ACTION ALERT: HJR 6 will be scheduled for a public hearing Monday, April 4

[crispini]

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MARRIAGE AMENDMENT TO RECEIVE PUBLIC HEARING

ACTION ALERT: HJR 6 will be scheduled for a public hearing
Monday, April 4, 2005
Public Testimony Needed!
HJR 6, the Anti-Gay Texas Marriage Amendment, would put unequal treatment for gay and lesbian Texans into our Texas Constitution by permanently banning marriage for gay and lesbian couples. It would deny thousands of Texas families access to health care, fair inheritance and survivor rights, and the ability to make medical decisions for loved ones. We believe HJR 6 will be scheduled for a hearing to take public testimony on Monday, April 4, 2005. We need people to do one of three actions:

1.. Testify verbally,
2.. Submit written testimony, and
3.. Sign a witness affirmation form.
HJR 6 will officially post for a hearing on March 30,
and we will have more details at that time. The committee hearing will start "at 2pm or upon adjournment," and it could last well past
midnight. We need families from across the state to testify that HJR 6 hurts real families!

Please contact Colin Cunliff to sign-up to testify at 512-474-5475 or [e-mail]. Attached are talking points and guidelines to help you develop your testimony.

More than ever, we need your financial support to halt this threat to Texas families! Please make a donation today to fund our efforts at the Capitol. Read on for more talking points and tips on testifying!

How to be an Effective Witness in a Public Hearing
A few suggestions from former State Representative Harryette Ehrhardt
LOGISTICS

a. Assume the committee will not meet at the time you think it will. If we are scheduled to meet at "2:00 PM or upon adjournment"-that might really turn out to be 5 or 6 or even 10 in the evening.
b.. Dress appropriately-comfortable but respectful. All of us will likely be in suits and business-wear.
c.. Your bill may not be the first heard. Literally, it could be hours, even into the next morning, before your piece of legislation comes up.
d.. Make plans to be very late, maybe not even catching the last flight, or having to spend the night.
e.. Also, food is hard to get. It is a good idea to bring snacks and a drink for outside the hearing room. (You are right-this is an outing.)
COMMITTEE PROCEDURES

a.. You will be asked to complete a witness form. When you do so, you will be swearing to be truthful. You will also indicate if you are speaking "on", "for" or "against" the bill.
b.. You can indicate that you are "there in support
of a bill and choose not to testify". This is actually effective. It
helps us to know we have many people willing to sit through a committee hearing just to let us know their position even if they do not speak. Definitely, that is better than repeating previous testimony.
c.. Your name, whom you are representing (unless you are specifically authorized as a representative of LGRL, you are representing yourself) and your position will become a part of the
permanent legislative record. When the bill is heard on the floor of the House, you will be listed in the information we get before we vote. What you are doing is important.
d.. Understand the nature of the committee process. Some of us are on 2 committees meeting at the same time. Some of us are laying out bills in another committee. There may only be two or three representatives at the dais at any given time. These committee hearings are on closed-circuit TV. Members of the committee and/or their staff may be watching from their offices if unable to attend at that moment.
TESTIMONY CONTENT
a.. Do your research! Check out www.lgrl.org for Fact Sheets, Frequently Asked Questions, and other resources to prepare you for testifying.
b.. Begin by studying the Committee and Committee members who will hear your bill. On the Internet go to http://www.house.state.tx.us. Select "House Committees" and find out everything you can about the Committee membership. Who is the Chair? Are the members rural or urban, Republican or Democrat, etc..? How might they be predisposed to your bill. Who do you know in their district that might visit or call as a constituent in advance of the hearing?
c.. Know what you are going to talk about. You don't have to be an attorney or doctor or other professional. If this is your issue-you are an authority as long as you are truthful and well informed.
d.. The absolute worst testimony I ever heard was by a woman who threatened the committee-said she would sue if we didn't support her point of view. She told us she was a voter and she would see none of us were ever reelected. The really bad thing about it was she was speaking for the side I supported-I had the votes going into the meeting, but she swayed the committee so negatively that we lost!
e.. Don't ever say; "You all never do anything to help..." or "They do this in California," or "In California..."

