Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 13:47:02 -0500 From: Patrick Heck 1995 Lobby Guide published by Virginians for Justice PO Box 342 Richmond, VA 23202-0342 804-643-4816 CITIZENS LOBBY DAY JANUARY 26: YOUR VOICE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Virginians for Justice will hold our fifth annual Citizens Lobby Day on Thursday, January 26, in Richmond. The 1995 General Assembly convenes on January 11, adjourning just forty-five days later on February 25. Lobby Day is a perfect opportunity to have an effect on the legislative process; to meet your legislators; to learn how laws are made (or disposed of); and to help guide VJ strategies. It is important that Lobby Day participants attempt to make advance appointments to see their state senator and delegate. Check the list of phone numbers (see page 3) to locate your legislators' number in Richmond. If you are not certain of who your legislators are, check your voter registration card or call your local voter registrar. The General Assembly session is very hectic, so legislators are often difficult to catch without an appointment. In fact, the unpredictable nature of the G.A. can cause legislators to cancel appointments. If you are unable to secure an appointment, or if your legislator is forced to cancel on Lobby Day, your legislators' aides are available and eager to meet with you. Legislative aides are in many ways just as important to talk with. They help guide legislators in taking a stand on bills as well as tallying and reporting the pulse of the constituency. Lobby Day participants are encouraged to arrive at the VJ office in downtown Richmond, (see directions on page 2) as early as 8:30am on January 26. We will be starting at 8:30, but if you are unable to arrive on time, VJ staff and volunteers will provide instructions and orientation throughout the morning. If you are a bit intimidated by the prospect of meeting with your legislators, don't fret because we will try to match citizen lobbyists in pairs. Visiting legislators in pairs can be less intimidating and allows your partner to reiterate important talking points while giving the impression that you are not just a rogue constituent. As you can see from the schedule below, you may also be asked to sit in on committee meetings. It is in these meetings that anti-gay or anti-lesbian rhetoric is most prevalent, so we will be monitoring them throughout the session. It is also very educational to witness these meetings where lawmaking is most tangible. AIDS LOBBY DAY FEB. 1 On Wednesday, Feb. 1, Virginia Organizations Responding to AIDS (VORA) will be holding their annual lobby day in Richmond. The General Assembly's budget cutting mood, combined with the negative signals that the Allen administration has been sending on AIDS awareness and education, could portend a rough time for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. We encourage you to attend VORA's Lobby Day and to voice your disapproval of cutting any AIDS education or treatment funds. State government has maintained a relatively compassionate and non-judgmental attitude about AIDS and we would hate for that to change. For more information contact Jay Fissette at 703-358-9550. Lobby Day Schedule 8:30AM Orientation, strategizing and coffee -- VJ office 9:00AM Meetings with legislators and attending committee meetings -- General Assembly and Capitol Buildings Noon Attending G.A. session of the day -- Gallery of House of Delegates or Senate 12:30PM Lunch. We will make an effort to have lunch at the General Assembly cafeteria. It is a wonderful opportunity to speak informally to your legislators. You may also run into other lobbyists and state administrators. 