Marriage Amendment stopped

What does equality sound like? Telephones in legislators offices ringing, keyboards clicking as an e-mail is sent, footsteps walking into offices for meetings, rolling sound waves of "Stop this Bill!" bouncing off the marble walls of the state capitol building.

The State Senate voted late last night to table Senate Bill 1250 that would have amended the state constitution to ban marriage equality and even made civil unions and possibly many other forms of legal protections for unmarried couples illegal and written into the constitution. Sitting quietly by while our state constitution was being used to restrict rights was never an option. Click here to access the story: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08128/879641-52.stm

What does equality look like? It looks like you, each of you that did something, no matter how small,to be part of making history happen again here in Pennsylvania. Gay and straight allies came together back in 2006 to stop this amendment and it was reintroduced this year. Well, we did it again! There was some really smart and creative lobbying going on behind the scenes but all of our phone calls, meetings and e-mails to legislators and encouragement to friends and family to get involved became a blanket to cover the backs of the people doing the lobbying...and the legislators started to squirm.

Enjoy the feeling of pride from having been a part of this. Yes, there's work to be done, much education and working again on the non-discrimination bill but believe me, we are all just getting started!

Check out http://www.equalitypa.org for the latest information as it is posted.

-Dana Elmendorf