Show me the Money!

Beacon Hill's seeing shades of green as it weighs whether or not to repeal 1913's laws that prevent out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts if glbt. A prediction: 1913's going down in flames, as it should. Why? Here's something that's tough to turn down:

Consider these numbers: An estimated 32,200 same-sex couples from elsewhere would travel to the state to get married over the next three years. That would pump $111 million into the economy and yield another $5 million in marriage license fees and sales and occupancy taxes.

There's obviously a lot to gain by embracing equality, no matter how anyone slices it.

"It's rare when doing the right thing and economic benefits go so closely hand-in-hand," said Marc Solomon, executive director of MassEquality, a coalition advocating same-sex marriage rights.

Indeed, Marc. It's certainly nice to know that the easy decisions can sometimes be the right decisions. Thankfully, this is one of those cases - which is exactly why the repeal should pass by wide margins.

And equality's on the march!

You Go, Marc Solomon

MassEquality's rearing to go. Here's a blurb from an email they sent me today - their official '08 agenda.

• Our LGBT young people continue to be short-changed by the state in funding for safe schools and suicide prevention programs.
• Our seniors often feel the need to re-closet themselves when they enter nursing homes, fearing backlash and rejection.
• Our transgender brothers and sisters can still be fired from their jobs simply because of who they are.
• The rate of HIV infection for our young people is growing dramatically, particularly among people of color.

Don't forget to take action.

Marc Solomon on LeftAhead!

Mike and I had Marc Solomon, the Political Direct of MassEquality, on as this week's special guest on LeftAhead. We chatted marriage equality, obviously, but also where the organization intends to be in the near future. We pathed the Bay State's future, as well, and looked at how much of MassEquality's tactics could work across the country. Being that MassEquality focused on elections and linking legislators with their (glbt and allied) constituents, Marc thinks most of it'll work. We also chatted about some recent successes across the country, from Maine to Iowa, and got to hear Solomon call the Governator in Caleeeforrneea a "wimp" for not signing a marriage equality law into existence when it passed their legislature. Obviously, there was a lot to chat about, so listen in for yourself.

MassEquality Can't Be Done

I'm a little late in getting to this, but sadly 1913 wasn't included in Bay Window's July 25th article on where MassEquality is going. In fact, it almost sounds as if Marc Solomon thinks we're done here:

“MassEquality is such a huge effort that the only way to really capture what it can be, what it should be and whether it should be, is to have a serious process,” said Solomon.

In that vein, Solomon's hired a consultant to study where MassEquality should go or even if the organization should still exist. They didn't need to hire anyone, I could have told them what to do for free. As MassEquality claims to be an organization that's looking out for the interest of all equality in Massachusetts, one would think there's still a lot of work to do yet. So far, it seems like MassEquality's only focused on bringing its methods to other states and helping those who switched their votes at the ConCon - both worthy efforts. However, as was noted in the article, Massachusetts has a long way to go on transgendered rights - and we need a visible and loud campaign to help get their protections passed now. Furthermore, how can MassEquality not even be talking about 1913 in such an article? We need to raise hell; marriage equality doesn't exist until 1913 is wiped off the books.

Marc Solomon, MassEquality and everyone who participated in protecting marriage equality did a tremendous job this summer. We cannot and will not forget all of their efforts. Furthermore, we cannot and will not blame them for being tired of fighting the good fight; it's been a long journey. However, equal rights is a battle of attrition: we will lose if we don't keep going. With our detractors on the run, we are so close to obtaining all of the equalities we've realized, as a society, are needed in this day and age. However, without some key institutional support, such as that of MassEquality, realizing true equality will take much longer than necessary. If the leaders of MassEquality are unwilling to keep up the fight - or unwilling to focus on the dire changes Massachusetts must make - other people are ready to take over. Just hand over the keys.

Not So Fast, Joan Vennochi: You're Wrong on Marriage Equality

Joan Vennochi seems to go on the attack against Patrick today, instead of - I don't know - speaking in favor of equal rights.

It's good politics for Patrick. The gay community supported his candidacy and he needs continued support from his base, especially after a politically rocky start. But rhetoric and symbolism only go so far. Now Patrick needs something tangible in return for his efforts: enough votes to block the amendment. Postponement of a vote will be viewed as weakness and a setback for those who support same-sex marriage.

Maybe MassEquality wants a vote, but I've given up on Mass Equality as an effective organization to argue on behalf of my rights. If there aren't the votes to kill this thing now, then postponing it is obviously a better option than allowing it on the ballot. If Patrick can help swing people to postpone, kudos to him. It isn't weak or a loss, it's fighting for what's right.

However, since I like to be constructive in my treatment of the media, here's where I can agree:

Patrick and other same-sex marriage backers are running up against a strong argument from those who support the ban on same-sex marriage -- that the people have the right to vote on this controversial issue.

