URGENT ACTION ALERT - Please Help Pass CA Marriage Bill

EQUALITY CALIFORNIA

URGENT ACTION ALERT
Take Action! Anti-gay forces are still threatening our friends in the legislature in
the hopes of defeating AB 19! They may succeed if we do not stand up today for
equality, please call and email the following legislators!


AB 19 will not be voted on today, but will be voted on this week by the full
California Assembly! Please be part of history by standing up for equality now.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW! If you're not yet
registered in our Action Center, please click to TAKE ACTION:
http://action.eqca.org/alert

The right-wing's sole attention is focused on AB 19: the Religious Freedom and Civil
Marriage Protection Act. We must work together and continue to move forward with the
gains we have already made. Full equality is within reach. Our opponents continue to
cite the success of Equality California in their emails, and you should be proud
that your efforts have put them on the defensive. They are still targeting certain
LGBT-supportive legislators in an attempt to intimidate and coerce them against
supporting AB 19, by giving their members "permission to be angry." It is urgent
that you email and call now, so we don't allow these bullying tactics to work.

Our friends need to know that we appreciate them and will stand with them against
the threats of anti-gay extremists. When you call please feel free to use this
script:

"I am calling to let you know that I appreciate Assemblymember [insert name]'s
support of the LGBT community. Please let him/her know I am standing with him/her as
anti-gay extremists try to intimidate him/her from voting for AB 19."

PLEASE CALL THE FOLLOWING 8 LEGISLATORS WHO ARE BEING TARGETED THE HEAVIEST BY THE
RIGHT-WING!

Juan Arambula (D-Fresno)
916-319-2031 capitol office
559-445-5532 district office

Joe Baca, Jr. (D-San Bernardino)
916-319-2062 capitol office
909-388-1413 district office

Ed Chavez (D-La Puente)
916-319-2057 capitol office
626-961-8492 district office

Barbara Matthews (D-Tracy)
916-319-2017 capitol office
209-948-7479 district office

Jerome Horton (D-Inglewood)
916-319-2051 capitol office
310-412-6400 district office

Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana)
916-319-2069 capitol office
714-939-8469 district office

Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Ontario)
916-319-2061 capitol office
909-621-2783 district office

Juan Vargas (D-San Diego)
916-319-2079 capitol office
619-409-7979 district offiice

Lastly, please contact Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, joint author of AB 19, to
express your appreciation for his steadfast support of marriage equality. The
Speaker has been a tremendous friend. Núñez's Capitol office is 916-319-2046; his
district office is 213-620-4646.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW to Support These Legislators! Click NOW to TAKE ACTION:
http://action.eqca.org/alert

Thank you!
Steve Hansen
Legislative Director
Equality California



PS- JOIN EQCA, MAKE AN ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTION OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY
(https://www.kintera.org/site/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=9oINKWMCF&b=40373&en=juJOJ0PJKiITK7PYLgKML8MPJlJ7IdPKIjIYJ5PSLoKTJbM6H)



Email To Elected Officials

As a Californian who believes that all people should be treated equally under the
law, I want to thank you for your history of supporting the rights of same-sex
couples. In these tense times, we come to appreciate the support of friends, like
you, because these are the times that matter.

I am writing in support of AB 19, the Equality California sponsored "Religious
Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act", legislation that protects religious
freedom while ensuring equal treatment under the law for same-sex couples by
allowing them to marry. This bill would remove the discriminatory barriers to equal
protection under the law by returning the relevant California Family Code statutes
to gender-neutral terms, as they were from 1850-1977.

In 1948, the California Supreme Court became the first state court in the country to
strike down a law prohibiting interracial marriage before the U.S. Supreme Court
invalidated all such laws in 1967. The California Supreme Court held that "marriage
is . . . something more than a civil contract subject to regulation by the state; it
is a fundamental right of free men...legislation infringing such rights must be
based upon more than prejudice and must be free from oppressive discrimination to
comply with the constitutional requirements of due process and equal protection of
the laws."

As the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found, "The history of our nation has
demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal." A bill that falls short of
marriage equality makes for "unconstitutional, inferior, and discriminatory status
for same-sex couples." As you are well aware, though domestic partnerships provide
tangible benefits for couples, they, by their nature, set up a separate and unequal
system for gay and lesbian people.

All Californians deserve access to this civil institution that provides a myriad of
rights and responsibilities not currently afforded to domestic partners, including
social security benefits, family and medical leave, joint income tax filing, and
thousands of Federal benefits, without regard to their gender or sexual orientation.

I support both religious freedom and fair, equal treatment of lesbian and gay
couples under the law. You have our full support in protecting families and fighting
for the fundamental right of marriage.