Victory Alert! Marriage Bill Tabled

          UUPLAN was one of 18 partnering organizations who helped table the bill to define marriage between one man and one woman. Special thanks to Alanna Berger for being such a vibrant and loving force in Harrisburg and special thanks to our partner organizations:

 1. Equality PA (I'm on the Interfaith Advisory Board) 2. ACLU of Pennsylvania 3. Pennsylvania Diversity Network 4. Equality Partners of Western Pennsylvania 5. NEPA Rainbow Alliance 6. Keystone Progress 7. Service Employees International Union, PA 8. The Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents 9. The LGBT Community Center Coalition of Central PA 10. EQPA’s Student Network Across Pennsylvania (SNAP)  11. he Gay and Lesbian Executive Committee (GLEC) 12. Philadelphia Family PRIDE, the Gay and Lesbian Taskforce 13. The Human Rights Campaign 14. Delaware Valley Americans United 15. Working America 16. Erie Gay News 17. Philadelphia Gay News 

          In addition to these groups, individuals started the rally cry, in particular a super UUPLANer in Harrisburg, Alanna Berger. Thanks to her help and to your response to our Marriage Alert you were able to bring the message of equality to Harrisburg. 

          We did hear from several representatives that the phone calls made a big difference. While visiting Republican representatives, several advocates witnessed secretaries having to intercept calls upset about the proposed bill.  Alanna Berger's representative vehemently supports the bill but she's determined to provide him a series of documentation for why his reasoning is wrong. She's a very effective advocate - compassionate and strong.

          For your humor, there were four items on the committee agenda. The first item that passed was a bill to make the "PA Long Rifle" the official state rifle.

         We look forward to the day when our elected officials are using their power to heal with love, to help with compassion and to serve the spirit of freedom. This will only happen if we remain vigilant about preserving the integrity of our democracy.