Last night I went ot my first political meeting. The Campaign for Equal Families held an energy-filled first public meeting in the auditorium of the 519 Church St Community Centre (just steps from the corner of Wellesley). The space was full, the energy was high, and we were there to put that energy behind the pending Ontario legislation to recognise same-sex couples. The legislation has not yet been released. We were told that *The* *Equal*Rights*Statutes*Amendment*Act*1994* will probably be presented for First Reading this coming Thursday, 1994 05 19. [First reading may be postponed two weeks, as the Premier is out of the country, and the government may want him in the House at first reading]. We were briefed on what the ERSAA will and will not do. It will be an omnibus bill, amending 79 provincial statutes, making same-sex couples equal in law to opposite-sex [common-law] couples. It will not change "marriage" and it will not have Canada Pension, or Income Tax, or Immigration implications - those are federal jurisdiction. It will be the biggest shift, though, in law towards equality for gays and lesbians anywhere in the world outside of Denmark and Norway. The key word is "equality", of course - equal rights, not special rights. Tom Warner, who has been active with the Coalition for Lesbian & Gay Rights Ontario for years, and is now an Ontario Human Rights Commissioner, spoke. he urged us forward, to rally and lobby as hard as possible, because we've never been this close. While it's disappointing that this, a bit of Human Rights legislation, is a free vote, he said we should spend our energy on working for passage of the bill, rather than use up effort on complaining about the way the NDP has handled the legislation. Warner harked back in history, to the fall of 1986 when Bill 7 (which amended the Ontario Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation) was passed. That too was a free vote, which I had forgotten. Tom read a Globe&Mail news story from November 86 which went into various factions in political parties, and predicted defeat of the legislation. A month later, Bill 7 passed with almost a 2:1 majority. We saw three 30 second commercials, on the theme "a family is a family", pointing out problems lesbian/gay families have now in this province. There was a man kept out of his partner's hospital room after 13 years together and a heart attack; a lesbian whose partner wasn't going to be allowed to adopt their child; and one of several couples, who, it turns out, are same-sex. The ads all end with the UN "Year of the Family" logo. They're really good, are $100 000 worth of acting and production, and all of it was donated. Speaking of donations, this will of course cost money. The hat was passed, and $10 400 in cash and pledges were collected. Yesterday at MCC Toronto (in response to a request for $5 000) the congregation chipped in $21 000. This is a great start, though of course not nearly enough. We broke into small action groups, depending on our interest, expertise and connections; from lobbying to fundraising, from demonstrations to in-party work. As an old Integrity person from way back, I ended up in the Religious group -- it's our job to counteract the flak that will be coming loud and hysterical from the Religious Right. I saw a lot of familiar faces, too. I was amazed at how much has already been done -- a petition with over 250 signatures from ordained ministers of religion (ministers, priests, rabbis) in favour of equal rights has already been collected and delivered to members of the legislature. We'll be meeting again on Wednesday for more concrete plans. The Coalition for Equal Families will be moving into 500 Church St, 2nd floor Toronto ON M4Y 2C8 FAX 416 392 4130 on Tuesday next (1994 05 24), and at that time they will have a voice phone number. [That's above the Macs Milk at Church and Alexander, the old CBC ("Canada's Biggest Closet" as someone cracked) studios]. The FAX number works now. They are encouraging people to write to their MPP with copies to the Premier, the Attorney-General, both other party leaders and all other MPPs. If you fax your letter to them, they will take care of faxing it to everyone else. They also have the numbers of every MPP, so anyone interested in contacting their elected representative can do it through the Coalition for Equal Families. As Kyle Rae (gay member of Toronto City Council), who chaired the evening, pointed out, many of the lesbians and gays who now live in Toronto came from Wawa and Sarnia and Cambridge and Brockville and small-town Ontario, and still have family back there. If they can get their family to write to their MPP, it will become apparent that this is not just an "urban issue". As the handouts put it, "If you only write one letter to an MPP in your life, this is the one!". I've never been to a political rally before, but this is important to me. I don't have a partner, but I'd like one -- and many of my brothers and sisters do, and they're NOT treated equally. That's why I gave money and why I am giving my time and effort, for Lesbian and Gay recognition NOW. Chris -- Chris Ambidge / ambidge@ecf.toronto.edu / ambidge@ecf.utoronto.ca chemical engineering / university of toronto 200 college st / toronto ON / M5S 1A4 // 416 978 3106