Okay Time for Some Old Fashion Begging

I have been posting continuously about the November 8th election and early voting in Texas. We are doing everything in our power to stop Constitutional Amendment 2 from being passed. It is a hate amendment and is only being used to divide the state and promote bigotry.

(cross posted at MLW,Dkos,Austin Kos, Austin info, refinish69. Please feel free to copy and post anwhere it might help.)
Early voting returns, as of November 3rd, only show 4.10% of Texans voting out of 28 counties. This is unacceptable. Granted there is one county where 15.58% have voted. I wish I could say it was Travis County but it isn’t. It was Gray County. Travis has had 8.34%. We need everyone who is progressive, liberal, left or pissed off at The Ledge to get out and vote against this amendment. I want everyone who knows anyone in Texas to call, email, fax or instant message and beg them to get out and vote on November 8th.

The highest vote on an amendment on election is 12% in Texas. This is a hot issue and you can believe every bible-thumping minister will be preaching about it this Sunday. We have to counter their hate, intolerance and ignorance. I don’t care if you support legal gay marriage. Gay Marriage is not legal in Texas and it will take at least 30 or more years before it happens even if we defeat this amendment. This amendment also does away with civil unions, domestic partnerships, and may even outlaw common law marriage. I just want your vote against bigotry. I want your vote for equality. I want your vote for protecting The Texas Constitution’s bill of rights.

This is about so much more than Marriage. If this hate amendment passes, the next thing to happen will be the passing of laws to take away GLBT rights for adoption, foster care, and it will jeopardize domestic partner benefits being offered by the corporate world. It will make passing hate crime laws harder. It will make our lives more vulnerable to attacks. If we are labeled as second class citizens, do you really think the police, judges, or The Ledge will defend us?

If you want to make calls to people in Texas you can visit No Nonsense in November and sign up and make calls to any area in Texas. If they have already been called, their names will be out of the system. The script is there and it is a live system. Even 20 calls will help.

I am begging you to please call anyone you know in Texas and get them to the polls on November 8th. We have to win this battle. If we do, it could set the tone for 2006 and beyond. We can make history here folks but we need your help.

9 Comments

brinnainne on November 5, 2005 at 9:16 am

Yeesh, refiinish, that is depressing as HELL — 4.1%?!? I just can’t STAND hearing numbers like that….where is Gray County?

Both adults in this household voted. I don’t know about all of the other people I have been bugging — unfortunately, they often tell me “of course I will” and then don’t.

Have there been any drives on campus? Are students allowed to vote in Travis County?

I’ll do what I can, but I probably won’t be able to to the phone banking this weekend (have to fix our fridge — we’re living out of coolers….)

refinish69 on November 5, 2005 at 10:06 am

Not sure where Gray County is but it is a small one. LOL Probably why the % is so high. We have had fabulous response from the students and have registered tons of new voters and they are doing voting drives continuously. This is my small way to draw attention and hopefully get some people working on this all across the state and country.

Janet Strange on November 5, 2005 at 10:26 am

South steps of the capitol, Sun. Nov 6th. 1:30pm.

Address to the Texas House of Representatives

by Senfronia Thompson

Apr 29, 2005

I have been a member of this August body for three decades, and today is one of the all-time low points. We are going in the wrong direction, in the direction of hate and fear and discrimination. Members, we all know what this is about, this is the politics of divisiveness at its worst, a wedge issue that is meant to divide.

Members, this issue is a distraction from the real things we need to be working on. At the end of this session, this Legislature, this Leadership will not be able to deliver the people of Texas, fundamental and fair answers to the pressing issues of our day.

Let’s look at what this [proposed constitutional] amendment does not do: It does not give one Texas citizen meaningful tax relief. It does not reform or fully fund our education system. It does not restore one child to CHIP, who was cut from health insurance last session. It does not put one dime into raising Texas’ Third World access to health care. It does not do one thing to care for or protect one elderly person or one child in this state. In fact, it does not even do anything to protect one marriage.

Members, this bill is about hate and fear and discrimination. I know something about hate and fear and discrimination. When I was a small girl, white folks used to talk about “protecting the institution of marriage” as well. What they meant was if people of my color tried to marry people of Mr.[Wayne] Chisum’s [R-Pampa] color, you’d often find the people of my color hanging from a tree. That’s what the white folks did back then to “protect marriage.”

(I posted this on the South thread, but this looked like a good place to repost. There’s more of her moving address at the link. If you’re in Austin Sunday, this is a chance to hear her in person.)

refinish69 on November 5, 2005 at 6:19 pm

I heard her speak at the capital when she gave this speech. I will be there to hear her tomorrow. What page did this get posted on anyway? LOL
Kidspeak on November 5, 2005 at 6:49 pm

Hooray, Senfronia! Another brave Texas woman on the right side of the issues.

Kidspeak on November 5, 2005 at 6:46 pm

Gray County Texas is the home of Rep. Warren Chisum,who is, I believe, one of the authors of this hateful bill. (He also authored a bill concerning “scientific” content of textbooks in the state schools. You can guess the content.)

The lesbian and gay rights lobby of Texas quotes Chisum as saying about a lesbian couple and their two children

“I don’t think they’re a family. I think they’re a group living together.” Nov. 8, 2004.

