From: Bruce Morris
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2005 8:49 PM
Subject: Community meeting/legislative action
Dear Friends:
RE: Community meeting Tuesday at 6:30 at the HDC office and letters to the Editor.
Two things we need to do in these critical last days of the session. But first, we canvassed Karen Minnis's district in Gresham, just outside of Portland Saturday. I joined 19 others who went door to door in her neighborhood, including one on her street. We talked to over 160 people, and more than 80 of them signed a peitition urging her to allow a vote on SB 1000!!
Now, what are we going to do here to take a strong stand?
I really need your input on what this community wants to do in the last days for our final push to get the REAL SB 1000 passed, and perhaps what we want to do afterwards. Please come to the HDC office (354 NE Greenwood ave, Suite 109) Tuesday evening. I'll be there with some snacks and drinks from 6:30 to 8:30. Come for all or part, and tell me want you want to do and are willing to do to help get this Bill passed, a Bill that is being blocked solely by one very powerful person, who is not afraid to take extreme measures to get her way.
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR ME TO GET YOUR INPUT, AND FOR US TO HAVE SOME DIALOUE ON THIS CRUCIAL ISSUE, So Please come Tuesday!!
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Second, the most important part of the Basic Rights Oregon strategy to pressure the House of Representatives to hold a vote on SB 1000 is to flood our local papers with Letters to the Editor expressing your outrage at Karen Minnis for desecrating democracy with her Mid-Day Massacre of SB 1000, when she gutted and stuffed the Bill and tried to lock it away in the Budget Committee.
I have pasted in some talking points from BRO below and you can find more points, info, and tips at www.basicrights.org; look at the Action Alert in the left margin and click on the "here" icon at the end of the text. Contact information for local papers and the Oregonian is attached to this e-mail.
PLEASE take a few minutes to write a letter. It does not have to be perfect; it just needs to be from the heart and it needs to be sent as soon as you can in order to be effective.
TALING POINTS
What happened?
Feeling the public pressure in support of Senate Bill 1000, and clearly afraid that it would pass, Speaker Karen Minnis inflicted a midday massacre on SB 1000 using a series of extreme political tricks to delete every word from SB 1000 and replace them with “reciprocal benefits” and hide the bill away in order to remove options for bringing the bill to a vote from the minority party and others in the House who supported SB 1000.
Is SB 1000 dead?
For all practical purposes, SB 1000 as it was conceived by Basic Rights Oregon and approved by the Oregon Senate, no longer exists. It is now essentially the same as the bill, which creates reciprocal benefits, originally introduced by our opponents to undermine civil unions (HB 3476).
Can we still pass anti-discrimination and civil union legislation this session?
Speaker Minnis wants us to believe that this fight is over, but we will not give up. Throughout this legislative session, many have counted us out and said it couldn’t be done. They were wrong then and we don’t believe them now.
What options are left?
The Speaker’s maneuvers have removed some of our legislative options, but not all of them. Within minutes of the House’s midday massacre of Senate Bill 1000, House Democrats, the Governor’s staff and other legislative allies met to strategize about how to move forward and bring civil unions and anti-discrimination legislation to a House vote this session. We expect at least some of those strategies to publicly emerge early next week.
What can I do to help?
First, call the speaker and tell her you are outraged by her flagrant disregard for democracy. 503-986-1200.
Next, call you representative and tell him or her to take a stand against Speaker Minnis (contact information on attachement). Say you’ll hold them accountable for the actions of the speaker and you expect them to do everything possible to bring civil unions and antidiscrimination legislation a full debate and up or down vote in the Oregon House before the session ends.
Write a letter to the editor about Speaker Minnis’ midday massacre and urge House lawmakers to bring civil unions and anti-discrimination legislation to a public hearing and vote.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication,
Bruce
Bruce Allen Morris
541-280-0738
 bruceamorris@earthlink.net
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