Pardon this break from the April Fool’s silliness. Unfortunately, this one is for real…
The Princeton New Jersey based “National Organization for Marriage” – a national religious right group that works against LGBT rights across the country – is currently running robocalls in the state on the marriage equality bill. Click below for an example (player won’t show if you’re using Chrome… just use this link instead: http://greenmountaindaily.com/wp-content/uploads/upload/robo.mp3):
While there is a compelling case out there that this organization is either a Mormon Church front group, or is at least largely supported by the LDS Church, they got started in California (where they were very active in the California Prop 8 fight) with money from the Catholic Knights of Columbus. In any event, it is – once again – a group with a religious agenda that they feel everyone should be legally bound to, no matter what state they live in.
UPDATE: They called my home in Montpelier three times tonight – same call as the one above, except it targeted my own Rep. – Warren Kitzmiller – who has posted the following update on his Facebook page: “Angry!! about the nonsense robo-calls! I’ve gotten TONS of calls from folks who are mad about these calls and they are asking me to the exact opposite . . .which is what I’ll do.” You go, Warren…
First off, as a Justice of the Peace, who performs Weddings and Civil unions, I support Marriage Equality. Moreover, as a GMD Front Pager, I have written about my staunch support of Equal Marriage Rights for Gays and Lesbians. This is a Civil Rights Issue.
I don’t buy the Governor Dim Jugless argument that this issue is a distraction from our State’s current financial woes. The Gay and Lesbian families I know in Burlington need marriage because civil unions don’t give social security survivor benefits. Our rough economic times are one of the very reasons that this bill should be passed now.
Finally, I am on the Do Not Call list. I would like to know why an out of state organization has the right to call me and violate the sanctity of my home in order to market its divisive hate and fear mongering? Shouldn’t the Attorney General look into this as a violation of our rights as Vermonters who have registered our phone numbers with the Do Not Call Registry? This was not an election call.
You might think Vermont TV and newspapers would be all over this. Exposing the out-of-state cash and disproportionate influence of a global fundamentalist religious empire on the civil and governmental affairs of Vermont. But turns out, it seems, they’re just not that interested. Somebody prove me wrong, please.
not only did I get this robocall; but also two faxes over the past two weeks on my business phone. The second one came after I called to tell them to take me off of their list.
and prompted me to email my reps in support of freedom to marry, knowing that these robocalls are going to result in reps getting opposition calls.
…got a fax from one of these groups at work today. I scanned and uploaded it right here.
Does anyone know what phone # the robocalls are coming from?
… targeting Janet Ancel, at dinnertime (not her dinner, ours).
We got a call, and were told to call a Rep from another district.
and got the GMD post at the top. No regular new outlet is covering this, as you wrote. I’ve shot a few emails to state house reporters and their respective editors, citing this post and asking/demanding: “Why are you not covering this?”
I got the robocall also.
As far as I can tell, they are hitting pretty much 100% coverage. Do Not Call, unlisted, whatever appears to be no defense. I suspect sequence dialing (555-0001…555-0002…555-0003…)
I’m a state rep from Waterbury and have been getting emails from constituents. The ones I’ve received from Huntington have been angry because the messages imply I do not support marriage equality (thus changing my position) and am supporting Douglas. The ones I’ve heard about in Waterbury are similar to the one on the site. The only people calling me are supporters. Go figure.
For further information: National Organization on Marriage is indeed based in Princeton, NJ. I did a search on them two weeks ago after hearing they had purchased radio advertising time in Maine, NH and VT to air anti-marriage adverts. Here’s what I found about their board of directors and Executive Director:
Mormons and Catholics, same group that worked on Prop 8 in California. While it is a bit of a modern dance on the eve of the vote, I can’t think that it will do anything but galvanize support.
Folks from out-of-state are surprised we have a strong connection to the Mormon Church in Vermont — but then they are surprised that we have a strong connection to the Civil War as well.
Oh, and by the way, the Governor isn’t the only one who has received 1500 emails. I’ve deleted over 200 messages a day from my legislative email account — all the same form letters (choose A, B, or C). And other legislators have received more than I.
Rep. Tom Stevens
Rama: if the freedom of speech only extends to being contacted in person by someone trying to communicate his/her personal opinion, would you also prohibit political mailings? After all, those flyers and postcards literally invade your home.
I’ve made plenty of calls to people who might not have wanted to get the call. They didn’t have to answer. Still, the calls for stopping robocalls are too much like trying to silence political discourse for my taste. If your phone rings and you don’t recognize the number, or the number is blocked, or you just don’t want to talk to somebody, don’t answer.