I suspect one reason Gray county has its relatively high turnout is that he and his ilk have been successful at beating the drums over the wedge issues, ignoring the high rates of poverty in the Texas panhandle.

Gray county is in the Texas panhandle, east of Amarillo. Population a bit over 22,000, the largest group of which is in Pampa, the county seat.

refinish69 on November 5, 2005 at 9:32 pm

Should have know. He is a sawed off s_n of a Bleep. I hate that little man with a white hot intensity and will try my best to get him out of office. Especially since the KKK supports his hate agenda.
- Kidspeak on November 5, 2005 at 10:36 pm
  
  Indeed! I couldn’t agree with you more about his character.
  - refinish69 on November 6, 2005 at 5:17 am
    
    and the others we have to get rid of are Perry and Talton!!! Talton is evil incarnate as far as I am concerned. The majority of The Ledge are morons and need to be voted out. We need elected officials who care about Texas and not spewing this hatred that bush started in DC.

brinnainne on November 5, 2005 at 9:16 am

Yeesh, refiinish, that is depressing as HELL — 4.1%?!? I just can’t STAND hearing numbers like that….where is Gray County?

Both adults in this household voted. I don’t know about all of the other people I have been bugging — unfortunately, they often tell me “of course I will” and then don’t.

Have there been any drives on campus? Are students allowed to vote in Travis County?

I’ll do what I can, but I probably won’t be able to to the phone banking this weekend (have to fix our fridge — we’re living out of coolers….)
- refinish69 on November 5, 2005 at 10:06 am
  
  Not sure where Gray County is but it is a small one. LOL Probably why the % is so high. We have had fabulous response from the students and have registered tons of new voters and they are doing voting drives continuously. This is my small way to draw attention and hopefully get some people working on this all across the state and country.
Janet Strange on November 5, 2005 at 10:26 am

South steps of the capitol, Sun. Nov 6th. 1:30pm.

Address to the Texas House of Representatives

by Senfronia Thompson

Apr 29, 2005

I have been a member of this August body for three decades, and today is one of the all-time low points. We are going in the wrong direction, in the direction of hate and fear and discrimination. Members, we all know what this is about, this is the politics of divisiveness at its worst, a wedge issue that is meant to divide.

Members, this issue is a distraction from the real things we need to be working on. At the end of this session, this Legislature, this Leadership will not be able to deliver the people of Texas, fundamental and fair answers to the pressing issues of our day.

Let’s look at what this [proposed constitutional] amendment does not do: It does not give one Texas citizen meaningful tax relief. It does not reform or fully fund our education system. It does not restore one child to CHIP, who was cut from health insurance last session. It does not put one dime into raising Texas’ Third World access to health care. It does not do one thing to care for or protect one elderly person or one child in this state. In fact, it does not even do anything to protect one marriage.

Members, this bill is about hate and fear and discrimination. I know something about hate and fear and discrimination. When I was a small girl, white folks used to talk about “protecting the institution of marriage” as well. What they meant was if people of my color tried to marry people of Mr.[Wayne] Chisum’s [R-Pampa] color, you’d often find the people of my color hanging from a tree. That’s what the white folks did back then to “protect marriage.”

(I posted this on the South thread, but this looked like a good place to repost. There’s more of her moving address at the link. If you’re in Austin Sunday, this is a chance to hear her in person.)
- refinish69 on November 5, 2005 at 6:19 pm
  
  I heard her speak at the capital when she gave this speech. I will be there to hear her tomorrow. What page did this get posted on anyway? LOL
- Kidspeak on November 5, 2005 at 6:49 pm
  
  Hooray, Senfronia! Another brave Texas woman on the right side of the issues.
Kidspeak on November 5, 2005 at 6:46 pm

Gray County Texas is the home of Rep. Warren Chisum,who is, I believe, one of the authors of this hateful bill. (He also authored a bill concerning “scientific” content of textbooks in the state schools. You can guess the content.)

The lesbian and gay rights lobby of Texas quotes Chisum as saying about a lesbian couple and their two children

“I don’t think they’re a family. I think they’re a group living together.” Nov. 8, 2004.

I suspect one reason Gray county has its relatively high turnout is that he and his ilk have been successful at beating the drums over the wedge issues, ignoring the high rates of poverty in the Texas panhandle.

Gray county is in the Texas panhandle, east of Amarillo. Population a bit over 22,000, the largest group of which is in Pampa, the county seat.
- refinish69 on November 5, 2005 at 9:32 pm
  
  Should have know. He is a sawed off s_n of a Bleep. I hate that little man with a white hot intensity and will try my best to get him out of office. Especially since the KKK supports his hate agenda.
  - Kidspeak on November 5, 2005 at 10:36 pm
    
    Indeed! I couldn’t agree with you more about his character.
    - refinish69 on November 6, 2005 at 5:17 am
      
      and the others we have to get rid of are Perry and Talton!!! Talton is evil incarnate as far as I am concerned. The majority of The Ledge are morons and need to be voted out. We need elected officials who care about Texas and not spewing this hatred that bush started in DC.

Okay Time for Some Old Fashion Begging

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