Tag Archives: Joe Solmonese

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Don’t let your tax dollars pay for discrimina​tion …


This is how Congress is spending its time.

Right now, behind closed doors, Republican House leaders are deciding exactly how they’ll use our tax dollars to protect the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

And more than 90 right-wing lawmakers are wasting Congress’s time on a resolution condemning President Obama and declaring that same-sex couples should be denied equal rights. Some are even talking about impeaching the president for his principled stance against DOMA.

Meanwhile, as right-wing groups vilify gay members of Congress, we’re showing every lawmaker that a majority of Americans – both straight and LGBT – want DOMA repealed.

We need 535 more straight allies to join HRC in the next 24 hours so that we have the resources to get our message to all 535 members of Congress. Can you help fund this fight?

www.hrc.org

Join HRC in the next 24 hours with an urgent gift to fight DOMA and stand up for equality.

DOMA’s sole purpose is to deny married, same-sex couples the protections straight married couples enjoy: Social Security survivor benefits, joint tax filing, taking leave to care for a spouse, and more.

In the past few weeks, we’ve sent more than 170,000 letters to Congress calling out this discrimination. We’ve also released a new poll showing that a majority of Americans have no patience for these antics.1 They want Congress to focus on creating jobs – not defending DOMA.

Straight allies’ voices are critical in our fight to show Republican House leaders that they’re out of step with the American majority.

We refuse to be quiet. We’re standing up to right-wing ideologues, rallying support and fighting for DOMA repeal bills in the House and Senate. We’re continuously highlighting the scary truth about DOMA in the press. And we’re making sure your voice is heard in Congress on this issue.

This is not a test – equality for loving couples and families is on the line.

Declare your support as a straight ally. Stand up to hate – chip in now.    www.hrc.org

I know you’re disgusted by our opponents’ hypocrisy and that you’re eager for progress. From the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. hate crimes law to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, we’ve shown we can get things done together. I’m hoping you’ll stand with us today.

Keep up the fight,

Joe Solmonese

President

1 A new poll from HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research shows 51 percent of Americans oppose DOMA while 34 percent favor it. 54 percent of Americans want Congress to focus on jobs and only 32 percent would prefer Congress spend time defending DOMA.

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Congress’s new low …a message from Joe Solmonese

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Can they sink any lower?

Speaker John Boehner and Republican House leaders have now committed taxpayer money to a morally bankrupt effort to keep the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the books.

Republican House leaders are defending DOMA in court and right-wing lawmakers have introduced an anti-LGBT resolution in the House.

But for the first time ever, we have bills in both houses of Congress to repeal DOMA.

And more than 90 U.S. representatives are wasting time on a mean-spirited resolution to reinforce DOMA by declaring same-sex couples unequal.

But here’s the catch. Our new poll shows they’re squarely at odds with a majority of Americans who think DOMA is just plain wrong.1

And starting this week, we have a new chance to fight back – now with hard data on our side.

The Respect for Marriage Act – a bill that would repeal DOMA – has just been introduced in both houses of Congress. But it won’t go anywhere unless thousands of people like you turn up the pressure on lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, starting immediately. Can you take one minute to send a letter now?

www.hrc.org

Make your voice heard. Tell Congress now is the time to toss DOMA for good.

The right-wing faction in Congress is so deeply committed to dialing back rights for LGBT Americans that nearly 100 of them are cosponsoring a resolution condemning President Obama for his brave decision last month to no longer defend DOMA in court.

As Americans struggle to recover from the recession, we just want our government to do right by us. But Republican House leaders are doing the exact opposite – committing taxpayer money and precious time to defend a law that most Americans oppose, and a social agenda that most Americans reject.

They want to continue denying loving couples the benefits of marriage. It’s outrageous – and the public doesn’t have the patience for it.

Thanks to the leadership of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Jerry Nadler, we have a way of circumventing the defense of this law by Boehner and his cronies. Together, we can end DOMA, which denies legally married same-sex couples over 1,100 protections and responsibilities – and we can do it in the exact place it was first passed in 1996.

Join us in taking a stand for LGBT families everywhere. To make the Respect for Marriage Act a reality, your representatives in Congress need to hear from you.

Tell Congress: Repeal DOMA now!

Speaker Boehner doesn’t know what he’s up against as he goes all out to defend this discriminatory law. Our fight may have only just begun, but I know we’re fighting on the right side of history.

Thank you for everything you do – and for joining us in this effort.

To repeal,

Joe Solmonese

President

1 A new poll from HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research shows 51 percent of Americans oppose DOMA while 34 percent favor it. 54 percent of Americans want Congress to focus on jobs and only 32 percent would prefer Congress spend time defending DOMA.

