From our friends at TIP

Take It To The People

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March 12, 2009


Craig Bensen, editor

check out LetVermontVote.org


Upcoming Events
There are two key times next week for citizens to come to the Statehouse:

1) MONDAY, MARCH 16, 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM

Come to the Statehouse in Montpelier for a citizen's Marriage Day.

Come as individuals, as couples and as families so our Senators can see who supports Marriage as a one man and one woman institution.

2) WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 6 PM to 8:30 PM


Come to the Statehouse in Montpelier for the PUBLIC HEARING of the Joint Senate and House Judiciary Committees.


Arrive as close to 5 PM as you can. If you would like to testify (usually 2-3 minutes per person), there will be a sign-up sheet -- first come basis. We will have talking points and information sheets available as well as Pro-Marriage stickers for you to wear.


The schedule of testimony for the Senate Judiciary Committee has been posted. To see the schedule click here.

At present only two supporters of normal marriage are on the schedule for the entire week, Dr. Craig Bensen on Monday at 3:15 PM and Steve Cable on Thursday at 10 AM.

At present only pro-gay clergy are scheduled for the clergy testimony time on Wednesday morning.



Only You Can Write Your Letter...
This is a crucial time for citizen action -- write those letters; make those phone calls; visit with your representative(s) and senator(s).

As one experienced House leader shared this week, everyone assumes that someone else is writing the letters and making the phone calls. Fact of the matter is that only you can write your letters, only you can make your phone calls.

Another House leader reminded me that to a Representative five letters or phone calls on an issue is an avalanche of public opinion. So go find 4 like-minded friends, put on a pot of coffee and spend an hour together writing letters. Then challenge each of those 4 to find 4 others and repeat the process.

House members EMAIL and ADDRESSES.
Senate members EMAIL and ADDRESSES.
House Judiciary Committee members Senate Judiciary Committee members

Reference Links
Here are links to information you might find helpful ---

What's banned in 44 of 50 states? "Genderless Marriage" -- it's a ballot box and legislative loser across the nation. See the list of states with bans.

Which Representatives are sponsors of the "Genderless" Marriage bill in the VT House of Representatives? And is your Representative one of them?

Check out LetVermontVote.org, an initiative seeking a public vote on “same-sex unions” by means of a non-binding referendum.

Opposition lobbyist, Beth Robinson, calls a public referendum a bad idea even though she's convinced that her side would win with 60% of the vote. We suggest that the idea is feared by the opposition because they would lose a public vote and because a vigorous public debate would permanently damage their movement.

We need your support NOW!
The opposition -- the Freedom To Marry Task Force and their friends -- are running a huge media campaign in an attempt to force homosexual marriage on Vermont. This is one of the largest media buys ever in a non-election year -- and it was perfectly timed to begin within hours of the Legislative leaders declaring their intention to pass a SSM bill this year.

They have access to $150,000 plus in largely out-of-state monies that they will be spending in March 2009. We don't expect to match them dollar for dollar but 20 to 1 would be a good place to start. We would like to be able to do some advertising and some targeted mailings that we believe could be very effective in helping us stop the Genderless Marriage Express in its tracks.

To do this we need your help -- your letters, your phone calls, your visits with legislators -- and your contributions.

You can donate by credit card online using this link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3591051


or you can mail us a check [ made out to Take It To The People ] at:

TIP
P.O. Box 4147
Burlington, VT 05406

Thanks for your support!