TESTIMONY PROCEDURES

a.. Remember those you are addressing work for you-we were elected to be your public servants.
b.. Begin by giving your name, where you are from and who you represent (almost always "yourself"). Then say "Mr. Chair/Madam Chair and members of the committee"...
c.. Organize your material to be presented in a couple of minutes if at all possible. Some chairs actually impose a time limit. You will need to be flexible.
d.. If you are one of a group, plan your presentation so you will not repeat each others' ideas. Each speaker should have one point to make without duplicating other speakers.
e.. Speak as clearly as possible.
f.. Calling us by name (ie. Representative _________) is a good idea if you are comfortable with that and don't overuse it. You do need to seem natural and not fake!
g.. Be prepared to be asked probing questions. It's OK to say "I don't know!" It's better to say "I will find out and send it to you."
h.. Don't point or wag your finger.
i.. Never get angry-keep your cool even if others around you aren't. Being scared is ok, being angry is not.
j.. Always address the chair. Make occasional eye contact with any attentive member.
k.. Understand that just because committee members are not looking at you or are talking to somebody else, they are still listening. We really can do that!
l.. Don't read from something given to the committee in writing. Try not to read at all, unless that really makes you uncomfortable-then use a script, but not the exact one we have in writing.
m.. We are not good at reading lots of stuff-we get about a foot a day to read. If you do bring us something, bring 15 copies and hand to the clerk who will distribute them to us. Long documents are not effective. Pictures help.
n.. Concise bulleted outlines help us sometimes.
o.. Listen respectfully to testimony from opposing witnesses. Never applaud those you agree with, or deride those you oppose.
p.. Entertain questions when through with prepared testimony. Leave when dismissed by the chair. Leave quietly and graciously no matter how well or poorly the testimony went. Say thank you; if we truly believe that you appreciate us, you score bonus points.

What you are doing is important. THANK YOU!

Fact Sheet on HJR 6
The Anti-Gay Texas Marriage Amendment
Bill Number: House Joint Resolution 6
Unofficial Name: Anti-Gay Texas Marriage Amendment
Bill Author: Representative Warren Chisum (R-Pampa)
Joint Authors: Representatives Chuck Hopson, Charlie Howard, and Jim McReynolds
Co-Authors: Representatives Allen (Ray), Berman, Bohac, Bonnen, Branch, Brown (Betty), Callegari, Campbell, Casteel, Cook (Byron), Cook (Robby), Crabb, Davis (John), Delisi, Denny, Driver, Eissler, Flynn, Gattis, Geren, Goodman, Hamilton, Hardcastle, Harper-Brown, Hegar, Hope, Hughes, Isett, Jackson (jim) Jones (Delwin), Keffer
(Jim), King (Phil), Kolkhosrt, Krusee, Laubenberg, Nixon, Orr, Otto,
Paxton, Smith (Todd), Smith (Wayne), Solomons, Talton, Taylor, Truitt, van Arsdale, West (George), Zedler

Short description: HJR 6 would write unequal treatment for gay and lesbian Texans into our Constitution by banning marriage for gay and lesbian couples.
Committee Assignment: House Committee on State Affairs


Quick Facts

The Texas Marriage Amendment hurts Texas families. It would deny thousands of families access to healthcare, fair inheritance and survivor rights, and the ability to make life-saving medical decisions for loved ones.

Our Constitution should be used to protect people, not hurt them. But that is just what the Texas Marriage Amendment would do. Our Constitution is for protecting our most basic and important rights. It should never be used to settle partisan, religious or ideological disputes. There is no question that many Texans disagree about marriage for gay and lesbian couples, but those disagreements do not belong in our Constitution.

Changing the Constitution is never simple. There are over 1000 protections, rights and responsibilities that go along with civil marriage. Many, like immigration rights and veterans death benefits, cannot be covered by contracts or legal planning. The Texas Marriage Amendment would permanently deny access to each of these family protections to gay and lesbian couples and their families.

This bill DOES NOT "reinforce" heterosexual marriages. The typical reason legislators give for supporting this legislation is that it reinforces traditional marriages. However, they have provided no reasoning to support the idea that barring same-sex marriages in any way contributes positively to heterosexual marriages, or that recognition of same-sex marriages threatens existing opposite-sex marriages. It seems the real motivation behind such legislation is homophobia.

[asjr]

1. It puzzles me how being anti-gay will strenghten their

marriages. If they must have a law to protect them, they are in sore need of brains. To me this is a law of civil rights. To ban gay marriage breaks that law.

[Maestro]

2. We

need to hit home hard with the idea that this is all political pandering just like the Schiavo case was and is. This is a supposed solution to a nonexistent problem. That is what I told Jim Pitts, my rep.

[johncoby2]

3. It should also ban divorce

Why should sone get divorce, remarry, and then expect to have the same medical coverage and benefits for the new family?

If they want to get divorced, then they can do without any of its benefits. Forever.


(Now, I dont believe this crap I just wrote, but since they are pandering, lets pander with them. Someone should stand up in support of the bill, but to also add divorce to it. Lets see them, especially those who are divorced, squirm)

[Maestro]

4. Good point. -eom