Barbra Casbar Siperstein: A Tale of Two Phone Calls! A Call to Action Now!
by: Autumn Sandeen
Mon May 03, 2010 at 16:30:00 PM EDT
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/16022/barbra-casbar-siperstein-a-tale-of-two-phone-calls-a-call-to-action-now (http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/16022/barbra-casbar-siperstein-a-tale-of-two-phone-calls-a-call-to-action-now)
Crossposted with permission from the Blue Jersey diary entitled A Tale of Two Phone Calls! A Call to Action Now!
By Barbra Casbar Siperstein
Last Thursday evening about 6:15 PM ET I received an automated phone call on my personal cell from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) about ENDA, and if I wished they would automatically put me in touch with my congressperson to ask for his support. Everything went well until the connection was lost before the congressman's office was actually called. There was no call back from HRC.
A few hours later, I received an unrelated call from a congressional staffer who knew that my Congressman, Republican Leonard Lance NJ-7, was an original co-sponsor of ENDA, but there was a clear indication that Lance, as he did with the Mathew Shepard- James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes bill, would vote with the Republican Bloc on a "Motion to Recommit" (MTR) effectively killing the bill by sending it back to Committee! Supposedly, they would use the "trans" issue as a wedge to minimize transgender inclusion. There are obvious ironies here, but let's look at the facts: