The phone call came a little after 6am...
Sine Die, end of session for legislators - and our causes that we have fought so hard for were killed this session. I am in Laguna Beach, CA right now on vacation so I am going to let Basic Rights Oregon sum it up...
From the BRO Blog:
Oregon Legislature Fails to End Discrimination
Today the gavel fell ending the 2005 legislative session and we are faced with the harsh reality that the Oregon legislature did not meet its moral obligation to protect all of our State's families and make discrimination a thing of the past.
This is an outrage, pure and simple. Today, despite all of our work, all of our testimony, all of the heart and soul that we poured into the democratic process, all of the support that we garnered in both legislative chambers and -- in the end -- Karen Minnis, Speaker of the House, single handedly executed a series of mean-spirited political tricks that blocked civil unions and anti-discrimination legislation from becoming the law.
Your courage, commitment and unrelenting resolve to pass this bill did not go unnoticed. SB1000, a bill with bipartisan sponsors, passed the Senate 19-10, winning by nearly a 2 to 1 margin. We had the votes in the House to pass the bill, again with bipartisan support. Legislators heard more about SB 1000 than any other bill this session. Thousands of people contacted their representatives, and did so repeatedly. We have never had such a strong presence in Salem, and it was heard, for months and months.
But, in the end, one person stood between our state doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing, and that person, Speaker Minnis, abused her power to make sure that the wrong thing was done.
Using a complicated set of procedural maneuvers that came to be called the "Midday Massacre" of SB1000, Minnis stopped justice right in its tracks. She again thwarted democracy only a few days later by throwing out a 140 year old rule that allows legislators to extract a bill from committee and bring it to an up or down vote. She resorted to these extreme measures because she knew that YOU had built the support for this bill and if it came to a vote it would pass. Knowing that we had the support and still the bill did not pass is nothing less than frustrating, infuriating, and unfair.
Some have already said to us, "Well, what did you expect?" as though somehow we shouldn't have decided to fight if we didn't know ahead of time that we would win.
So let me just say it now, loud and clear: we expected justice, we expected fairness, and we expected equality. We still expect those things, and we will not stop expecting them, ever.
We also expected a fight, and of course we knew we might not win. "What did you expect?" presumes that if the struggle is tough, it's not worth the trouble. I believe that the opposite is true, that the most valuable things are those that are hard won.
Given how high the stakes are, it's not surprising that the fight is a fierce one. But that doesn't make this bitter pill any easier to swallow. We are now faced with the reality that this fight will be tough and long, but we will not give up no matter what.
As we move forward we will look at where we have been and what we have learned and we are just beginning an important evaluation process of this legislative campaign that includes your critical feedback and input about what we have done and where to go from here. Look for much more about that over the next month. Here, though, are two things that we've learned that I think are worth sharing:
First, it's never been clearer to me how important it is that we are involved in electoral politics. We need to build into a mighty force the BRO Equality PAC, which seeks to elect openly GLBT and pro-BRO candidates for key legislative races. We need to be not only a force for the positive, rewarding and reelecting our allies, but we need to become a force that will hold politicians who vote against us accountable for their actions. With your help, we can make Karen Minnis regret her actions in 2006!
And second, I've learned that when we lift up our voices, people do hear us. The outcome of this legislative session is utterly maddening. It is a terrible blow.
But I can't think about this experience without thinking of the more than 700 "While You Were Out" messages we delivered to Karen Minnis, or the thousands and thousands and thousands of emails and phone calls that poured into the legislature every time we sent out an alert, or the intrepid band of Salemites that stood outside the legislators' parking garage every morning for a month -- a month!!! -- holding signs and asking legislators to vote on our bill. . .not to mention the hundreds of people from every corner of this state, who waited for as long as seven hours and stood up at the hearings and testified so honestly about their lives, their words sandwiched between hideous lies and expressions of bigotry offered up by the other side.
I have so many of these scenes in my head. I know many of you do, too. We have represented ourselves well, and truthfully, and with determination.
Shame on Karen Minnis for her abuse of public trust, and for misusing our democratic process to uphold discrimination in our state.
With this defeat, we will become even more resolute. A friend of mine sent me a quote from Winston Churchill that says: "If you're going through hell, keep going." I love that! We have seen how close we can get, and it's clear that we will eventually win the equality we deserve.
But for now, it's important to acknowledge the pain of this loss, deal with it, and turn it into determination and passion, so that we can fight another day until we celebrate full equality.
In Solidarity,
Roey Thorpe, Executive Director, Basic Rights Oregon
Posted by Gay Rights Watch
From the BRO Blog:
Oregon Legislature Fails to End Discrimination
Today the gavel fell ending the 2005 legislative session and we are faced with the harsh reality that the Oregon legislature did not meet its moral obligation to protect all of our State's families and make discrimination a thing of the past.
This is an outrage, pure and simple. Today, despite all of our work, all of our testimony, all of the heart and soul that we poured into the democratic process, all of the support that we garnered in both legislative chambers and -- in the end -- Karen Minnis, Speaker of the House, single handedly executed a series of mean-spirited political tricks that blocked civil unions and anti-discrimination legislation from becoming the law.
