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Date: 2007-03-22 15:07:56
March 2007 Newsletter
Log Cabin Republican Club of Virginia
March 2007 Newsletter
February Meeting - Canceled Due to Snow For the first time in anyone's memory, our monthly meeting was canceled due to inclement weather. Club officers monitored the weather throughout the day and finally decided that the threat of ice and snow made any unnecessary travel unwise. We tried to alert members through e-mails and on our website, and situations such as these reinforce the importance of us having current contact information for everyone. If the Club does not have your current e-mail address, please go to our website, www.VirginiaLogCabin.org, click on "contact us" and give us your current information. We hope that no one was inconvenienced, and we will make every attempt in the future to keep members updated. The February speakers were rescheduled for our March meeting, and they didn’t disappoint. Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, Equality Virginia's legislative lobbyist, gave us her perspectives on the recently-completed legislative session in Richmond and the upcoming November elections. As usual, legislative results this year were mixed, but it was a relatively good year. On the positive side, HB 1727, a bill that was intended to restrict gay/straight alliances in public high schools by requiring parental consent and approval for high school students to join any extra-curricular activity, was defeated in the Senate. In addition, HB 2730, a bill to require hospitals to develop regulations allowing patients to designate any person as next of kin for visitation purposes passed the House and Senate by nearly unanimous majorities. Even those bills that failed did better than ever. For example, Del Adam Ebbin’s bill to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for state employees garnered nearly 50 co-patrons, including many Republicans for whom it was a first to sign on to a pro-gay bill. The companion bill in the Senate, patroned by Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis from Fairfax County, failed in committee by just one vote. And Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple’s bill to allow localities to offer domestic partner insurance benefits for their public employees sailed through the Senate and passed in the House committee before being sent to an Appropriations subcommittee to die. These bills will all be back again, of course, so we need to continue to build support for these commonsense measures. Our second speaker was Jimmy LaSalvia from the Log Cabin Republican national office, who discussed the upcoming national convention in Denver over the weekend of May 3-6. They have a terrific lineup of speakers, including former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, Charlie Bass, a former Congressman and president of the Republican Main Street Partnership, Pat Toomey, president of the Club for Growth, and GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio, really an incredible lineup. Several Virginia board members are attending, and we urge as many Virginia members as possible to attend this exciting event. One final note regarding our meetings: Please remember that dinner is now available during the meeting, which means that you should be able to get home a bit earlier than in the past. Orders will be taken before the meeting begins and will be served during a brief break. And please note again that we now meet at the Rhodeside Grill at 1836 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington. As usual, the social period begins at 6:30 and the meeting will start at 7:00. April Meeting – The Death of the Republican Revolution
We’re honored to have as our April speaker Michael D. Tanner, author of the just-released book Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution. Tanner is the director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute and head of its project on Social Security reform. Tanner will discuss the now nearly universal consensus in the Republican Party that the Bush administration and the many neocons who inhabit it have been a disaster for the traditional Republican principles of smaller and limited government, citing the large increases in federal domestic spending that topped even those during the Johnson administration. He also decries the role of the religious right and its efforts to further government support and promotion of religion in the public sector. The New York Times recently wrote of this book, “Tanner hopes to persuade the right to return to what he sees as its original ideals of limited government and individual responsibility.” Please join us for this interesting discussion on Tuesday, April 10, beginning at 6:30. Copies of his book will be available for sale for $20. Equality Virginia's 4th Annual Commonwealth Dinner - Writing the Next Chapter
Tickets for Equality Virginia's 4th Annual Commonwealth Dinner are still available, and if you haven't signed up for this celebration of progress in the battle for equal rights for sexual minorities in Virginia, we encourage you to do so. Equality Virginia is a non-partisan gay and lesbian rights organization that works to end discrimination against sexual minorities, and this annual event has grown to become the largest gathering for equal-rights supporters in the state.
This year, Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts will be the keynote speaker, and a variety of awards will be presented. Black tie is optional and tickets are $100 and $200. You can register and purchase tickets at www.EqualityVirginia.org, and when doing so, you will notice that both the Log Cabin Republican Club of Virginia and Vice President David Lampo are hosting tables. When you buy your tickets, go to "Who is your table host?" and under "Additional Information," scroll down to either "David Lampo and Donald Lawrence" or "Log Cabin Republican Club of Virginia/Rebecca Maestri" and join us. Please note that Cong. Tom Davis and Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis will join us at our tables, so we urge as many of our members and supporters as possible to be there.
Membership Renewals –
We remind members once again that your membership dues enable us to continue educating the Republican Party about why it should be socially tolerant and to educate the gay and lesbian communities on what it means to be Republican. Throughout the year, the Log Cabin Republican Club of Virginia meets with legislators, talks to the press, and meets the public at events like Gay Pride Day, and your dues allow us to do these things, and more. This year, the Club will be coordinating membership renewals in the spring so that we can better budget our time and resources. We ask for your understanding if you paid your dues during the second half of 2006, as it will seem that we're coming back to you a bit early. Please be assured, however, that your original membership period will be fully honored, and thanks for your support. Calendar of Events - Tuesday, March 13 - Regular monthly meeting at our new location, the Rhodeside Grill, 1836 Wilson Blvd., in Arlington. The social period begins at 6:30 and the meeting begins at 7:00. With our new meeting format, dinner is available during the meeting. Tuesday, April 10 - Regular monthly meeting with Michael Tanner, author of Leviathan on the Right as our special guest and speaker. 6:30 for drinks and 7:00 for the meeting. Saturday, April 14 - Fourth Annual Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner in Richmond. For more information and to register, go to www.EqualityVirginia.org. Thursday, May 3 through Sunday, May 6 - National Log Cabin Republican Convention in Denver. For more details, visit www.LogCabin.org.
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The Only Question That Matters: Do People Choose Their Sexual Orientation?
Noted author Chandler Burr has written a new white paper for the Liberty Education Fourm. Burr's white paper clearly demonstrates that we already know the answer to this question--people don't choose their sexual orientation. This has important political implications and it's a powerfull tool for achieving equality. Click here to read this new report. |
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Quotable Quotes |
Richmond Times-Dispatch Friday, February 17, 2006 Barry Goldwater, speaking in 1981: "I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that, if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in A, B, C, or D . . . .I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate." |
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