The EqMD Insider
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2009:
- Tuesday, September 29, 2009: Thirty-Five Days Left!
- Tuesday, August 18, 2009: Help Protect Marriage Equality in Maine
- Tuesday, August 4, 2009: A Belated Thank-You
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thirty-five days left!
Jen Higgins served as an Equality Maryland intern last year and is currently serving as an early vote organizers with the No on 1 campaign in Maine to protect marriage equality. Jen can be reached at jen@protectmaineequality.org.
Thirty-five days left!
It was the first thought that entered my mind this morning, and it will likely be the last as I fall asleep tonight. Thirty-five days until the voters decide whether or not to reject the law securing the right for same-sex couples to marry in Maine.
I have been on the ground for two weeks now with the NO on 1 Campaign as the early vote organizer in Maine. I continue to be amazed and inspired at the passion, planning, and hard work that I have seen from every staff member and volunteer. The early vote program itself is a testament to the strategic planning and intricate coordination that has brought us to where we stand today: on the brink of successfully defending marriage equality at the ballot box for the first time in the country.
My day to day is similar to that of other organizers on the ground; however, I work with a specific team of captains and volunteers. We focus on only one thing; encouraging our supporters in Maine to vote early. The campaign has been hard at work identifying "Mainers who will vote NO" across the state and the early vote program is first step in turning those voters out.
During this off-year election voter turn out will be low, and early voting allows us to target unlikely voters and shift resources to the unidentified and undecided.
We have the plan, and we have the votes, but still the opposition is flooding the airwaves with the same lies they propagated in California. A win in Maine will change the national dialogue around marriage equality, and will bring us one step closer to marriage in Maryland. This is a fight for all of us, and we will in fact win if everyone does his or her part.
I can promise you tomorrow morning I will wake up with thirty-four days in my mind. I work everyday for the Mainers whose basic civil rights will be on the ballot, and I will be dedicating every moment of my time until the vote.
Have you done everything you can? I recently began a small competition with an organizer from Virginia as he is convinced he can garner more support form Virginians than I can from Marylanders.
I think we all know he is wrong, and we can prove it together here, while helping to secure this historic victory of equality in Maine.
I look forward to seeing all of you soon!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Help Protect Marriage Equality in Maine
Betsy Smith is the Executive Director for EqualityMaine.
In May, Maine became the fifth state in the country to win marriage for same-sex couples. Within days of this victory, the opposition launched a People's Veto campaign - modeled after California's Prop 8 - to take away the right of same-sex couples to marry. Maine is now ground zero in the national fight for marriage equality.
And we need your help. Please join us for a Volunteer-Vacation.
Maine's state motto is "Vacationland" and if you've ever been here, you understand why. As the November election approaches, Maine will be hosting highly motivated volunteers from around the country in our Volunteer-Vacation program as part of the No on 1: Protect Maine Equality campaign.
Volunteer-Vacation is a 1 or 2 week structured program designed for individuals who want to volunteer, full-time, on our campaign to protect marriage at the ballot box. It is an intensive, hands-on chance to hone your campaign skills.
Help us protect marriage by taking a Volunteer-Vacation in Maine.
If you cannot come to Maine to volunteer, you can still help us protect marriage in Maine by making a contribution. We need to raise $150,000 by August 31--all of which will be matched dollar for dollar.
Please make a contribution, however big or small, to help protect marriage in Maine.
As Maine goes, so goes the nation. Maine is poised to become the first state in the nation to win marriage at the ballot box. Please help us achieve this victory in Maine, and in so doing, help us set the stage for additional victories throughout the nation.
Thank you.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
A Belated Thank-You
Kevin Walling is the Director of Development for Equality Maryland.
Ever since I was a little kid, I was always interested in politics and government. Aside from a brief hiatus when I thought it would be cool to become an astronaut when I was seven or so, my eyes have been firmly set on public office. (There was a brief fascination with magic too, but I soon realized that I was far too clumsy to make a living on stage with a rabbit, a hat and some playing cards).
Growing up, my heroes were Tip O’Neill, Harry Truman and JFK. Granted, I thought Michael Jordan and Darryl Strawberry were pretty cool too, but they never created the Peace Corps, ended a world war or balanced the federal budget - really cool things for sure.
This past week, I was fortunate to have lunch with Parris Glendening, the former Governor of Maryland. Like O'Neill, Truman and JFK, Glendening is a hero of mine. Growing up in nearby New Jersey, I remember reading a lot about Governor Glendening and the work he was doing to protect our environment, increase access to education and as a devoted advocate for civil rights.
At the same time I was coming out to my family and friends, Governor Glendening was coming out as an ally and advocate for our community. In honor of his brother, Bruce, a distinguished member of the U.S. Air Force and a gay man who passed away from AIDS, the governor worked tirelessly to pass an anti-discrimination bill in 2001.
I am able to live as an openly gay man in the "Free State" of Maryland, free from fear of discrimination in the workplace, housing and public accommodations because of Governor Glendening and his civil rights legacy.
More than eight years have passed since Governor Glendening signed into law our first big victory for equality. This should give us some pause, as our community prepares for the next legislative session in January. Our representatives in Annapolis must enact legislation to extend basic human protections to members of the transgender community along with passing a civil marriage bill. No excuses, no delays.
In honoring his brother, Bruce, Governor Glendening honored our basic human rights as a community. Our lunch last week reaffirmed my boyhood faith in political heroes, and for that I give my belated thanks.
Kevin's article is reposted from Baltimore OUTloud.