Next Meeting - April 23 "Speaker Training - Just the Basics" Whether you want to give a formal speech about Wisconsin's anti-marriage amendment or not, there are just a few basic points that all members should know in talking with family and acquaintances. Frequently asked questions/answers and examples to use in discussions will be covered in this audience participation session.

Upcoming Events

May 7 - "Concert for a Fair Wisconsin" in Mineral Point - watch for more information soon. You will have to watch their website. Our next newsletter will be after May 7.

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force training

Diane, Mary, Kay, Joyce, and Sharon attended the campaign training provided by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force April 7 - 9 in Milwaukee. The purpose of the power summit sessions was to prepare people in order to maximize their efforts in the campaign against the amendment to ban civil unions and marriage. Everyone returned energized for the efforts between now and November

Kay (always willing to share her opinions) sends the following messages after that summit:

Hi all,

Mary, Sharon, Diane, Joyce and I just got back from Power Summit training in Milwaukee on defeating the amendment. We are gung HO HO. The April 23 meeting will be on the amendment. We need more more more volunteers at Fair Wisconsin. We need more more more $$$ at Fair Wisconsin (see the Fair Wisconsin <http://www.fairwisconsin.com> web site to do both). Sign up to volunteer (stuff envelopes, do data entry, calls to volunteers, voter ID, fundraise, volunteer to go door to door etc. FULL training on all is provided. Mary and I thought we would hate phone fund raising, and actually liked it. Likewise, we were all a bit hesitant about the door to door stuff, and liked that too! We were informed, and now fully believe, that it is extremely important to get POC (people of color) involved at all levels in this work. Thus, if you have a non white friend who believes in defeating the amendment, please bring him/her to the next PFLAG meeting on the 23rd. or have him/her get into contact with me (Kay Heggestad, 608-221-1956). This is critically important!

Mary says:
I'll put in my 2 cents worth too. That was one good conference, one of the better ones I've ever been to. Very organized, the presenters were good, we had time to talk to one another and share ideas. Really got us all fired up to do more and we are all so hopeful and encouraged about the final outcome. I really think we can do it, but it will take all of us, doing all we can during the next few months. Just think about how great it will be if we can celebrate a real defeat at the polls. Just think of it!!

Diane says:
I have been inspired to defeat this hateful amendment since I started volunteering at Fair Wisconsin (Action Wisconsin before the campaign was started). It really warms my heart to see the commitment other people are now expressing. We all have to get out there and get the word around to everyone. People in Wisconsin need to know the real consequences of this amendment. Thanks everyone for your commitment. Have a great day.

And now a few words from me:
Some of the time while everyone was at the conference sessions and I was on my own I was looking at the experience of people in Michigan and Ohio. This was not an uplifting experience. As far as I could see from the newspaper articles that were my primary source, Michigan and Ohio did pretty much what Wisconsin is doing: establish a state-wide organization, publicize the 'unintended effects' of the amendment, collect prominent people's and newspaper endorsements against the amendment and fund-raise for later publicity campaigns. The amount of training and individual involvement in Michigan and Ohio was not apparent from the newspaper articles. In Ohio, at least, the Governor, both Republican senators, AARP, the state's Attorney-General and at least one newspaper (the one I was getting the articles from) expressed opposition to the amendment. There was discussion of the impact on domestic heterosexual partnerships, as well as on gays. Well, I guess we all know what happened in Ohio. I think this all means that we all have to maintain our enthusiasm and increase our efforts if the ban in Wisconsin is to be defeated next November.

 

GLSEN Annual Awards Dinner

GLSEN (Gay,Lesbian,Straight Educators Network) will hold it's 10th Annual Youth Scholarship and Adult Recognition Awards Dinner, Auction and Dance on May 20th, 2006 at Monona Terrace. I hope we will have a PFLAG table. (or two!) The price of the dinner is $50. ( for a really good cause!) and there will be at least two scholarships. Please e-Mail Joann. Lets have at least two PFLAG tables there. Thanks!

Fair Wisconsin sends the following message

Finally! It's that time of the year when we can run outside, sit by the lake, and most importantly walk through Madison neighborhoods and talk to people about the ban. In Dane County, we are pushing our campaign to stop the civil unions and marriage ban into high gear. Starting Saturday, April 22, we will be talking with people at their doorstep every other weekend. Then in June we will pump it up and go every weekend.
Join us for our first door-to-door canvass of the year in Madison!
Saturday, April 22 from 10am-3pm
Sign up online.

Every canvass begins with a training--we will help you learn how to talk with the voters you meet, and then will pair you with a partner to work with throughout the day.
Last Saturday we had over 100 people going door to door in a relatively conservative area of Milwaukee. Many of us were nervous, but at the end of the day, every single canvasser was ready to go out again because of how successful, rewarding, and fun it was.

Face-to-face conversations are the most effective means of informing voters about the ban. Whether you are an experienced canvasser or a newcomer, you will come to value your time at the door.

Please join us during this important time in Wisconsin history.

Pabitra Benjamin and Justin Sweet

P.S. If you cannot make it April 22, you can join us May 6, May 20, or every Saturday in June. Sign up online or e-mail Pabitra about future canvasses. Many other volunteer opportunities are available.

FARMERS MARKET:

Sitters are needed for this very fun activity. Please email or call Kay to sign up. (kahegges@yahoo.com or 221-1956). Sitters usually take 2 hours shifts on market Saturdays starting April 22 and going into the first weekend in November. Sitters will need to be knowledgeable about the amendment and actively talk about it to all of those who stop at the table. See the Fair Wisconsin web site for all the information you need or talk to Kay, Jo, Sharon, Mary or Diane.

A Note from Karen Baker

It's so rare, given the basic tenor of most arguments in politics today, but every once in a while someone says something so remarkable that's it's worth noting, without any comment at all.

Such a situation took place on March 1st in Annapolis, Maryland, where a hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was taking place. The far right wing was doing its usual best to frighten, anger, and intimidate the witnesses who dared disagree with them.

Then Jamie Raskin, professor of law at American University, testified as to why the amendment should not be passed.

At the end of his testimony, one of Maryland's most insane ultra-far-rightwingers, republican Senator Nancy Jacobs, stood up and shouted: "Mr. Raskin, my Bible says marriage is only between a man and a woman. What do you have to say about that?"

To which Mr. Raskin replied: "Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."