Posts Tagged ‘voter suppression’

Love Wins Big at the Ballot Box

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Love Wins Big at the Ballot Box Share/Save/Bookmark Nov 07, 2012

Pinch me! I, like many of you, still can’t believe that this moment has finally arrived.

Yesterday, voters in Maine and Maryland affirmed marriage equality at the ballot box. Minnesota became the first state in the country to reject writing discrimination into its state constitution. And, while the ballots are still being counted, marriage equality appears headed for passage in Washington State. These outcomes may influence the U.S. Supreme Court when it considers the constitutionality of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. After working for more than a decade for LGBTQ equality, I’m ecstatic to say that the United States has reached the tipping point. We are poised to take our place among the other nations of the world who stand on the side of love.

But wait–there’s more! Wisconsin voters elected Tammy Baldwin–the first openly-LGBTQ American, and a woman of profound integrity–to the U.S. Senate, offering new hope and a shining example of success to young people who are hoping that it will get better, who will know they can achieve anything. Electoral outcomes in New Hampshire and Iowa mean marriage equality is most likely safe in those states, and the composition of Colorado’s legislature could mean new possibilities for relationship recognition for same-gender couples. Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins has retained his seat after anti-gay forces tried to oust him for joining in a unanimous 2009 decision for marriage equality.

Of course, whether we are Republicans and Democrats, all of us understand that when it comes to advancing equality for LGBTQ people in our nation, there was simply no contest between President Obama and Governor Romney. Hopefully, with President Obama’s leadership, we will never again have a sitting president who does not support full equality for LGBTQ people in our country.

Friends, Election 2012 is our moment. Love wins big!

Of course, our victories go much further than just LGBTQ equality. Voters in my home state of Maryland became the first in the nation to ever vote on a DREAM Act measure at the ballot, signaling resounding approval for providing in-state tuition to undocumented residents. Minnesota voters rejected a regressive voter ID amendment. And voters in two states–Colorado and Washington–said yes to decriminalizing marijuana. In an ideal world, this could indicate a shift in our national conversation about drug laws that disproportionately affect poor communities of color.

As these victories set in, however, we remember that this is really about people, and our love for one another. “Gratitude” is the number one word I am hearing emerge from the mouths of those who had so much invested in outcomes yesterday.

So today, let us all offer our gratitude to one another for our collective work to bend the arc of the world towards greater love and justice.

In faith,

Dan Furmansky
Former Campaign Manager
Standing on the Side of Love

The message above went out on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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What Would Rev. James Reeb Do About Voter Suppression?

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| What Would Rev. James Reeb Do About Voter Suppression? Share/Save/Bookmark Sep 27, 2012

On March 7, 1965—dubbed “Bloody Sunday”—civil rights activists in Selma, Alabama were violently attacked by police as they demonstrated for voting rights for Black Americans. Bones were broken; skulls fractured. In total, more than 100 people were injured. In response to this tragedy, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for clergy from across the country to join him for yet another march in Selma. Rev. James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister, and I were on the same plane from Boston, flying south with hundreds of others to join Dr. King. We marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge toward Montgomery, held a prayer service, and then returned to Selma. That night, Jim Reeb was severely beaten as he left a restaurant where he had been dining with colleagues. He died a few days later, at the age of 38. The brutal murder of a white man, a member of the clergy, was a key moment in a series of events that led President Johnson to introduce the landmark Voting Rights Act, just days later.

Nearly fifty years later, I am reminded of Selma as I witness new voter ID laws popping up across our country. These laws will disenfranchise huge numbers of Americans this November—especially African Americans, the elderly, and college students. These voter ID laws make a mockery of the Selma to Montgomery March and the many sacrifices that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

We must ask ourselves: Did James Reeb and the others who were killed as they sought voting rights for African Americans die in vain?

Let us work to ensure that is not the case! Please join me in shining the light on discriminatory voter suppression efforts underway in our country. Click here to learn more about the issue and how you can get involved.

I returned to Selma recently and visited the memorial created to honor Jim. I remember wondering what Jim’s reaction would be to our current state of affairs. Today’s voter ID laws are truly a 21st century replication of the biased policies that he and I and so many others worked to overturn.

That Tuesday in 1965, when Jim and I and hundred of others gathered with Dr. King in Selma to call for full voting rights for African Americans, was a collective expression of what it means to “stand on the side of love.” Today, our work continues as we struggle to ensure that everyone has the ability to exercise his or her right to vote.

Please speak out against voter suppression. Click here for resources to get involved this election season.

As we remember the many people like Jim Reeb who lost their lives fighting for the right to vote, and those who sacrificed so much along the way, may we all be as bold and brave in speaking out for true democracy.

Standing on the side of love,

Gil_Selma_Reeb_Memorial

Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell
Retired United Methodist minister and a “foot soldier” in the Civil Rights Movement

PS: My current project is a documentary film discussing the intersections of racism, heterosexism, and religion. Visit truthinprogress.com to learn more.

The message above went out on Thursday, September 27, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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Take Love to the Polls

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| Take Love to the Polls Share/Save/Bookmark Aug 30, 2012

We all know how much is at stake in the upcoming election at the national, state, and local levels. Regressive policies and corporate control oppress people on the margins and disenfranchise the vulnerable among us. Nevertheless, you can use your voice to lift up the issues that affect our communities.

The outcome of an election is determined by who speaks up and who turns out. Join the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Standing on the Side of Love, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the UU State Advocacy Networks for the “Take Love to the Polls: Elections 2012 Webinar” to learn about what is at stake this season and how you, as a person of conscience and faith, can work with your congregation, community partners, and other allies to help level the political playing field this election season!

The “Take Love to the Polls: Elections 2012 Webinar” will be held Wednesday, September 12 at 7pm ET. Space is limited—click here to reserve your spot today!

Religious groups play a prophetic role in public life by calling attention to oppression, demanding change, and holding leaders and institutions accountable for their actions and policies. For Unitarian Universalists, participation in the democratic process is specifically held up as an act of faith in the Fifth Principle. You can help register members of your community to vote, get out the vote, and stop voter suppression. Most importantly, you can partner with community groups, organizations on college campuses, and statewide networks to lift up the voices of those in our society who are historically under-represented and help empower those who are most affected by regressive policies. By helping people participate in the democratic process, we show them we care that their voices get heard.

Please join me in standing on the side of love this election season. Click here to register for the “Take Love to the Polls: Elections 2012 Webinar.”

Inspiring the words of Abraham Lincoln’s famous “Gettysburg Address,” Unitarian minister Theodore Parker said that democracy is “a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people.” Join us to learn how we can work together this election season to help make that a reality.

In solidarity,

kara_smith_headshot

Kara Smith
Associate for Grassroots Mobilization
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

The message above went out on Thursday, August 30, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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