Please Support Marriage Now

Public Hearings Held, Committee Action Scheduled For Marriage Redefinition Bills

From the Family Policy Institute

By Rebecca Faust 

The Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations and Elections Committee and the House Judiciary Committee both held public hearings on the respective marriage redefinition bills on Monday.

Both hearings required the use of overflow rooms to accommodate the unusual crowds.

The hearings started with the usually summaries of the bill and statements from the bill's sponsors, followed by pre-arranged panels for each side, and finally testimony from randomly selected members of the public. There wasn't enough time for everyone's testimony, and except for the opening speakers, those who did testify were allowed one minute each.

The Family Policy Institute of Washington's executive director, Joseph Backholm, spoke on one of the opening panels at the Senate hearing. He encouraged the legislature not to redefine marriage themselves, without a vote of the people.

The chair of the Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations and Elections Committee announced that his committee would hold an executive session on SB 6239 on Thursday, January 26th, at 10:00 a.m.

The chair of the House Judiciary Committee announced that his committee would hold an executive session on HB 2516 on Monday, January 30th.

In the legislature, executive sessions are open to the public, but the public are not allowed to comment on the bills under consideration. They are held following a public hearing, for the committee to take action on a bill.

Protect Marriage, Protect the Family

From the Family Policy Institute of Washington

Last Wednesday in Olympia, Governor Christine Gregoire held an impassioned press conference to announce her public support of legislation redefining marriage in Washington. If you did not watch it, you should by clicking here. While members of the homosexual lobby announced their intentions at a press conference in November, this marks the beginning of the legislative debate over the issue. Acknowledging that they were a few votes short of passage in the Senate, both the Governor and legislative leadership expressed confidence that they could secure the votes needed for final passage. Supporters of real marriage must counter the pressure that legislators will inevitably receive from the homosexual lobby. And they need to hear from 10 times as many constituents respectfully encouraging them not to redefine marriage. Here is a list of simple things you can do to help make that happen.

·    Read the Meaning of Marriage Talking Points (provided by Gerri)

·    Call your legislators through the legislative hotline at  1-800-562-6000.

·    Email all your legislators about marriage, then share the email widget with your friends on Facebook.

·    Schedule a personal visit with your legislators to discuss marriage. Call ahead to do so. You can find their office number by clicking here and clicking "find your district."

·    See additional ideas.

Remember, if each pro-marriage, pro-common sense voter in Washington takes two minutes to write and email or call the legislative hotline, we'll win. All we need to do is demonstrate that we care. So give two minutes for marriage today. None of us can accomplish this alone, but with minimal effort from each of us, we can ensure that common sense prevails in Washington State.