The news is a bit better than Tuesday, from what I've heard from informed sources, the Speaker of the House of Delegates is now fully engaged and the bill should be able to get out of committee. The Governor has similarly again said he will sign the bill and called on the House of Delegates to pass it. However, that there will also be a floor fight which means that getting additional support from anywhere in Maryland will be valuable. If you want to help get the bill passed, today (Friday) really is the day to call/email and even better to ecnourage others to do so.
How to contact (A repeat from my past post):
Equality Maryland has website that gives call in information for your Delegate (the email option is relevant to the civil marriage bill as well as an anti-discrimination act) they also have one that calls your phone, connects you directly, and gives you a script, but I tend to prefer old fashion calling. If you don't want to call, the email option is pretty dang easy and gives you a pre-written one. If you prefer going through the Maryland ACLU they also have an email option setup to allow for quick action.
What to expect when calling/emailing:
There's a big mobilization, so many of the delegates are just letting phone calls go to message. That doesn't man you aren't heard by any means. Doing both phone and email probably puts the most emphasis, but even email does help if you're more comfortable with that. Some Delegates are rather cool about being contacted: one of my own, Delegate James Malone gave a very supportive response and seemed very happy to hear from his constituents. He'll definitely have my support in the future and he has my thanks now, particularly as he'll also be supporting the anti-discrimination bill.
Advice for contacting:
It's best to be polite. People have been known to be switch sides because they don't like to be harassed. Also, specify where you live, as delegates care a lot about people in their own district. The email links above give you a starting email, some alteration at the top, saying why you personally care, results in a more effective argument. That said, I wouldn't agonize over it, these are probably going to be skim so individualize and then send is probably the best way to go.
High value targets:
Apparently Del. Arora will be voting to get the bill out of committee but may be voting no on the floor. So further contacts from District 19 in Montgomery (which goes from south of White Oak to North of Glenmont, check http://mdelect.net/ to be sure about your district. Del. Alston from Prince George's District 24 is probably another good target as she's now talking about only giving civil unions and to be frank this is Maryland, we're one of the more liberal states in the union, second class citizenship for gays and lesbians isn't good enough. [Update: Del. Alston said in an interview with Petula Dvorak that she'd support a switch to civil unions for everyone, getting the state out of the marriage business. That's a fine compromise but we're rather late in the game for that. This was really a discussion for back when she was co-sponsoring the bill.]. If you've got any friends and family in these areas, or just in a district where you aren't certain of yes votes, convincing them to call in can multiply your leverage on this issue. The House of Delegates is one of the easier bodies for citizens to influence as there's a fair number of members and they don't hear as much from constituents on these kind of issues. Try passing on some of the contact links above to make it as easy as possible but if they prefer to not go through an advocacy group you can always get the info from the House of Delegates website.
Arguments to use:
Maryland politics watch has a good number as does Equality Maryland. Personal experience carries a lot of wait, especially when convincing other people you know, although obviously you know parents, relative, and friends better than I do. This issue has such momentum as when people get to know gays and lesbians in committed relationships much of the fear mongering just falls away. If you want to make a straight pragmatic episode you can argue to Democrats (and only Democrats), that defying the Speaker and the Governor is probably not the best way to go when it comes to securing other services for their constituents. Similarly, we're already recognizing same sex marriages from other jurisdictions, so there's the economic argument of wanting the money from the marriage-industrial complex to stay in Maryland rather than hopping the border to D.C.
[Update: Saw in an interview that Del. Alston is up for supporting civil unions for everyone, which is just fine, but we're probably too late in the process to make that switch without losing all momentum. But I wanted to properly reflect her position.]
Recent Comments