House Republican Argues Against Anti-Marriage Article

Let's Thank Our Supporters Against Discrimination (4.00 / 2)

Great of you to find and mention this, Dean.  And it gives me a chance to mention what I've said a couple of times, and will be blogging about shortly.

We won this last year by having a strategy of "showing our faces and telling our stories."  It becomes easier for people to deny us rights when they don't see us.  The cumulative effect of many years of openly gay Legislators serving at the State House has helped, but what put us over the top on House Bill 436 was citizens by the hundreds coming forward at public hearings telling their stories.  That hadgreat impact.

Good for Rep. Bill Kidder.  He now "gets it."  He was also one of 40 Republicans with us last month against repeal of HB 436, and was one of 30 Republicans joining us against the Constitutional Amendment.  We'll win more as time goes on.  

But we need to thank them.  I spent many hours last year thanking our then-limited Republican supporters, and all the Democrats who backed us, on HB 436.  Now we need to thank those 40 Republicans who were with us, and the Democrats too, of course.    

PLEASE, I hope readers go to the roll call votes, and here I try to link to them (sometimes the way I do it doesn't work, but I try).  Then write to those in your district, or others you know, during the next month or two and thank them for voting not to take rights away from their neighbors.  

Thank the 210 "yeas" who voted against repeal of HB 436:  http://www.gencourt.state.nh.u...  And thank the 201 House members who voted against a Constitutional Amendment that would for the first time ever have written into that document a provision taking rights away:  http://www.gencourt.state.nh.u...

If those links don't work, go to the NH State Legislative WEBSITE to find HB1590 and CACR28.

Plus, in each of the towns -- whether they voted "for" or "against" that horribly-written warrant question, write a letter to the editor thanking your neighbors who voted to protect "The New Hampshire Way" of acceptance of our neighbors.

If those House members who are on our side run again and are re-elected, we'll need them in January when the pro-discrimination types introduce yet another repeal bill.  

We'll win this.  We already have.

---

by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 08:16:25 AM CST

Bigotry voted down in Strafford (4.00 / 4)

The article to "Let the people vote" was tabled by almost a unanimous vote in Strafford during Town Meeting.  At least a half dozen people spoke against this in very strong language, with only the petitioner in favor.  

A former Republican state rep took the opportunity to rail against the Dem legislature for many issues but to little effect.  The petitioner had requested a secret ballot, which caused quite a few groans.  A motion was made to table and received far more than the 2/3 vote necessary.

What's next?


"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

---

by: StraffordDem @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 11:40:12 AM CST

Northwood indefinitely postpones gay marriage article (4.00 / 6)

Now you all know where I live. The vote to indefinitely postpone was 66-49.  I know some people were confused by the idea that this was about Democracy.  

It was a good town meeting, the budget passed by a show of hands, for the first time in years not going to a ballot vote.  It was a bare bones budget and no one suggested cutting it further.  We voted to indefinitely postpone reducing the percentage of the land use change tax that goes into the conservation fund (the selectmen made a bad mistake, they put forward the warrant article without talking to the conservation commission, the group of VOLUNTEERS whose work would be affected by the change, and I called them on treating volunteers that way, suggested that the article did not deserve a vote this year for that reason, and got my first applause at town meeting).  

The town agreed to hire a new police officer, that was the only secret ballot on an article.  I am completely exhausted, as I always am after town meeting, we got out about 1:15, which was pretty good, but it is intense when you feel as strongly as I do about the issues.

We believe in prosperity & opportunity, strong communities, healthy families, great schools, investing in our future and leading the world by example. We are Democrats; we are the change you're looking for.

---

by: bloomingpol @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 13:02:51 PM CST

Hey, Neighbor (4.00 / 1)

Good work.  On to the next battle, so rest up, we got sh&t to do!

BTW, and not for nothing, Strafford voted to increase the school board recommended budget and restore cuts that they made and give raises to non-bargaining unit personnel.  The tide is turning...spread the good word.

:>)

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

---

by: StraffordDem @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 13:08:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't know what pain (4.00 / 1)

my gay friends and neighbors have suffered during their lives from bigots, I can only imagine, most of them are old enough to have had really difficult times when younger. (Not that some youngsters don't suffer today, but at least the whole thing was not such a secret that the pain couldn't even be mentioned.) I was determined to speak up and do what I could to make sure they did not have to suffer any more pain.  The most compelling speech during that portion of the meeting was by a widow my age, speaking with passion about the need to stop the discrimination.  She pointed out that if referenda were the way we made law, we would still have racial discrimination, denial of interracial marriage, and most likely women like her, and me, would not be allowed to vote.  

We believe in prosperity & opportunity, strong communities, healthy families, great schools, investing in our future and leading the world by example. We are Democrats; we are the change you're looking for.

---

by: bloomingpol @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 15:25:18 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Wow... (0.00 / 0)

...so nice.  Thank you.