Your courage, commitment and unrelenting resolve to pass this bill did not go unnoticed. SB1000, a bill with bipartisan sponsors, passed the Senate 19-10, winning by nearly a 2 to 1 margin. We had the votes in the House to pass the bill, again with bipartisan support. Legislators heard more about SB 1000 than any other bill this session. Thousands of people contacted their representatives, and did so repeatedly. We have never had such a strong presence in Salem, and it was heard, for months and months.
But, in the end, one person stood between our state doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing, and that person, Speaker Minnis, abused her power to make sure that the wrong thing was done.
Using a complicated set of procedural maneuvers that came to be called the "Midday Massacre" of SB1000, Minnis stopped justice right in its tracks. She again thwarted democracy only a few days later by throwing out a 140 year old rule that allows legislators to extract a bill from committee and bring it to an up or down vote. She resorted to these extreme measures because she knew that YOU had built the support for this bill and if it came to a vote it would pass. Knowing that we had the support and still the bill did not pass is nothing less than frustrating, infuriating, and unfair.
Some have already said to us, "Well, what did you expect?" as though somehow we shouldn't have decided to fight if we didn't know ahead of time that we would win.
So let me just say it now, loud and clear: we expected justice, we expected fairness, and we expected equality. We still expect those things, and we will not stop expecting them, ever.
We also expected a fight, and of course we knew we might not win. "What did you expect?" presumes that if the struggle is tough, it's not worth the trouble. I believe that the opposite is true, that the most valuable things are those that are hard won.
Given how high the stakes are, it's not surprising that the fight is a fierce one. But that doesn't make this bitter pill any easier to swallow. We are now faced with the reality that this fight will be tough and long, but we will not give up no matter what.
As we move forward we will look at where we have been and what we have learned and we are just beginning an important evaluation process of this legislative campaign that includes your critical feedback and input about what we have done and where to go from here. Look for much more about that over the next month. Here, though, are two things that we've learned that I think are worth sharing:
First, it's never been clearer to me how important it is that we are involved in electoral politics. We need to build into a mighty force the BRO Equality PAC, which seeks to elect openly GLBT and pro-BRO candidates for key legislative races. We need to be not only a force for the positive, rewarding and reelecting our allies, but we need to become a force that will hold politicians who vote against us accountable for their actions. With your help, we can make Karen Minnis regret her actions in 2006!
And second, I've learned that when we lift up our voices, people do hear us. The outcome of this legislative session is utterly maddening. It is a terrible blow.
But I can't think about this experience without thinking of the more than 700 "While You Were Out" messages we delivered to Karen Minnis, or the thousands and thousands and thousands of emails and phone calls that poured into the legislature every time we sent out an alert, or the intrepid band of Salemites that stood outside the legislators' parking garage every morning for a month -- a month!!! -- holding signs and asking legislators to vote on our bill. . .not to mention the hundreds of people from every corner of this state, who waited for as long as seven hours and stood up at the hearings and testified so honestly about their lives, their words sandwiched between hideous lies and expressions of bigotry offered up by the other side.
I have so many of these scenes in my head. I know many of you do, too. We have represented ourselves well, and truthfully, and with determination.
Shame on Karen Minnis for her abuse of public trust, and for misusing our democratic process to uphold discrimination in our state.
With this defeat, we will become even more resolute. A friend of mine sent me a quote from Winston Churchill that says: "If you're going through hell, keep going." I love that! We have seen how close we can get, and it's clear that we will eventually win the equality we deserve.
But for now, it's important to acknowledge the pain of this loss, deal with it, and turn it into determination and passion, so that we can fight another day until we celebrate full equality.
In Solidarity,
Roey Thorpe, Executive Director, Basic Rights Oregon
Posted by Gay Rights Watch
This entry was posted
on Friday, August 05, 2005 at 10:46 AM.
Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.
ByThe Oregon Legislature DID succeed in following the will of the majority of voters in our state.
By
Why do you guys hide the fact that Sen. Kate Brown (primary SB 1000 sponsor) openly refused to give Parental Notice (HB 2605) even a hearing (let alone a vote on the Senate floor) when every poll in the state shows it has 72% support. Back on March 25th after 5 hours of testimony Kate Brown tells the Oregoninan that the bill will not get a hearing if it made it out of the House. Sure enough with bi-partisan support it passes the house and Kate kills it. Why doesn't anyone talk about that. Aren't parent's rights important? Or are "rights" only important when they affect you? Why are gay activists so willing to distort the truth that these things (gut n' stuffs, kill bills) happen every session, in both chambers by both parties, on numerous issues. It is no secret and those involved need to lick their wounds and come to the table with something that is equitable and doesn't contain the kitchen sink.
By
First, the "will of the voters" arguement is so frickin moot. All M36 did was define a certain legal contract. It made absolutely no reference to civil unions, which would have been a similar not equal contract. Even the sponsors of the Measure advocated during election that civil unions were NOT part of M36 in any way shape or form.
