Date: Fri, 21 Apr 1995 07:24:59 -0400 (EDT) From: David Casti Subject: ACTION ALERT: Massachusetts DP Bill Submitted by: echilds@bgs.com (Ed Childs) This alert might seem a little late, but we really need steady constituent pressure over the next few months to bring this bill forward. Pass this message on to all Massachusetts folks you know. When you have written or called your legislator, please email us a quick note so we can keep an accurate count of our Internet Activism. Send your note to MGLPC@aol.com or call us at 617/262-1565. If you are unsure who your representatives in the State House are, email us and we'll look it up for you. Since many districts are split across towns we need your street address as well as city to look up your legislators. THANKS VERY MUCH! /* Ed Childs, BGS Systems, 617/891-0000 ext 276, */ From: MASSACHUSETTS GAY & LESBIAN POLITICAL CAUCUS Massachusetts' Largest Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Political Group ************************************************************ ACTION ALERT ACTION ALERT ACTION ALERT ************************************************************ To contact MGLPC, please leave us a message at: (617) 262-1565; write to us at: PO Box 246, State House, Boston MA 02133; or email us at: MGLPC@aol.com ************************************************************ Testimony on MGLPC's landmark domestic partnership bill, S.1332, was heard before the Massachusetts legislature's Joint Committee on Public Service on Monday, March 6, 1995. The bill was first filed by MGLPC in 1993, and would amend chapters 32A and 32B of the Massachusetts General Laws to allow state and municipal employees to obtain health insurance benefits for their domestic partners. Under current law, a public sector employee can include on her or his health insurance plan only a spouse and their unmarried minor children. "The domestic partnership issue is a simple matter of receiving equal pay for equal work," testified MGLPC Co-Chair Arline Isaacson. "By drafting and filing this legislation, MGLPC hopes to address one of the most pervasive forms of workplace discrimination currently facing gay men and lesbians. Because insurance benefits make up such a substantial portion of an employee's total compensation package, denying these benefits to people based solely on their marital status means that gay people are simply not receiving equal pay for equal work." MGLPC's bill was endorsed in testimony by Massachusetts NOW, the Bay State Democratic Club, the Lesbian and Gay Political Alliance of Massachusetts, and the City of Boston. The Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts was invited to testify but did not attend the hearing. Legislators testifying in support of the bill included Sen. Dianne Wilkerson (D-Boston), Rep. David Cohen (D-Newton), and Rep. Paul Demakis (D-Boston). Public employees unions including the Massachusetts Teachers Association, AFCSME, SEIU Local 509, and NAGE also voiced their support of the legislation. If you are a constituent of any of the members of the Public Service Committee, MGLPC urges you to call them to voice your support of S.1332, stressing the importance of allowing gay men and lesbians to receive equal pay for equal work. Senate: Chair, Michael Morrissey (D-Quincy) 617/722-1494 Vice-Chair, Robert Havern (D-Arlington) 617/722-1432 (chief senate sponsor of S.1332) John O'Brien (D-Andover) 617/722-1612 W. Paul White (D-Boston) 617/722-1643 James Jajuga (D-Methuen) 617/722-1604 Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) 617/722-1646 House: Chair, Byron Rushing (D-Boston) 617/722-2240 (sponsor of S.1332) Vice-Chair, Alvin Thompson (D-Cambridge) 617/722-2783 Patricia Walrath (D-Stow) 617/722-2676 James DiPaola (D-Malden) 617/722-2460 Dennis Murphy (D-Springfield) 617/722-2130 Steven Panagiotakis (D-Lowell) 617/722-2240 Harold (Hal) Lane (D-Holden) 617/722-2400 Louis Angelo (D-Brockton) 617/722-2000 Stephen Lynch (D-Boston) 617/722-2000 Douglas Stoddart (R-Natick) 617/722-2240 Carol Cleven (R-Chelmsford) 617/722-2552 Robert Hargraves (R-Groton) 617/722-2800, ext. 7300