---

by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 07:49:51 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Tabled in Temple. (n/t) (4.00 / 6)

---

by: Jennifer Daler @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 13:27:59 PM CST

Excellent! Even if they did vote penny wise (0.00 / 0)

and pound foolish by trashing the school bond last Tuesday, thanks to the intense negative lobbying on the part of their contrarian school board rep. That bond was meant in large part for ADA compliance at the regional high school, but the member in question was quoted in the local paper (sorry, no online text available) as saying there were more important things than ADA compliance. Brilliant.

The measure was only 23 votes short of the required 60%.

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it every day...until 2012.

---

by: GreyMike @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 18:30:42 PM CST

[ Parent ]

There'll be a recount.. n/t (4.00 / 1)

---

by: Jennifer Daler @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 18:34:47 PM CST

[ Parent ]

March 20, (0.00 / 0)

but it's probably for naught. The worst thing is losing the dollar match, it won't happen again anytime soon. Sorry for hijacking the equality thread, but ADA is about equality, too...

Republicans believe government is bad - then they get into office and prove it every day...until 2012.

---

by: GreyMike @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 18:36:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Rep Kidder: stellar! (4.00 / 1)

---

by: Love Child @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 14:15:56 PM CST

Chichester voted for equality today.. (4.00 / 5)

Petitioners got a secret ballot, the moderator wouldn't entertain a motion to table, and the people voted it down. I was proud of my homies today.

"But, in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." Si se puede. Yes we can.  

---

by: Paul Twomey @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 14:51:32 PM CST

I thought that the motion to table (0.00 / 0)

is non-debatable...how can a moderator turn it down?


"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

---

by: StraffordDem @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 15:01:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

He said that the written request by five voters for a ballot vote on the warrant article trumped a motion to table. (4.00 / 2)

I am not sure I agree with the ruling (I hope to go to my grave without ever reading a word of Robert's Rules), but I don't have any doubt that he ruled that way because he felt it was the right ruling and not to determine the outcome, as he is as fair a moderator as one could ever imagine.

"But, in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." Si se puede. Yes we can.  

---

by: Paul Twomey @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 15:09:46 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Our moderator said (4.00 / 2)

that the request for a ballot vote was for the article, not for the motion to table, and allowed a show of hands to table.

We believe in prosperity & opportunity, strong communities, healthy families, great schools, investing in our future and leading the world by example. We are Democrats; we are the change you're looking for.

---

by: bloomingpol @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 15:26:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Oh, yes, (0.00 / 0)

we go by Robbie's rules, not Roberts' rules.  So speaketh our moderator Robbie.

We believe in prosperity & opportunity, strong communities, healthy families, great schools, investing in our future and leading the world by example. We are Democrats; we are the change you're looking for.

---

by: bloomingpol @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 15:27:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

WAlpole (0.00 / 0)

---

by: Lucy Weber @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 15:49:04 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Add Walpole to the list that voted it down.... (4.00 / 5)

We were trying to pass over the article, but the sponsor demanded to speak, so the voters listened as politely as possible, considering his arguments, then moved the question and voted the article down by a voice vote.

And sorry about the post up above that got away from me.

---

by: Lucy Weber @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 15:54:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't think that is (0.00 / 0)

correct. Any article can be tabled if the motion carries, as far as I know. Somebody at our meeting asked for a secret ballot for nearly every article, including this one. It didn't matter.

---

by: Jennifer Daler @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 18:23:06 PM CST

[ Parent ]

The Pledge (4.00 / 5)

We face the flag, cover our hearts with our hand and pledge------WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL---------so what part of all is hard to understand ?

---

by: tchair @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 18:08:57 PM CST

Lyndeborough voted it down. (n/t) (4.00 / 3)

---

by: Jennifer Daler @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 18:35:23 PM CST

Greenland voted it down... (4.00 / 3)

by 37 to 33. The issue was the 30th and last article up for a vote and came after 6 1/2 hours of debate on grave matters like putting aside $15K for the library construction fund, establishing a penalty for letting your bovines run lose, and setting a fee for fire inspections. Scintilating stuff.

By the time Article 30 came up, many voters had left and most of the people still at the meeting were the old time townies and the pro-discrimination crowd. The vote was by secret ballot and I was sure it was going to pass.

I was wrong. Those old timers surprised me. The philosophy of "you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't affect me" still lives in NH, I guess.

What didn't surprise me was the misleading comments by the pro-discrimination folks. The article wasn't about gay marriage at all, their spokeswoman told us. Nosirree, not at all. It was about letting the people have a voice since we are supposed to be a democracy. She pointed out that the article didn't even say what form of discrimination her group wanted, as if it was something they hadn't yet thought about.  

