Help Defeat the Marriage Protection Amendment and Support all PA Families

Urgent – Ask Your Legislator Not to Sponsor the Marriage Amendment

House Bill 2381 is a proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution.  It would add this language to the Pennsylvania Constitution:

Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this Commonwealth, and neither the Commonwealth nor any of its political subdivisions shall create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially equivalent to that of marriage for unmarried individuals. 

The ACLU of Pennsylvania is working with the Value All Families Coalition to defeat HB 2381.  We think this is an unnecessary and divisive amendment that would hurt all kinds of families in Pennsylvania.  See the other side of this flier for our arguments as to why we oppose this amendment.

On Wednesday, March 15, 2006, the House State Government Committee is scheduled to vote on this bill.  We are mobilizing thousands of concerned Pennsylvanians and asking them to contact members of the House State Government Committee to let those members know how they feel about the proposed constitutional amendment.  We particularly are asking people who are represented by any of these legislators (or people who know any of these legislators) to call legislator’s Harrisburg offices by the end of business on Tuesday, March 14, 2006.

House State Government Committee:

• The Honorable Louise Williams Bishop (D-Philadelphia)                        717-783-2192

• The Honorable Thomas L. Blackwell (D-Philadelphia)                            717-783-1491

• The Honorable Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster County)                                   717-783-6422

• The Honorable Paul Clymer (R-Bucks County)                                      717-783-3154

• The Honorable Mark Cohen (D-Philadelphia)                                        717-787-4117

• The Honorable Lawrence H. Curry (D-Montgomery County)                     717-783-1079

• The Honorable Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks County)                                717-783-7319

• The Honorable Florindo Fabrizio (D-Erie County)                                    717-787-4358

• The Honorable Robert L. Freeman (D-Northampton County)                    717-783-3815

• The Honorable Mauree A. Gingrich (R-Lebanon County)                          717-783-1815

• The Honorable Will Gabig (R-Cumberland County)                                 717-772-2280

• The Honorable Glen R. Grell (R-Cumberland County)                              717-783-2063

• The Honorable David Hickernell  (R-Dauphin, Lancaster Counties)            717-783-2076

• The Honorable Scott Hutchison (R-Butler, Venango Counties)                   717-783-8188

• The Honorable Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia)                                    717-787-8529

• The Honorable Tom Killion (R-Delaware County)                                     717-772-0855

• The Honorable Daryl D. Metclafe (R-Butler County)                                 717-783-1707

• The Honorable David R. Millard (R-Columbia County)                              717-783-1102

• The Honorable Sean M. Ramaley (D-Allegheny, Beaver Counties)             717-787-4444

• The Honorable Kathy L. Rapp (R-Warren County)                                    717-787-1367

• The Honorable Dave Reed (R-Indiana County)                                       717-705-7173

• The Honorable Larry O. Sather (R-Huntingdon County)                            717-787-3335

• The Honorable Joshua D. Shapiro (D-Montgomery County)                       717-783-7619

• The Honorable David J. Steil (R-Bucks County)                                       717-772-5396

• The Honorable W. Curtis Thomas (D-Philadelphia)                                  717-787-9471

• The Honorable Gregory Vitali (D-Delaware County)                                  717-787-7647

• The Honorable Katharine M. Watson (R-Bucks County)                            717-787-5452

• The Honorable Rosita C. Youngblood (D-Philadelphia County)                  717-787-7727

Thank you for your support and please forward this action alert to friends, family, and other people in Pennsylvania who believe in civil rights and equality for all Pennsylvanians.Why we oppose House Bill 2381 – The  Pennsylvania Marriage Amendment

Why we oppose House Bill 2381 – The  Pennsylvania Marriage Amendment

• The proposed amendment could take away existing legal protection, under local laws, for committed long-term couples and their children, such as hospital visitation rights, inheritance rights, pension benefits and health insurance coverage.

• Marriage is a commitment.  It is about creating a family.  It is also about rights and responsibilities.  Marriage is about sharing, love, trust and compromise. Two adults who make this personal decision to form a life-long commitment should not be denied the right to marry the person they want to marry just because they are gay or lesbian.

• Gay and lesbian Pennsylvanians are our neighbors, co-workers, and friends.  They pay taxes and serve our communities. They raise children and volunteer with civic organizations. They simply desire the same rights, responsibilities and protections.

• Denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry will adversely impact their legal rights in pension, health insurance, hospital visitations, and inheritance that heterosexual couples enjoy.

• This amendment is unnecessary, unwise and divisive. Same-sex couples are already denied the right to marry in Pennsylvania. 

• With all of the problems that the Pennsylvania House of Representative should be addressing, it is disturbing that some of the members would spend time and resources to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to make a pronouncement about marriage.

• People are not being asked to change their religious beliefs and nobody is trying to force any clergy person to perform same-sex weddings.  There are many things about modern society that some religious organizations do not endorse.  Yet, as a society we are governed by laws and not by religious beliefs.