Pennsylvania State Representative Dan Frankel writes a passionate op/ed in today's Post-Gazette. Frankel, a Democrat and long time progressive ally of the LGBT community, examines the potential damage the marriage protection amendment will do to the gay AND unmarried straight communities. Including senior citizens.
The impact could be far reaching - health insurance coverage, foster care and adoption, hospital visitation, domestic violence protection, pension security --- for unmarried HETEROSEXUAL families.
The right wing is trying to whip Pennsylvania residents into a frenzy just before the spring primaries. This is not about a threat to marriage, it is a about a threat to incumbent Republicans. If it was not acceptable for the state legislature to secretly vote themselves a pay raise, is it any more acceptable for them to hurry up to amend the constitution?
The wingnuts deny the plausibility of these drastic outcomes. But they cannot guarantee anything. One need only look around at other states to determine where this path may lead us -- it ain't pretty. Frankel lays it out nicely.
Read his piece. Then make a note to yourself to pick up your phone on Monday and call your legislators. Tell them that the amendment is unnecessary and that you don't want to write discrimination into our constitution. This ball is fueled by politics. Once it rolls, it will only gain momentum. Now it the time to take action.
I am not willing to gamble with people's lives and health. I agree with Sen. Joe Conti, a Bucks County Republican, that this amendment is "unnecessary, mean-spirited and timed for political gain before the upcoming primary election."
