PFLAGers from three Arizona chapters joined together on Capitol Hill on Thursday, October 11th (National Coming Out Day) for PFLAG National’s Capitol Hill Lobby Day. Making up the PFLAG Arizona team were (from left to right, starting with front row) Diane Steen (PFLAG Tucson), Kim Pearson (PFLAG Lake Havasu City), and Dan Loven and Mike Crum (PFLAG Phoenix). With pending legislation on hate crimes and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) before the Congress, our intention was to lobby as many Arizona congresspersons as time (and access) permitted. However, just prior to our arrival in Washington, D.C., the original ENDA legislation was pulled from consideration by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and a weaker version which excludes employment protections for our transgender brothers and sisters was introduced by Congressman Barney Frank. That last-minute “switcharoo” changed the focus of our Capitol Hill visits, and we were requested by PFLAG National to focus mostly, if not completely, on getting our message across that PFLAG **ONLY** supports the fully-inclusive original ENDA legislation, and fully **OPPOSES** any legislation that would leave any of our GLB or T family members out to fend for themselves. As PFLAG Executive Jody Huckaby stated, we will not break our families apart to pass a watered-down version of ENDA.
Tags: Advocacy, Legislation, News
October 20, 2007 at 10:55 am |
We really were the fab four that day weren’t we?
Kim Pearson
PFLAG Lake Havasu City Chapter