Obviously, citizens have to be able to vote for change on the constitution. You can't create a system of laws that can never be changed. What you can do is create a system of laws that are difficult to change - unlike Massachusetts's constitution. MassEquality's big mistake in their line of reasoning was to argue "no one should be able to vote," even if it's on "civil rights." What they should have said is "the bar is set far too low." In what world is 25% of the legislators enough to push an amendment forward? If MassEquality picked that line of argument, we wouldn't be here today: even conservative constituents can get behind that.

If MassEquality took that position, we'd have the cover to bury this whole thing procedurally. Then, we'd have to political will to do the right thing and revamp the constitutional process so it works. If we had a process that worked, there would have been no need to have decades of using procedure to block amendments.

Get rid of the 25% provision and turn it into the standard 50% + 1 to advance the amendment. Then, because we're talking about the Constitution here - Higher Law - it should take a 2/3rds majority to make change on the final ballot, whatever that ballot looks like (hopefully not in the form of a plebescite). Constitutions aren't supposed to be easy to change, the vast majority of people understand why. If MassEquality fought to change the constitution, not challenged the ability of the people to vote, then these "let the people vote" chants would have fallen on deaf ears... and this amendment would have been dead - procedurally - a long time ago. If Joan Vennochi, as a columnist, wants someone to blame (nothing gets readership like a juicy attack piece) - look no further than Marc Solomon.

Tom Lang of KnowThyNeighbor on the ConCon and Movement

There were lots of reasons to have a little chat with the leader of Knowthyneighbor. For starters, tomorrow is the first Constitutional Convention - and he has a lot of important info regarding the atrocity some people are trying to see unfold in the Bay State. Furthermore, my paper is certainly examining his organization as part of the netroots movement. Lastly, who wouldn't want to talk to a guy who had the brilliant idea to list every single name and address of those who had the audacity to try to write discrimination into the constitution? Some people don't like that kind of aggressiveness, but temerity will never get anyone anywhere.

Besides, people have to be accountable for their actions - they shouldn't be able to sign a petition as if they were an Internet alias. They're not doing some online Harris Poll. This isn't a DailyKos open thread. There are no booths or curtains protecting signature collections, just like there's nothing protecting his efforts. Everyone is open to the criticism of their actions. And actions just so happen to be Lang's specialty.

One interesting thing about Lang is that he really knows his stuff. He's been on the battle ground for years now and spends most of his free time talking to congresspeople, talking to fellow supporters, talking to the media... He's organizing a real grassroots/netroots effort. He's helped sway representatives our way - and had a little advice for people that want to do the same. It's not about the stories - Congresspeople just don't really care. To the surprise of hopefully no one, many of them just care about winning the next election. Sure, they want to do good - but they'll do anything to seek that precise vote that will manage to hopefully piss off the least amount of people in doing so. It's not a bad philosophy, really, except when the "least offensive" vote manages to curtail equality. Then, it becomes unacceptable.

Lang and I talked about the state's more 'conventional' gay-rights organization and its lack of action. According to the director of KnowThyNeighbor, one of the key reasons we haven't seen a repeal of 1913 or a host of other important issues is none other than MassEquality and its allies. Certain people in that organization think that legislators would vote for its repeal and essentially say 'see, I support gay rights,' then not vote against a marriage ban. Does it sound ludicrous to you? It sure did to Lang, who was disappointed in MassEquality's inaction there. I'd say Susan Ryan-Vollmar of Bay Windows would agree, but I'll have to ask her tonight during our LeftAhead podcast. 1913 should have been long gone - something that could have happened by now if instead of being afraid of it, MassEquality pushed it.

Despite their disagreements, Lang agrees with Marc Solomon on one thing. The vote on marriage will be happening far sooner than many wanted or expected, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. It just means we've got to work that much harder now to convince our elected representatives to kill this thing once and for all - and hope the wind is on our side. With any luck, MassEquality and everyone in the glbt movement in Massachusetts will be more organized this time around. We can't afford any confusion - every state rep and senator on our side needs to know exactly what to do and a plan has to be made well in advance.

Speaking of which - there's something everyone is counting on, from Tom Lang and Knowthyneighbor to MassEquality: you. Nothing is going to be defeated if thousands of people aren't calling their elected leaders. So, have readers called their state legislator or senator yet? According to Lang, today is one of the best days to do so - the before day or day of a big vote. Heck, call them today and then tomorrow, just so they know you mean business!

MassEquality: Marriage Vote In Weeks, Not Months

It won't happen Wednesday, since the budget is the big issue in town, but Marc Solomon just sent an email saying to expect it in the next few weeks.

But just because the vote on the anti-marriage amendment is going to be postponed DOES NOT mean it is time to relax! The final vote will happen sometime in the next few weeks, and now more than ever we need you to take action to protect marriage equality.

The bad news: this appears to be happening way sooner than I wanted. Maybe June?

The good news: it looks like MassEquality at least has an idea of what's going on, something they were recently criticized for not doing last December.

Folks, this is happening. Be prepared. Call your state legislators; here are the ones that still need to be convinced, but call the ones on our side anyway. They need to know how important this is to us. Time is running out. We need to do what we can. Now.