---

by: Michael Marsh @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 07:20:27 AM CDT

Clearly coordinated. (4.00 / 1)

The scene you describe has come up again and again.

birch paper

---

by: Dean Barker @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 07:45:11 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I think that they were all reading from a single prepared text. (4.00 / 1)

I keep reading the same phrases that I heard in our meeting. It was a very artfully written, and ultimately deceptive, text.

"But, in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." Si se puede. Yes we can.  

---

by: Paul Twomey @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 12:58:41 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Very Nice Story, Mike... (4.00 / 1)

...and as a NH life-timer, I have been surprised, but perhaps shouldn't be, that as I've talked with some of the "old timers" around here, I find lots of support for marriage equality.

I went into a restaurant two or three weeks ago and saw four ladies sitting there, one of whom I knew but hadn't seen for a decade.  She called me over, introduced me to her friends, who I quickly learned were all in their 70s, and all said they had lived in Portsmouth and Rye all their lives.

All were widows.  One said she was so happy I "did the bill about the sex thing."  Another laughed and clarified, "Yes, about everyone getting married.  The other two said an excited "yes."  

We talked a bit, and as I was walking away, the one I knew for years said, "I wish you had done that years ago -- I wouldn't have had to marry my dead husband!"  Everyone laughed.

A funny moment, but a little reality there.  It made my day.  

---

by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 07:45:16 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

procreation (0.00 / 0)

On the House floor last month we heard a lot of amateur philosophizing about procreation.  The gist of the philosopher's arguments is that gay people shouldn't be allowed to marry because they cannot procreate.  That argument happens to leave out straight people who cannot procreate.  In particular, it leaves out women past the age of 45 or so, as well as the men who love them.

---

by: TimothyHorrigan @ Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 09:29:48 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

What Mike describes (4.00 / 2)

actually pissed people off here. Someone said to me afterward, "if you're against it, be against it, If you don't like gays, say it. Don't make it about something else."

---

by: Jennifer Daler @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 07:51:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I am beginning to think (4.00 / 4)

that there may have been some value in this excercise.  

It has already been noted elsewhere that the article was far more likely to be defeated in towns where the voting was at a traditional meeting rather than just a matter of putting a secret ballot in a box without discussion.

For me, the embarrassment of even having the article on the warrant  really emphasized the power of having to look your neighbor in the eye (or maybe having to avoid looking your neighbor in the eye) when you deny your neighbor access to something fundamental that the rest of us take for granted.

The lone speaker in my town, the sponsor of the article, said in the course of his remarks that homosexuals have the right to marry, they just have to marry someone of the opposite sex.  I think that brought home for many of our voters just how absurd it is to say that any person has the right to marry, they just can't marry the person they actually want to marry.

To have that statement made in the presence of well-respected members of the community to whom it applies directly enhances the squirm factor even for those who are still troubled by the actions taken by the legislature.  I am hoping that having to confront that kind of discomfort will have a positive effect.

---

by: Lucy Weber @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 08:24:22 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Their "Repeal" Effort Has Backfired... (4.00 / 2)

...both in the Legislature, where we expanded our support this year, and in towns -- where the confusing way they worded their question (it must have been done by committee!) -- left it to be differently interpreted, and the results of the "yea" votes to be questioned.  

Sometimes, our best strategy is to let our opposition burn itself out.  They allowed us to show more of our faces, and tell more of our stories.

We can win this.  We already have.

---

by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 08:42:06 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Hate and the house of God (4.00 / 1)

One of my favorite bloggers, teacherken, has a diary on Daily Kos today about Desmond Tutu's op ed in the Washington Post on Friday.  

One of the speakers in favor of the LET US VOTE article on our warrant was a local preacher, very "conservative."  He claimed that there was no discrimination intended, but I for one cannot figure out why that would be so, since the issue had already been decided and voting would only be of interest to those who want to change the result.  teacherken ended his diary this way:

Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice.   -  SHARED PATHS -  for like it or not, we travel those paths together, and my freedom cannot be at the price of your enslavement or denigration.  

Perhaps for you this diary was unnecessary.  Perhaps you already read the piece by Desmond Tutu.  Or if you did not, you already live your life by a standard such that it is unnecessary to remind you of the basic truth and wisdom of his words.

I am still growing.  I am still learning what it means to be fully human.  I still have much to learn about what it means to love and to accept love from others.

I found his words useful.

I chose to share them.

Hate has no place in the house of God   Or anywhere else.
Peace.

We believe in prosperity & opportunity, strong communities, healthy families, great schools, investing in our future and leading the world by example. We are Democrats; we are the change you're looking for.

---

by: bloomingpol @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 07:24:21 AM CDT

I've been interviewing town moderators (4.00 / 2)

for a book I'm working on about NH town meeting. Moderators hate those kinds of warrant articles. They believe that town meeting should be about conducting the town's business, not having to deal with stuff related to state, federal, or global issues. I think a lot of the old yankees feel that way.  

---

by: susanthe @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 11:35:30 AM CDT