I have avoided weighing on the Terri Schiavo case and I don’t plan to break with that today. But I did want to comment on this quote referring to Schiavo’s case made by the second-most-powerful legislator in the country:

According to Speaker of the House Tom DeLay (R-TX), “We will look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president.”

Excuse me?

Would that be the Supreme Court he’s referring to? The Supreme Court that was created by our Founding Fathers precisely to keep the president and Congress from overstepping their roles? The Supreme Court that had 7 of its 9 members appointed by Republicans?

(Or is he just talking about all those lower state and federal judges with whom the Supreme Court didn’t disagree?)

This wouldn’t bother me so much except the man is third in line to succeed the president…

Two well-written opinion pieces from former senators about the directions their respective parties should take in the future:

A Party Inverted

In the Name of Politics

(The NYT requires registration.)

The Civil Unions bill (SB963) has passed the Connecticut General Assembly’s Finance Committee by a vote of 31-11 (and 8 abstentions).

The bill will now move to the Senate floor (and then, presumably, to the House) for a vote. This is fantastic news, particularly if Connecticut legislators manage to ward off “Defense of Marriage Amendments” opponents will inevitably try to add.

So, if you live in Connecticut, please CALL your legislators and ask them to approve the bill without any DOMAs. If you are unsure of who represents you locally, you can follow this link, fill in your zip code, and click on the “State” link in the top right-hand corner.

If you live outside Connecticut, please use this link to email the members of the state legislature and tell them how much you admire state legislators for taking on the issue and why you feel it’s important Connecticut pass the bill intact.

Either way, just make sure you highlight that Connecticut is leading the way on this issue and that it is far better to have legislators proactively deal with the issue than to have it come down as an edict from the state judicial system.

If you need more facts or statistics, please see my post from March 21.

Remember, an in-person visit or a phone call is better than a postcard or a letter, which is better than a personalized email, which is better than a form letter or email. But even a form email is far better than nothing. So make sure you follow through and tell others to do the same.

You have a voice. Make sure it’s heard!

I love my home state. Poised to become the first state to proactively enact a civil unions law, the Connecticut legislature’s Appropriations Committee will vote tomorrow on whether to send to the state senate floor a law giving marriage benefits (if not marriage itself) to its gay citizens.

The state senate could vote on the bill as early as April 6; members of the state house have said they will introduce the bill if it passes the senate. Governor Jodi Rell has not indicated whether she will sign the bill, but has claimed she is against discrimination.

Connecticut is one of only 7 states (including DC) without a Defense of Marriage Act.

A poll conducted by UConn in late 2004 showed civil union support was strong throughout the state with 74% of Connecticut voters backing some form of legislation legalizing the unions. And a plurality of Connecticut voters even narrowly approve of the idea of extending marriage benefits to gay couples.

Many in the last election decried the concept of activist judges — particularly those judges who promoted the shocking concept that law shouldn’t discriminate against certain segments of the population. They are angry with state courts in Vermont and in Massachusetts who informed their state legislatures to revise their state laws (or who just struck down discriminatory laws themselves — which they are legally obligated to do).

I attended several preliminary hearings on this issue when I still lived in Connecticut and was always amazed by how threatened social conservatives were by the idea of broadening a definition to include love in an institution dedicated to enshrining the sentiment. They tossed around the term “slippery slope” and foretold that allowing same-sex couples to marry would bring about the demise of modern society.

Well if that’s what going to happen, I am proud to hail from the state that is about to launch the death knell.

All hail Connecticut, champion of equality before the law and before love.