Blog
Breaking Out of the Closet
May 25, 2010
The message below went out to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. Sign-up for these emails here.
Dear Friends,
After centuries of being forced into the closet, gay, lesbian and bisexual service members are on the verge of breaking out this year.
Just last night, lawmakers reached a compromise that could pave the way to the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” before the year ends! But this compromise all hinges on key votes this week in the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee.
No mater how you feel about the military in general, I hope we can all agree that the key tests for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve – not the gender of the person you love.
Love,
Adam
Adam Gerhardstein
Campaign Manager
P.S. Read more about the compromise in the Washington Post.
More >Rhode Island faces Arizona-type legislation
May 24, 2010
A piece of legislation, H 8142, has been introduced in Rhode Island that is designed to harass and punish undocumented immigrants.
It criminalizes an administrative violation. It makes undocumented entry into the U.S. a crime. This has always been an administrative issue that results in deportation. Under this bill, the first conviction is a class one misdemeanor with a fine of up to $2500 and a jail sentence of up to six months. Any subsequent conviction is a felony.
It will lead to racial profiling. The bill requires law enforcement officers to challenge people if they have a “reasonable suspicion” they are undocumented. Despite assertions to the contrary, this suspicion can be formed only through racial profiling.
People of faith in Rhode Island are already rallying to stop this bill from being enacted. Read what they are doing and then email your governor to ensure such a law doesn’t come to your state.
More >Called to Arizona
May 14, 2010
The message below went out to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. Sign-up for these emails here.
Dear Friends,
We in Arizona need you.
In Phoenix, I am ministering to a wounded community that needs more love than I alone can give.
When I felt my call to the ministry in 1995, I knew it would be a challenging path. But I never anticipated that I would end up fighting against a police state.
The Standing on the Side of Love campaign will be there along with many national faith leaders, including the President of my Unitarian Universalist faith, Rev. Peter Morales.
There is still time to stop SB 1070 from going into effect.
Yours in the struggle,
Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray
Minister, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix
P.S. For those of you unable to make the journey, send a message to your governor asking them to prevent any laws like SB 1070 from coming to your state.
More >Immigration reform is our Selma
May 13, 2010
Unless your ancestors are native to this land, you are a foreigner. We are foreigners. We are immigrants.
It is immoral to pull up the drawbridge after we have safely crossed over to this promised land. When we fail to support a path to citizenship for immigrants, we are dishonoring our ancestors.
I do not know how to fix the very broken system of immigration. I do know that we have a moral imperative to try. We have a moral imperative to be a part of the solution. Arlington Street Church, Unitarian Universalist, is a New Sanctuary Movement congregation because we stand on the side of love. We support SOMOS because we stand on the side of love. We stand on the side of just, humane, sensible, and visionary immigration policy reform.
Friends, let’s make no mistake: Immigration reform is our Selma. Forty-three years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior, said:
We must move past indecision to action…. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.
Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter – but beautiful – struggle for a new world…. Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men [and women]…? Or will there be another message, of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause…? The choice is ours, and … we must choose….
Join me in opposing Arizona SB 1070. Join me now in choosing to stand on the side of love.
Rev. Kim K. Crawford Harvie, minister of the Arlington Street Church in Boston, delivered these remarks at a press conference opposing Arizona SB 1070.
Signs of Love
May 13, 2010
The message below went out to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. Sign-up for these emails here.
Dear Friends,
I am convinced that my Standing on the Side of Love bumper sticker has made me immune to road rage. Time and time again, I have seen drivers roar up behind me and then slowly back off.
My friends don’t believe me, but I know our message has the power to stop rage in its tracks; and we must stop rage in its tracks.
I learned this lesson when I joined four undocumented student for two days as they were walking from Miami to Washington, D.C., sharing their story and their dreams along the way. When I asked why we were walking on a very busy four-lane highway, I learned they were afraid of being out of cell phone range and in places where few people were in sight, “just in case.”
Our immigrant neighbors need to know that in case something does happen, God forbid, they have a neighbor to whom they can turn.
It is a small gesture, but it is a bold gesture.
Sometimes all people need in order to let go of fear, anger, and rage is a sign.
Love,
Adam
Adam Gerhardstein
Campaign Manager
P.S. Here is what the signs look like:
