In the midst of
an ugly battle, something beautiful is happening in
Florida. Despite a too-close-to call battle over Amendment 2
-- which would go further than California's Prop. 8 by
stripping away all legal protections for unmarried
couples, gay or straight -- LGBTs are organizing
in hanging-chad, butterfly-ballot, nail-biter,
presidential-election-decider Florida.
Florida may be on
the brink of defeating Amendment 2.
All the latest
polls show it is too close to call.
Phone bankers
have reached hundreds of thousands of voters. Volunteers
have swarmed community events. Vote No on 2 posters, yard
signs, and bumper stickers are popping up in even the
most conservative areas of the state. Coalition
partners are hosting town halls, early voting parties,
and television ads are hitting the airwaves.
Fifteen major
newspapers have run editorials opposing the measure.
If you’ve
seen Sarah Silverman’s outrageous message asking
younger Jewish voters to get their grandparents in
Florida to vote for Obama, you’ll understand
that we need our own “great schlep”-style
turnout effort nationwide to beat this amendment.
So welcome to
“Phoning for Florida” or “Calling for
Equality.” If you grew up in Florida; know a
college buddy or ex from Florida; have parents
or grandparents who have retired here or have Facebook
friends; anyone you know in the Sunshine State -- now
is the time to call, e-mail, or IM them.
Yes, the vote is
really that close.
We are talking
about Florida. Hanging-chad, butterfly-ballot, nail-biter,
presidential-election-decider Florida.
It doesn’t
matter where you live. If you want to brag that you helped
make history, go to votenoon2.com/countdown
and join the phone bank from anywhere to help us turn
out the vote. Of course, we need your money too, and
we’ve made it really easy to give quickly. A
few bucks now for a lifetime of bragging rights. Such a
deal.
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Nadine Smith is
the executive director for Equality California.