A reader writes:

So here’s the thing. It seems that today is the WA abortion lobby’s big day to descend on Olympia and flex their muscle. Their entire focus is the mandatory insurance bill. It is expected to be voted on in the House this Wednesday. If it succeeds there, which most observers expect but I refuse to take as a given, they will claim victory and try to use that to bully the Senate into cooperating. While I believe we are 5 votes short in the House and we should not give up, there’s little doubt that our strongest position is the Senate.

The idea right now is for pro-lifers to make a very strong showing this Wednesday February 20 in the House Gallery (wearing white ribbons to identify ourselves). The idea is, even if we lose in the House, to send a very strong message to the Senate that we are watching, we care, and we want this bill to die (in the Senate). Apparently last year we had no-one in the House Gallery when it was voted on. That sent a message, the wrong message.

We also want to visit Senators’ offices. Let me be clear about this: true meetings with legislators require planning and appointments. The idea here is not to arrange last-minute sit-downs, though that is definitely encouraged, but rather to do drop-ins where you tell the office manager or whomever greets you that you are there to register your opposition to the Abortion Insurance Mandate bill. Anyone can do this without have a speech prepared.

Personally I’d like to see 1,000 of us make this. Now obviously we are all over the state and there would be travel involved. It would be great to find 1,000 folks who are within driving distance of Olympia to do this. We realize this is short notice. There are only about 200 seats in the gallery itself, and the other side will be trying to do the same thing. There will be another activity organized for folks who don’t make it into the gallery where you can meet with a legislator on our side and network with other activists and pro-life lobbyists.

I have created an online signup form so we can get a clear sense of how many of us are planning to make it. Please forward this signup to your contacts and encourage them to use it. We want to do this as a group, not as individuals. Solidarity and all that. 🙂

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044FAEAA23A57-wake

So I’m asking those of you who are in districts that are near-ish Olympia, if you have any contacts you can forward this to, please forward this request to those lists.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I realize this is short-notice, but that’s simply how this works. Everyone who signs up will get email communication by Tuesday evening telling them what they need to know.

UPDATE!

The House will vote on 1044, the infamous “Reproduction Parity Act” (otherwise known as the Abortion Blackmail Bill or State Conscience Coercion Act!), this Friday, rather than Wednesday.   So…

WHAT: Stand tall and be counted as deeply opposed to this vile thing

WHERE: Olympia, meet up inside the Legislative Building by the House Galleries

WHEN: 9:00 A.M., this Friday, February 22, 2013

Again, ribbons will be (provided) to identify our opposition. We will pack out the House galleries during vote, and then visit our legislators with the simple message, OPPOSE THIS VILE THING. Call their offices TODAY and make an appointment for Friday.

If you can’t come make three calls. Call your 2 representatives and 1 senator and tell them you are INTENSELY OPPOSED to 1044.

(See below, with change.)

 

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ACTION ALERT!

TODAY is the WA abortion industry’s lobby day. They descended on Olympia on Monday to flex and bully their support for HB 1044, known to them as the “Reproduction Parity Act” (and to us as the Abortion Insurance Mandate or the State Coercion of Conscience Act or the Blackmail Bill). It is expected to be voted on in the House this FRIDAY.  If it succeeds in the House, which most observers expect, they will claim a big victory and try to use that to bully the Senate to get it onto the Senate floor for a vote. Last year the House Gallery was filled with the abortion activists. The House and the media got the message. The wrong message.