Don't make
it any more complicated than that.  In the case of many of the
legislators we're targeting, getting any deeper into the argument
may actually hurt us.  Keep it simple: "I am a constituent and I
oppose this bill."

THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW:

  * Contact borderline senators.
  * Thank Senator Barkhausen for his support.
  * Contact the Speaker of the House.

  * CONTACT BORDERLINE SENATORS.

    These senators are in URGENT need of hearing opposition to
    this bill.  In addition to Tom Dunn of Joliet (a particularly
    important swing vote) these senators NEED to know that their
    consituents oppose this bill:

      District 44 (Bloomington):     John Maitland    (217) 782-6216
      District 49 (Carlinville):     Vince Demuzio    (217) 782-8206
      District 40 (Chicago Heights): Aldo DeAngelis   (217) 782-7419
      District 59 (Christopher):     Jim Rea          (217) 782-5509
      District 56 (Edwardsville):    Evelyn Bowles    (217) 782-5247
      District 43 (Joliet):          Tom Dunn         (217) 782-8800
      District 54 (Mt. Vernon):      William O'Daniel (217) 782-5304
      District 29 (Northfield):      Kathleen Parker  (217) 782-2119
      District 46 (Pekin):           George Shadid    (217) 782-8250
      District 38 (Peru):            Patrick Welch    (217) 782-8287
      District 20 (Wheaton):         Beverly Fawell   (217) 782-8022

  * THANK SENATOR BARKHAUSEN.

    Senator David Barkhausen (R-30, Lake Forest) of the Judiciary
    Committee did not vote to send this bill to the floor.  Given
    the lock-step nature of the Republican machine in the Senate,
    this was a difficult and risky decision for him to make.  He
    needs to know that the people of Illinois appreciate this
    move.

    Please call Senator Barkhausen and thank him for his support
    on the Judiciary Committee: (217) 782-8181.

  * CONTACT THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.

    In anticipation of the bill moving to the House, we are
    focusing on Speaker of the House Lee Daniels, who wields
    considerable power in the House.  We are aiming to have
    3,000 letters, phone calls and faxes in his office by
    March 21.  Already the number of letters we have received to
    deliver is enormous, but we need more!

    WE NEED YOU TO HELP.  If everyone reading this message
    lets Daniels know that they oppose this bill, we will be
    well on the way to achieving our goal.  If every one of
    you can find even just three friends to do the same,
    that alone would accomplish this task.

    The message should be simple: "I oppose this bill."  You
    don't have to construct elaborate arguments and you
    don't have to compose an impassioned defense of civil
    rights.  Just a paragraph or even a few sentences is
    fine.  What we need most of all right now is to
    demonstrate a groundswell of opposition to anti-gay
    legislation.

    Individual letters are always best, but feel free to use
    or excerpt the sample letter included below.  Return
    your letters to Roger Leishman of the ACLU, who is
    coordinating this letter drive:

	Roger Leishman
	ACLU
	203 N. LaSalle, Suite 1405
	Chicago, IL 60601
	(312) 201-9760 (FAX)

    You can also contact Lee Daniels directly, if time is running
    out:

	Speaker Lee Daniels
	Illinois House of Representatives
	Springfield, IL 62706
	217-782-4014
	217-782-7012 (FAX)

    If you live in Elmhurst, PLEASE consider visiting him.
    The impact of a personal visit on a legislator cannot
    easily be underestimated.

ACT NOW -- TIME IS WORKING AGAINST US.

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Sample letter:

    Governor Jim Edgar, House Speaker Lee Daniels, and Senate
    President Pate Philip need to know that Illinois citizens
    oppose the anti-gay Senate Bill 1773.  Sign the petition
    below and return it to Roger Leishman, ACLU, 203 N. LaSalle,
    Suite 1405, Chicago, IL 60601, or fax to (312) 201-9760 no
    later than Tuesday, March 26.

	[insert date here]

	Dear Governor Edgar/Speaker Daniels/President Philip:

	I am writing to urge you to oppose Senate Bill 1773,
	which I consider an unprovoked attack on Illinois' gay
	and lesbian citizens.

	Senate Bill 1773 (Fitzgerald, R-Palatine) adds same-sex
	couples as a category of people prohibited from marrying
	in the state of Illinois and denies recognition to gay
	and lesbian civil marriages lawfully performed in other
	states.

	This legislation is _completely_ unnecessary because
	gays and lesbians cannot get married in Illinois or
	anywhere else in the U.S. today.  In addition, this
	mean-spirited attack would rewrite the law to say that
	Illinois would not recognize marriages lawfully
	celebrated elsewhere in America.

	The real and immediate impact of Senate Bill 1773 is to
	promote hate mongering against gays and lesbians.  I
	urge you to reject Senate Bill 1773 and the radical
	right's divisiveness and hateful rhetoric.

	Sincerely,

	[your signature]

	[print name, address, telephone number]

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-- 
love, T.