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URGENT: House Republican​s preparing to defend DOMA!


In the wake of President Obama’s courageous decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), radical lawmakers have sunk to a new low.

Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor have spent this past week working to placate anti-LGBT members of Congress and their right wing base by indicating they will defend DOMA – no matter what it takes.

So much for their pledges to focus on jobs and the economy. These so-called fiscal conservatives are wasting Congress’s time and resources to defend discrimination.

We’ve never taken these attacks sitting down – and we can’t start now. Time and again, our opponents lash out when we make progress. And time and again we band together to stop them. We’ve got to do it again this week, with a rapid-response effort in Congress and beyond. Can you help now? www.hrc.org

In the past several weeks, HRC has helped drive major victories: civil unions in Hawaii and Illinois; unprecedented progress on marriage equality in Maryland, Rhode Island, and New York; and President Obama’s decision on DOMA. All of those phone calls, rallies, letters to Congress, meetings with lawmakers – they’re working.

But these victories have pushed our opponents to redouble their efforts to undermine equality.  www.hrc.org

So we’re at a crossroads. We can catapult off of these recent victories and others in Illinois and Hawaii, grab this momentum with both hands and lay a foundation now for a future of full marriage equality – or we can let the extreme right wing dictate America‘s political agenda.

Right-wing radicals know the tide is turning against them. It’s just making them more desperate. Only your generous grassroots support will help us stand strong. We must seize this moment. Are you with us    www.hrc.org

Thank you for helping us win – and for keeping this movement stro ng.

Best,

Joe Solmonese

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Join ERW’s Lobby Day in Olympia, March 22nd!


When the Washington state legislature introduced a bill that would expand domestic partnership benefits in 2009, you stood up and told your legislators to do the right thing. On Valentine’s Day, Senator Ed Murray and House Rep. Jim Moeller introduced legislation that would grant marriage equality to same-sex couples. We need your help again to make sure that your legislators know what matters most to you. http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=YuaE4dj8GIeGpByrH3OHpg..

Please join our friends at Equal Rights Washington at their annual Lobby Day in Olympia on March 22 to tell your legislators that equality for all communities, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity is important to you. Equal Rights Washington will make sure that you have all of the tools and information needed to make your visit a success.  http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=G2sU6GoO-OwaOJCp_xWZOA..

Equal Rights Washington Lobby Day

Tuesday March 22 | 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Capitol Campus | 416 Sid Snyder Ave. SW | Olympia, WA

Click here to register for Lobby Day! http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/R?i=0pZcLQ-2quOAJT2YzAkeWA..

In addition to priority bills that deal with safe schools and family recognition, this year’s Equality Day will include an increased emphasis on preserving funding for HIV services and prevention.

Help make Lobby Day a success. Every Wednesday is volunteer night at ERW’s headquarters in Seattle where volunteers can help prepare and plan for Lobby Day. For more information, please click here.

Thank you,

Joe Solmonese

President

P.S. Be sure to tell your friends and family to get involved, as well. Just click here and make sure your community is standing with you.

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Administration Drops Defense of DOMA


Administration Drops Defense of DOMA

Thank the President for standing up for same-sex couples and their families. 202-456-1111

In a rare and extraordinary step, today the Obama Administration announced that it will stop defending the discriminatory federal “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) in court – specifically, the section that denies federal benefits to married same-sex couples.

DOMA keeps these couples from getting family and medical leave, Social Security survivors’ benefits, joint tax filing, and immigration rights, among many other benefits.

You helped bring about this historic day. HRC supporters like you have written tens of thousands of letters to President Obama, shared thousands of personal stories of how DOMA has hurt their families, and helped HRC engage in years of advocacy on this issue with the administration.

As President Obama himself has said, DOMA unfairly discriminates against Americans. He needs to know how many people applaud his decision to defend the principles of the constitution.

Thank the President for standing up for same-sex couples and their families.  202-456-1111

The Obama Administration has dealt a double blow to DOMA today. Not only has it stopped defending this law (which the president has long called discriminatory), it has affirmed that any law that discriminates based on sexual orientation should have to pass a higher legal test in court.

This is a monumental decision for thousands of same-sex couples and their families.

Unfortunately, anti-LGBT leaders in Congress may have a chance to defend the law themselves, so it’s not the end of the road for DOMA.

But together, we’ll fight any attempt to waste taxpayer dollars defending this patently unconstitutional law. The federal government has no business picking and choosing which legal marriages they want to recognize.

Right now, send a message to the President thanking him for today’s decision.

Thank you for all your hard work on this issue, and for your continued commitment to building a nation where all are equal.

Administration Drops Defense of DOMA

Thank the President for standing up for same-sex couples and their families.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese

President