[van-announce] Fw: [NDYC_LGBT_Committee] [Fwd: Same-sex Marriage Issue Coming Back To Parliament]

[Paul Browning]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Nathan Hauch 
To: NDYC_LGBT_Committee at yahoogroups.ca ; tanyaspeight at hotmail.com 
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2003 1:28 PM
Subject: [NDYC_LGBT_Committee] [Fwd: Same-sex Marriage Issue Coming Back To Parliament]


FYI...

Nathan

> 
> From: "Canadians for Equal Marriage" <canadians at equal-marriage.ca>
> Date: 2003/10/04 Sat AM 02:17:21 EST
> To: <nathan.hauch at sympatico.ca>
> Subject: Same-sex Marriage Issue Coming Back To Parliament
> 
> In the very first days of the current session of Parliament, the Canadian Alliance introduced a motion 
calling upon Parliament to use the notwithstanding clause to exclude same-sex couples from 
marriage.
> By an unbelievably close margin, their anti-gay motion was defeated.
> Thank you for helping Canadians for Equal Marriage challenge the Alliance's bid to deny us equality. 
Because of your help, and the help of thousands like you, we were able to swiftly, and effectively, 
respond to the motion. In the week surrounding that vote, 1.3 million e-mails were sent to MPs by way 
of our website! (www.equal-marriage.ca)  We're told by many on Parliament Hill that these messages 
and our lobbying meetings really made a difference in winning the 137 to 132 vote.
> But the fate of equal marriage legislation still hangs in the balance. The closeness of that vote is a 
wake-up call to all of us who believe in the Canadian values of equality, respect and inclusion. A 
wake-up call that if we are going to win, we need to get our message heard by all Canadians.
> However, we don't have long. Thanks to the Alliance Party, this issue is coming back to Parliament 
very soon. This time they have introduced an anti- same-sex marriage private member's Bill.  This Bill 
will be among the first to come up for consideration (likely in late October). Our opponents are going to 
try to dominate the media again, exploit people's fears and prepare the groundwork for a very nasty 
federal election. 
> They are hoping the media hype and 'moral outrage' will put pressure on individual MPs, and make it 
difficult to pass government legislation. 
> And they may be right.  Never, in Canadian history, have we seen such a massive mobilization of 
anti-gay forces committed to denying us equality. Our opponents are relentless, tireless and 
well-financed.  They have organized rallies anti-gay across the country, have dominated media 
headlines, and even have the money to purchase full-page ads in the national newspapers, at a cost 
of over $40,000 each time.
> In response to this barrage of anti-gay propaganda, many Liberal MPs  - whose votes we 
desperately need - are running scared.  Government legislation is likely to come to a vote in the fall or 
early spring, given that many government members want this issue out of the way (win or lose) before 
the federal election.
> We can not afford to lose in Parliament! We need to put into place the means to win these votes, 
now!
> That takes your help, and your money. 
> Your help to get the word out, and your money to build an organisation that can mobilize a winning 
campaign.  Support of any kind is always welcome.  But if there is one thing you can do right now to 
make a difference, it is to make a donation.  Canadians for Equal Marriage is committed heart and 
soul to winning this fundamental equality issue.  But we can't do it without your financial support.  Our 
resources are pitiful compared to those of our opponents.  We're facing the battle of our lives, and we 
can only prevail if we have the finances to staff an office, to mount a truly national campaign from coast 
to coast to coast, to engage the media in responding to the voices of intolerance raised against us.
> You can now donate on-line at www.equal-marriage.ca/donate.php
> Canadians for Equal Marriage, building on the hard work of Egale Canada, has already formed 58 
local chapters in towns and cities across Canada. Halifax, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver are 
particularly active already. We have set up offices in Toronto and Ottawa, and have hired staff to mount 
a national campaign.
> We have identified over 20 MPs who are still undecided about same-sex marriage legislation. 
They're identified on our website, and we are organizing riding campaigns to win each of their support.
> No three month period has ever been more important for winning a fundamental equality in Canada, 
than right now.
> Please help us build a campaign to win in Parliament. Visit our website, convince your co-workers 
and make a generous donation (www.equal-marriage.ca/donate.php).
> Together we can win.
> Bob Gallagher, National Co-coordinator
> Canadian for Equal Marriage
> bob at equal-marriage.ca
> www.equal-marriage.ca 
> 
> PS. Your on-line donation at www.equal-marriage.ca/donate.php will go directly to stopping the 
Alliance's anti- same-sex marriage bill, and winning equal-marriage in Parliament.
> 
> nathan.hauch at sympatico.ca
> 
> 


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