Hey LGBT groups! Let's Copy Organizing for America's phone attack to Congress

I was just reading about the group, Organizing for America (OFA) making over 300,000 phone calls to Congress about Health Care reform.

Organizing for America is nothing but a group folks who basically support Obama and Health Care. If you signed on Obama's website during the campaign, you normally get these emails on the regular.

However, I was impressed that this group got together, organized and hit it big...

The nationwide "Time to Deliver on Health Reform" event is the most massive outpouring of support from Obama supporters since Election Day 2008.

Senate Democratic aides told HuffPost that their phones have been ringing off the hook. "We're getting completely crushed with calls, jamming our phone lines from the moment we opened," said one aide.

Another said they'd gotten "pretty much non-stop health care calls from OFA." A third also said their office was getting bombed and that four out of every five calls specifically mentioned the public option.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-teo/ofa-healthcare-phonebank_b_327418.html

So I got to thinking... Could this be a format we (LGBT community) can use to address ENDA, Hate Crimes Act, DADT and DOMA? I think so.

If we organize a phone bank to do this type damage, we could make a strong impact on our causes. Think if we got the majority of the NEM attenders to make these calls, we could get this party started.

Barney Frank said we needed to hit congress up, why not try this tactic?

OFA has set a trend in contacting congress, our LGBT groups need to do the same. If not the HRC, then another group. Perhaps the organizers of NEM, Andy Thayer and Queer Liberation or LGBT Task Force.

This idea actually works and if we can get it together, this could work for us.

source

If First you Don't Succeed...

Grassroots groups are tired of waiting for a Prop 8 change, so in true Harvey Milk form, they are moving forward with their own initiative.

They are planning to utilize the Internet to raise awareness and money to get people active. They are also hoping to gather 700,000 signatures to get on the ballot to repeal Prop 8.

Some of the the groups are Equality California, Yes! on Equality and 2 straight college students, Ali Shams and Kaelan Housewright who wants the state to drop out of the marriage business.

Here's the reason:

Their proposed measure calls for the term "marriage" to be removed from state laws and replaced with "domestic partnerships." Shams maintains the measure would provide equality to all couples, regardless of sexual orientation, while preserving marriage as a religious and social ceremony. "

This is a compromise," Shams said. "It says 'Get rid of marriage as a state institution. Make it a religious institution, keep politics out of it and stop the fighting.'"

Yes! on Equality plans on filing a 3rd ballot measure request this week to repeal Prop 8.

This is exciting. I am glad to see the grassroots groups get involve and take action. If you want more info on these groups, just google them. There's plently of info out there.

Source