MEMORANDUM See also:

To: NOW Activists
From: Patricia Ireland, Kim Gandy, Elizabeth Toledo & Karen Johnson
Subject: Actions in 2000
Date: January 20, 2000
 

Happy New Year! We hope you, your family and friends have a year filled with health, happiness and lots of local and national NOW actions and events! We are writing to remind you of all of the actions and events planned for 2000.
 

VALENTINE'S DAY ACTIONS


Our last organizing mailing reminded you that a resolution encouraging activists to organize Valentine's Day actions came out of the 1999 National NOW Conference. We encourage activists across the country to organize demonstrations in support of same-sex marriages and/or the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA, S. 622).

Equal Marriage Rights

NOW activists across the country have used Valentine's Day as an occasion to demand equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. With the recent Vermont Supreme Court decision that requires the state to afford same-sex couples the same rights and protections available to opposite-sex couples, the timing could not be better for demonstrations in support of same-sex marriages. The radical right-wing backlash against the Vermont decision demands nothing less than visible, feminist action.

The public awareness raised by these actions is crucial. Same-sex couples are subjected to pervasive discrimination because they cannot marry. Lesbians and gay men often are turned away at the hospital when a partner is injured or ill. Couples who choose to parent often cannot share legal guardianship of their children. From health insurance to social security benefits, same-sex couples are second class in the eyes of the law.

We are counting on NOW chapter and state activists to take action on this important civil rights issue. Some suggested actions are enclosed. Whether you stage a wedding or picket a newspaper that does not print commitment ceremony announcements, your action is important.

Hate Crimes Expansion

At the end of last year, advocates made an ardent effort to have HCPA restored to the Commerce/State/Justice appropriations bill. However, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and other Republican leaders refused to replace the provision after it was dropped in Conference Committee. A last minute proposal by Hatch to restore HCPA if sex-based hate crimes were deleted (leaving in sexual orientation-based and disability-based bias crimes) was not accepted. NOW and our coalition partners told Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) and others that we would not succumb to Hatch's divide-and-conquer tactics.

The most important message to deliver to Senators is that the Hate Crimes Protection Act must contain protections for everyone -- including women and people with disabilities, as well as lesbians and gay men.. To add sexual orientation alone to the federal criminal statutes is not acceptable. The best way to make the senators hear our message is through action.

We are asking NOW chapter and state activists across the nation to speak out against hate crimes and stand up for the freedom to marry this in actions this February. To assist you with your organizing efforts, we have included not only the list of suggested actions, but also organizing tips and a list of products from the NOW Store. We have other organizing resources available on the internal Chapters page on the Web (http://www.now.org/chapters/internal/)or in the Action Center.

If your chapter is able to organize an action or is joining in an action organized by one of our allies or a coalition, please let us know by contacting Loretta Kane at 202-628-8669, ext.122 or press@now.org.

WORLD MARCH OF WOMEN 2000
 

We also want to remind you that the public announcement of the World March of Women 2000 will be made on all over the world on International Women's Day, March 8, and the U.S. march will be held on October 15. Please ask activists in your chapter and your community to save the date! You won't want to miss this historic, global march for women's rights. The march will be followed by the Women's International Symposium on Health (WISH) on Monday, October 16th, sponsored by the NOW Foundation.

The march gives us an outstanding opportunity to build both your chapter's grassroots activist-base and bank account. From products to bus tickets, there are lots of ways to raise money for feminist work and gain new members while organizing for the march. We have enclosed some march fundraising and member recruitment ideas to help you get started.

STILL MORE EVENTS

There are plenty of feminist actions and events in the upcoming year. Please circulate the enclosed flier in your community so that feminists in your hometown can make sure to participate in this year that is so full of feminist action.

Please be sure to contact the Action Center if you have any questions or need more information on any of these actions. Also, please send us any news clips and pictures of your chapter's actions.

Thank you for all your efforts. We look forward to continuing our work with you in 2000!

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