Sunday Bird Blogging: Domestic Partnership Edition

Sunny the sun conure is excited about the 30-day NM Legislative Session that begins at Noon on January 15, 2008. As you can see above, he's a strong supporter of GLBT rights and equal rights under the law for all -- birds included. It's understandable given his rainbow coloring, isn't it? This morning he was reminding us how important it is to work with Equality New Mexico and the legislators to get the Domestic Partnership Act passed this time.

Last year's effort was foiled at the last minute by one vote when a certain Northern New Mexico legislator changed his mind and voted against the bill. I guess he doesn't care about giving our state's GLBT citizens (and others who prefer domestic partnerships) some of the basic contract rights that married people take for granted. Sunny wants to feel secure about the partnership of the humans he entertains daily in his extended flock, and he can't see why the idea of granting them rights to a civil partnership is a threat to anyone. He's no bird brain!

If you agree, it's time to sign up as a supporter of Equality New Mexico, maybe donate a few bucks to the cause, perhaps volunteer some time and start contacting your legislators to urge them to support this year's Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act (HB28). The EQNM webiste makes it easy to sign a petition in support of the Act and have it sent automatically to your state senator and representative.

The bill (pdf), sponsored once again by the always terrific Rep. Mimi Stewart, has been pre-filed with the Legislative Council Service so advocates can hit the ground running when the Session begins. I'll be following the progress of the bill closely, so stay tuned. Sunny's looking forward to a big celebration when this year's Legislative Session comes to a close. We can do it this year!