1:30PM More meetings with legislators and committee meetings 3:30PM Lobby debriefing and wind down -- VJ office 1995 ISSUE PRIORITIES C.A.N. REFORM LEGISLATION As mentioned in The Voice, VJ will continue to concentrate on building support for legislation to repeal the Crimes Against Nature law (subsection A). Last year, Virginians for Justice successfully completed Phase I of our multi- year plan to legalize non-commercial, private, sexual behavior between consenting adults with the introduction of Delegate Karen Darner's House Bill 1314. This year's goal is to obtain additional co-sponsors and to move a similar bill out of subcommittee (the bill number of this year's legislation was not available as of press time). The fallout from the Sharon Bottoms custody case continues to raise public awareness of the CAN law's existence, so we do hope for some progress. As with many pieces of controversial legislation, this bill will likely take several years to make its way through subcommittees, committees and onto the floor of the House and Senate. Unfortunately, all forty Senators and all one hundred Delegates will be up for reelection in November. Because of this, we do not expect that support for CAN reform will be forthcoming this year from middle-of-the-road legislators. We will be targeting several relatively progressive legislators who have not had tough reelection battles in recent years. FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION (FLE) As has been reported in the media, Governor Allen, his cabinet, and several Allen-appointed commissions have recommended the elimination or weakening of FLE in public schools. Although this move is not explicitly anti-gay, VJ believes that tinkering with sex education could have a drastic effect on gay and lesbian youth. If FLE is abolished or access is limited, young Virginians will be much more likely to be ignorant about HIV transmission and sexuality in general. Virginia's current state-mandated FLE program does require that students be taught about sexual disease transmission and human sexuality, but has no requirement for, nor prohibition of, the mention of homosexuality. Whether or not you plan to attend Lobby Day, VJ encourages you to contact your legislators to oppose all attempts to water down FLE or to change to an "opt-in", rather than the current "opt-out", system. Virginia's public schools currently provide FLE to all students unless a student's parent signs a waiver form. If FLE is not targeted for total elimination, we anticipate legislation that will attempt to twist the opt-in provision to require written parental permission before a student can attend FLE classes. ANTI-GAY LEGISLATION Despite the many anti-gay statements made by Governor George Allen over the past year and similar outbursts by many legislators connected to the radical right, as of press time, we have no indications whether these sentiments will result in anti-gay legislation. Last year's General Assembly session saw several anti-gay amendments late in the session, as well as a great deal of homophobic rhetoric in committee meetings. Volunteer monitors will be sitting in on as many committee meetings as possible to watch for these hard-to-predict occurrences. NOW WHAT? If any anti-gay bills should materialize, we will be sure to sound the alarm by initiating phone trees and sending action alerts via the internet. Action alerts sent through the U.S. postal service, while able to reach many people, are simply not quick enough to be effective, so we will be relying on spreading the word electronically (see page 4 for information about receiving updates via e-mail). Be sure to phone our Richmond office if you need additional information on a particular topic or piece of legislation. We will likely be quite busy until the session ends on February 25, but we will try to get back to you as quickly as possible. The best time to reach us is between 9:00am and 1:00pm. Besides contacting your legislator to voice your opposition to any change in FLE, please try to stay informed as best you can. The General Assembly is, by design we believe, quite difficult to follow, but we will try our best to keep you informed. DIRECTIONS TO VJ OFFICE Virginians for Justice 6 North 6th St., Suite LL3 Richmond, VA 23219 804-643-4816 >From I-64 Westbound: Take the 5th St-Downtown exit. 5th St. runs by the Richmond Center. Take 5th to Franklin St. and turn left. Go one block and turn right onto 6th. Look for street or lot parking. We are located in the basement of the Segal Building just down the hill on 6th St (between Main and Franklin). Landmark: Christian Science Reading Room is on the first floor of the Segal Building. >From I-95 SouthBound/I-64 Eastbound: Take the 3rd St.-Coliseum exit (exit 75), stay in right lane. Follow 3rd St. and take a left onto Franklin (about 7 blocks). Go 3 blocks and take a right onto 6th. We are in the middle of the block as described above. 1995 Virginia House of Delegates Mailing Address during session (Jan. 11 to Feb. 25) The Honorable______________ Senate of Virginia PO Box 406 Richmond, VA 23203 Phone numbers listed below are in Richmond (area code 804) during the session only. Check Virginians for Justice Guide to the 1995 General Assembly for in-district addresses and phone numbers. You may also call 1-800-889-0229 to register support or opposition to a particular bill number. Operators will generally record only your support or opposition, so it is less personal than directly calling your legislators' office. Last name First name District Phone Abbitt, Jr. Watkins M. 59 786-6608 Albo David B. 42 786-6804 Almand James F. 47 786-6893 Armstrong Ward L. 11 786-6817 Baker, Jr. Thomas G. 7 786-6605 Ball, Sr. Robert B. 74 786-6906 Barlow William K. 64 786-7202 Behm, Jr. I. Vincent 91 786-7191 Bennett, Jr. W. W. 60 786-6805 Bloxom Robert S. 100 786-6596 Brickley David G. 51 786-6994 Callahan, Jr. Vincent F. 34 786-6991 Cantor Eric I. 73 786-6503 Christian Mary T. 92 786-6600 Clement Whittington W. 20 786-7307 Cohen Bernard S. 46 786-7253 Connally Julia A. 48 786-6894 Cooper Shirley F. 96 786-6602 Copeland Howard E. 87 786-6710 Councill, Jr. J. Paul 75 786-6909 Cox M. Kirkland 66 786-6604 Cranwell C. Richard 14 786-6891 Crittenden Flora D. 95 786-7192 Croshaw Glenn R. 81 786-7180 Crouch Joyce K. 22 786-7255 Cunningham Jean W. 71 786-6700 Darner L. Karen 49 786-7206 Davies III John J. 30 786-7102 DeBoer Jay W. 63 786-7204 Deeds R. Creigh 18 786-6606 Diamonstein Alan A. 94 786-6992 Dickinson V. Earl 56 786-6603 Dillard II James H. 41 786-7103 Dudley Allen W. 9 786-6895 Fisher Richard L. 35 786-6505 Forbes J. Randy 78 786-7252 Giesen, Jr. Arthur R. 25 786-6502 Grayson George W. 97 786-6609 Griffith H. Morgan 8 786-7296 Guest Raymond R. 15 786-7395 Hall Franklin P. 69 786-7295 Hamilton Phillip A. 93 786-6597 Hargrove, Sr. Frank D. 55 786-6802 Harris Robert E. 37 786-7203 Heilig, Jr. George H. 86 786-7302 Howell William J. 28 786-6997 Hull Robert D. 38 786-6903 Ingram Riley E. 62 786-7394 Jackson, Jr. Thomas M. 6 786-7301 Johnson, Jr. Joseph P. 4 786-6685 Jones Dwight C. 70 786-8651 Jones Jerrauld C. 89 786-7188 Katzen Jay K. 31 786-6801 Keating Gladys B. 43 786-7294 Kidd Barnes Lee 5 786-7308 Kilgore Terry G. 1 786-6717 Marshall Robert G. 13 786-7297 May Joe T. 33 786-6993 Mayer Alan E. 39 786-6707 McClure Roger J. 67 786-6996 McDonnell Robert F. 84 786-7105 Melvin Kenneth R. 80 786-6888 Miller I. Clinton 26 786-7298 Mims William C. 32 786-7207 Moore, Jr. William S. 79 786-6889 Morgan Harvey B. 98 786-6607 Moss, Jr. Thomas W. 88 786-6880 Murphy, Jr. W. Tayloe 99 786-7303 Nelms Robert E. 76 786-6698 Newman Stephen D. 23 786-7193 Nixon, Jr. Samuel A. 27 786-6708 O'Brien, Jr. James K. 40 786-6892 Orrock, Sr. Robert D. 54 786-7101 Parrish Harry J. 50 786-7201 Phillips Clarence E. 2 786-6798 Plum Kenneth R. 36 786-7200 Puller Linda T. 44 786-6719 Purkey Harry R. 82 786-6709 Putney Lacey E. 19 786-6598 Reid John S. 72 786-6716 Reynolds W. Roscoe 10 786-7205 Rhodes Anne G. 68 786-6904 Robinson, Jr. William P. 90 786-7158 Rollison III John A. 52 786-1617 Ruff, Jr. Frank M. 61 786-7104 Scott James M. 53 786-6504 Sherwood Beverly J. 29 786-7251 Shuler James M. 12 786-8425 Spruill, Sr. Lionell 77 786-1612 Stump Jackie T. 3 786-6995 Tata Robert 85 786-6803 Thomas A. Victor 17 786-6900 Van Landingham Marian 45 786-6718 Van Yahres Mitchell 57 786-7292 Wagner Frank W. 21 786-7306 Wardrup, Jr. Leo C. 83 786-7254 Watkins John C. 65 786-6501 Way Peter T. 58 786-7393 Wilkins, Jr. S. Vance 24 786-1618 Woodrum Clifton A. 16 786-2898 1995 Virginia Senate Mailing Address during session (Jan. 11 to Feb. 25) The Honorable______________ Senate of Virginia PO Box 396 Richmond, VA 23203 Phone numbers listed below are in Richmond (area code 804) during the session only. Check Virginians for Justice Guide to the 1995 General Assembly for in-district addresses and phone numbers. You may also call 1-800-889-0229 to register support or opposition to a particular bill number. Operators will generally record only your support or opposition, so it is less personal than directly calling your legislators' office. Last name First name District Phone Andrews Hunter B. 1 786-6593 Barry Warren E. 37 786-6989 Bell II J. Brandon 21 786-6702 Benedetti Joseph B. 10 786-7733 Calhoun Robert L. 30 786-6074 Chichester John H. 28 786-3441 Colgan Charles J. 29 786-6987 Cross, Jr. Elmo G. 4 786-6075 Earley Mark L. 14 786-6694 Gartlan, Jr. Joseph V. 36 786-6691 Goode, Jr. Virgil H. 20 786-6067 Hawkins Charles R. 19 786-6591 Holland Clarence A. 7 786-7291 Holland Edward M. 31 786-6882 Holland Richard J. 15 786-7392 Houck R. Edward 17 786-6883 Howell Janet D. 32 786-7187 Lambert III Benjamin J. 9 786-6988 Lucas L. Louise 18 786-6693 Marsh III Henry L. 16 786-7397 Martin Stephen H. 11 786-6797 Marye Madison E. 39 786-6986 Maxwell W. Henry 2 786-6886 Miller Kevin G. 26 786-7288 Miller Yvonne B. 5 786-7186 Nolen Frank W. 24 786-6068 Norment, Jr. Thomas K. 3 786-6980 Potts, Jr. H. Russell 27 786-6069 Quayle Frederick M. 13 786-7293 Reasor, Jr. Jackson E. 38 786-6695 Robb Edgar S. 25 786-6887 Saslaw Richard L. 35 786-7391 Schewel Elliot S. 23 786-6595 Stolle Kenneth W. 8 786-6696 Stosch Walter A. 12 786-8071 Trumbo Malfourd W. 22 786-6884 Waddell Charles L. 33 786-6881 Walker Stanley C. 6 786-7280 Wampler, Jr. William C. 40 786-6594 Woods Jane H. 34 786-7396 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARIES AVAILABLE ON ACTIVIST NETWORK As during last year's General Assembly session, Virginians for Justice, will be distributing legislative action alerts and summaries over the Internet by using our e-mail list, "virginia-news". This list allows for virtually instantaneous distribution of information. Subscribers to the list will be provided with up-to-date summaries of legislation, committee meeting schedules and votes affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and HIV communities. VJ also encourages all supportive individuals and organizations with Internet access to use the e-mail activist network to publicize their own news, action items and events of interest. We encourage local, regional, state and federal organizations and activists to utilize the ability of virginia-news to spread information quickly and reliably. The only requirements are that announcements should be of interest to supporters of equal justice for gay, lesbian and bisexual Virginians. If you are interested in receiving legislative updates via virginia-news, send subscribe virginia-news to: majordomo@vector.casti.com You will then receive electronic copies of all correspondence that is deemed relevant by the network's moderator. Virginia-news is primarily an announcements-only service, but it is a good way to develop contacts with activists and organizations. If you are interested in contacting Virginians for Justice directly via the Internet, you may still e-mail us at: va4justice@aol.com Those with Internet access through AOL, CompuServe or other means are encouraged to subscribe to virginia-news and to share announcements with non-netters. Virginians for Justice works to advance equal justice for the Gay men and Lesbians of the Commonwealth of Virginia through appropriate state legislation and to ensure an effective, appropriate and compassionate response to the AIDS epidemic.