HRC stands against Referendum 71

This winter, the Washington State Legislature passed the Domestic Partnership Expansion bill of 2009, granting the final 250 rights and responsibilities of marriage under state law to registered domestic partners. Now there is an attempt to place a referendum on the November ballot to repeal the domestic partnership bill.

The most important thing you can do is speak to your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, clergy and congregants and ask them to decline to sign Referendum 71 petitions and ask them to join you in speaking to their social circles as well. And if you have not previously signed our online Decline to Sign Pledge, please do so now.

If Referendum 71 qualifies, Washington families could lose their rights. If we can keep Referendum 71 off the ballot, then the bill will go into effect in July! HRC is standing with over 50 other organizations and thousands of individuals across Washington State and working under the banner of Washington Families Standing Together to retain the Domestic Partnership law. We encourage you to check out the website to stay informed on the news of the day, take action, download and distribute decline to sign pledge forms, and see which organizations are supporting this effort. You can ask organizations you are involved with to endorse the campaign. There is an online endorsement form available.

Want to do more? Write a letter to the editor to your area newspapers! Washington Families Standing Together has made it easy - all you have to do is enter your ZIP code and use the talking points provided. Your letter will then be sent to newspapers in your local area. It’s most effective to keep your letter between 200-300 words and to share your personal story. Just click here and get started!

Together, we can protect Washington families. It all starts when you take action. Please forward this e-mail to everyone you know in Washington State and let them know how important this is to our families!

Warmly,
Joe Solmonese
President, Human Rights Campaign

P.S. If you haven’t seen Senator Ed Murray’s op-ed on the advancement of the equality movement, both nationally and in Washington state, you should check it out here.

Stonewall Democrats Statement on Appointment of John Marble

President Obama Names Former Communications Director to Office of Personnel Management

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Contact: Jon Hoadley
(605) 360-7948, mobile
jhoadley@stonewalldemocrats.org

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Stonewall Democrats released the following statement in response to news that President Obama has appointed former Stonewall Democrats Communications Director John Marble to serve in his Administration at the United States Office of Personnel Management:

"Stonewall Democrats applaud President Obama for appointing John Marble to the Office of Personnel Management. Our membership and staff are thrilled with this appointment as John is already familiar to many Americans through the press and his public policy work. We know what an asset that John will be to the President and to the American public.

John's passion for public service is well-matched with the Office of Personnel Management. In recent years, his work has contributed to advances in public policy that have bettered employment and hiring practices on both the state and local levels. John has also worked with elected officials to increase the participation of military veterans, people of color, young professionals and LGBT Americans in public service and in the political process. His skills will prove an advantage to the Administration as it moves to make the federal workforce more effective and an exciting and attractive employer to talented individuals considering civil service."

- Jon Hoadley, Executive Director, Stonewall Democrats

President Obama recently appointed John Marble as a Public Affairs Specialist in the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees the nearly 2 million civilian workers within the federal government. John Marble previously served as Communications Director for the Stonewall Democrats, the organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and allied Democrats. In his position, Marble was responsible for crafting and implementing a national media strategy, and assisting the individual press strategy of more than 120 local chapters across the country. This included crafting media campaigns around the 2004 and 2008 Democratic National Conventions and assisting numerous Democratic candidate campaigns.

Prior to joining the Stonewall Democrats, John Marble worked as a print journalist covering media and sports. Marble also served as an advance aide to Vice President Al Gore in the Clinton White House and as a field organizer for the Vice President Gore's presidential campaign. Marble is a native of Palmetto, Florida. He lives in Washington, DC.

To download a photo of John Marble, click:http://stonewalldemocrats.org/files/images/johnmarble.jpg

(Photo Credit: Jane Briggs. Optional Caption: John Marble (right) at the Out For Work reception in December 2008).

With more than 120 local chapters the Stonewall Democrats is the national organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and allied Democrats. Stonewall Democrats works to elect pro-equality Democrats to public office and improve the Democratic Party on issues important to pro-equality Americans.

rebuilding

For some reason, our website completely crashed. We're rebuilding it from scratch. Maybe this blogger account will be part of it. We'll see.