In regards to the second post. When you came here was it because the site was called pro-life-rights.com or abortion.com. ummm,NO. This site and the posts on it are about Gay Rights and the issues within. I'm not saying the Democrats didn't use the same tactics and I am not saying that they were justified in using those same tactics. But, if the pro-life lobby wants to expose how their bill was "killed" then it is up to them to organize and do so. Its not up to the Gay Rights movement. We have our own problems to deal with at the moment.
P.S. Minnis is a bitch
By
Minnis is a total and complete bitch.
By
I'm from Oregon but live in Orange County and am just enraged to hear about what this cow did today.
By
Yes and yes - a message that resonates I guess :)
As far as the will of the voters - JustaDog, you are incorrect. Polling in Oregon shows that you are wrong - plain and simple. Polling done by even the conservative Riley shows that Oregonians support ccivil unions by a good majority (more than we lost M36 by) and they overwhelmingly support anti-discrimination, which you may have forgotten was in our bills.
- Bryan H.
By
Does anybody know what Minnis's problem is? For some reason this is obviously personal for her. Is she one of those religion addicts that don't question their church?
Is she just greedy for right-wing votes? Does she think this will advance her career?
Something's keeping her from doing the morally correct thing. I'm just wondering what it could be.
(Yeah, I know lots of people will ignore the AMA, APA, and a zillion other facts, doctors, and studies for the sake of some archaic dogma and say that hindering these families IS the morally correct thing to do, but I'm not listening to that twisted opinion.)
But back to my question, is it that old nemesis I call "the Ick factor"? Or is she a self-loathing repressed closeted lesbian herself? Did she fall in love one day and the guy told her he was gay to get away from her?
Anybody got any ideas on why she chose to become the George Wallace of Oregon?
And last I heard, nobody in Oregon Voted on Civil Unions. They voted only on marriage. And thanks to Minnis, there STILL hasn't been a vote on Civil Unions. Anybody that can't see that needs to kick the cow-shit off their heels. Yee-haw.
By
"Sure enough with bi-partisan support it passes the house"
excuse me? One Democrat voting for it is "bipartisan support?" One Republican voted against it. Was there "bipartisan opposition?"
I think it's absurd to try to compare an adjunct process of an established right, that would limit that right--to a fundamental set of rights that are currently denied. It's like comparing the importance of debating interracial marriage with whether parents have to sign off on corporal punishment before kids can be spanked at school. They're not even close.
And I bet 72% (which I only found referred to in a single, six year old unnamed poll) do not support a) the banning of morning after pills without notification, and b) the possibility that a girl impregnated by her father, foster parent or guardian could still face notification.
Usually a bill is killed when it does not have support in the legislature. SB1000 apparently did.
By
[FROM THE OREGON FAMILY COUNCIL]
Thank You!
We couldn’t have done it without you.
We would like to thank all of our supporters who gave of their time, energy and money to help us once again defend marriage in Oregon. This has been our most active legislative session ever and we are so grateful to everyone who participated.
Over 100,000 phone calls, emails and letters poured into the capitol building causing most legislators and capitol insiders to view this as the most lobbied issue this year, and possibly ever. One Senator received over 7,000 pieces of communication on this issue alone.
It is because of your efforts that SB 1000 was prevented from becoming law.
2005 Legislature Ends
Oregon Marriage Laws Safe!
The 2005 legislature adjourned on Friday morning, and thanks to the steadfast leadership of Speaker Karen Minnis and House leadership in tandem with thousands of supporters from around the state, Oregon’s marriage laws have been fully preserved and remain consistent with Measure 36.
In case you don’t remember, here is as a reminder of exactly what could have become law had you not become involved in stopping SB 1000.
® SB 1000 would have made same-sex civil unions the legal equivalent of same-sex marriage, by amending every Oregon marriage statute to include same-sex couples.
® SB 1000 contained a very flawed exemption for religious institutions that would not protect churches.
® SB 1000 provided minority protection to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people. Essentially classifying transgender the same as skin color.
® SB 1000 even included a provision for a “program of public education” to promote acceptance for these behaviors.
Unfortunately we know that SB 1000 is not the last battle. Gay activists are going to continue to seek marriage-like civil unions as well as special minority protections and recognition in Oregon law.
As with Measure 36 and now the 2005 legislative session, we will continue to seek the support of the thousands of Oregonians concerned with protecting marriage and family. Our request is that you continue to join with us in our future efforts to defend marriage and family in Oregon.
For more information, please contact:
Oregon Family Council
PO Box 13367
Portland, OR 97213
503-257-0444
www.OregonFamilyCouncil.org
By
I have no idea who posted the above 'comment' but let me just make it clear that it is the email that the Oregon Family Council sent out after the end of the Legislative session last Friday. Sickening huh?
- Bryan H.
By
Just read that Oregon Fundy Council thing....
"Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions"
~Blaise Pascal~
-Tanya
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