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Date: 2008-02-11 20:08:57
January 2008 Newsletter
January 2008 Newsletter
A January Tradition – Looking Forward/Looking Back
With the holidays behind us, the Club would like to thank our hosts for our annual holiday party, Gene Lawson and Scott Sterl. The event, held on December 11 in lieu of our regular monthly meeting, was a great success. Gene and Scott have hosted the Log Cabin family numerous times before, and they never seem to grow tired of us. The weather this year cooperated beautifully, and we would also like to thank friends and members who brought a dish to share. Special guests this year included Del. Tom Rust and Ann Rust, along with Del. Vince Callahan and Yvonne Callahan. We would like to thank them for taking time out of their busy holiday schedules to drop by. The New Year also traditionally brings elections for new officers for the Club. Officers were elected at the January meeting, and they include: President – Carl Jackson Vice President/Political Director – David Lampo Treasurer – Greg Davis Secretary/Membership Director – Rebecca Maestri Internal Communications Director – Larry Yontz External Communications Director – David Lampo and Larry Yontz Social Director – Daniel Gri In order to remain a vital, viable club, the officers need your input, ideas, and involvement. Discussion after the elections on the 8th revolved around speakers and events that we might schedule during the coming year. With 2008 being a presidential election year, of course, we’ll be inundated with candidates’ views from now until November 4. Regardless of who the Republican nominee will be, it is unlikely that the Club or its members will agree with him on all issues, and we may sharply disagree with him on some as well. Four years ago, some members were outraged that Log Cabin’s National Office took a stand on certain issues by refusing to endorse President Bush for reelection. Internal debate and dissention like that was not surprising, and we welcome your debate and involvement this year as well as we all begin the process of deciding who to support. Our chapter is not just for those who come down on one side or the other of these important issues. One change in our activities this year will be that we’ll do more joint events with the DC Log Cabin chapter and the National Office. For example, the DC chapter held a presidential candidates’ forum on January 16, with spokesmen representing four of the Republican campaigns: Rudy Guiliani, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and John McCain. We will be publicizing these joint events, so we hope you can join us at one soon. We’ll also be having more social-type events and fewer formal meetings throughout the year. The schedule of meetings and events for the entire year is almost complete, and we’ll publish it in the next newsletter and on our website. If you haven’t been to a Log Cabin meeting or event recently, please try to join us at one of these new venues.
Equality Virginia Lobby Day
Thursday, January 24, was the Fifth Annual Lobby Day in Richmond, and although turnout this year was a bit lower than in the past, it was once again an excellent opportunity to talk to legislators on both sides of the aisle about expanding GLBT rights in Virginia. Several Log Cabin board members visited a dozen or more Republican legislators that day, many of them for the first time, and they got an excellent reception. We will continue to develop these relationships as newer members of the legislature replace the Old Guard members as they retire. If you would like to help us build closer ties to these Republican legislators, please let us know. In addition, there are a number of very good bills that have been introduced this year to help expand the rights of gay and lesbian Virginians and help protect the rights of same-sex couples. You can keep track of all of them at the Equality Virginia website, www.EqualityVirginia.org.
Lobby Day was capped off with a legislative reception, which attracted Gov. Tim Kaine and numerous legislators, including some Republicans who had never before attended this event. We are making progress, and we thank all who made it down to Richmond for this important annual event.
Saturday, April 5 – “On the Road to Equality”
Equality Virginia will be hosting its Fifth Annual Commonwealth Dinner, “On the Road to Equality,” on Saturday, April 5, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. This black-tie-optional event brings together people from around the Commonwealth who have been working for fairness and equality for all Virginians to celebrate our victories and plan for the future. Standard tickets cost $100 and can be ordered online at www.EqualityVirginia.org. When you go to the web site, scroll down to “buy tickets or table” and then scroll down to “who is your table host.” There, you will find a drop-down box where you can request to be seated at the Log Cabin Republican Club of Virginia table. David Lampo, Log Cabin’s vice president, will also be hosting a table at the dinner, along with his partner, Don Lawrence. Lampo is a board member of Equality Virginia and chairman of its Political Action Committee. We are proud to announce that long-time Republican Delegate Vince Callahan from McLean will be awarded EV’s Equality Public Servant Award at the dinner, so please attend to show our proud support for Del. Callahan and his wife Yvonne for being the recipient of this coveted award. Calendar of Events –
Tuesday, February 12 – Virginia Primary Day. Polls will be open from 6:00 AM until 7:00 PM. Tuesday, February 12 – Regular monthly Club meeting, including watching returns of Virginia’s primary vote. Saturday, April 5 – 5 th Annual Commonwealth Dinner in Richmond. See above, or visit www.EqualityVirginia.org to register. Thursday, April 10--Sunday, April 13 – Annual Log Cabin National Convention in San Diego. For more details, visit the Log Cabin National web site at 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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