Democracy for New Mexico

Quotes on DOMA

There have been some amazing statements made about the so-called Defense of Marriage Act that just passed the NM Senate yesterday. I don't think any commentary is needed. It's easy to tell the fair-minded folks who support equality for all our citizens from the hypocrits out for political gain at the expense of justice, isn't it?

*******Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, invoked the memory of his brother Billy Griego, who died of AIDS complications in 1987.

"My brother and his partner, Jim, were a great couple," Sen. Griego said. "They involved themselves in the community, they helped the family. They went to church with the family and took Holy Communion. At family gatherings we always expected them to be there, because they were a couple.

"When Billy was dying, Jim was there to change him, to bathe him, to feed him. He died in Jim's arms. Nobody on this floor can tell me that relationship was immoral or illegal," Griego said. "I would rather have seen Billy and Jim raise 10 kids than some heterosexual couples."

*******Senate Majority Floor Leader Michael Sanchez said Griego's speech brought tears to his eyes.

*******Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, referring to the brevity of the bill, said, "This is only four lines. Four lines of fear, four lines of hate, four lines of mistrust, four lines of dissension, four lines of segregation, four lines of telling a group of people, 'You're different than us.' "

"We all know this bill is designed to hurt people and nothing else," Grubesic said. "I don't want to be a party to hurting people and telling them 'You're beneath us.' "

*******Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, said she initially had intended to support SB 597, but changed her mind partly because, she said, the true purpose of the measure was political.

"It's to put us on record for election time," she said. "It's not about morals or family values; it's about election time. Are we relegating Scripture to stature? With a bill like this, that's what we're trying to do."

*******Sen. Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, said the bill doesn't discriminate against gays. "There are many wonderful relationships in our society," he said. But he said, "It's relatively easy when you view marriage as a union of complimentary opposites; one having convex parts, one having concave parts."

*******"You can't marry your sister," Sharer said. "You can't marry your own mom. Is that discrimination? Is that the Dark Ages because we can't do that? I don't think so."

Above quotes from The New Mexican.

*******"What we are talking about, while it sounds simple on the surface, is in reality a very pointed and negative attempt at telling one group of our citizens that there are certain rights, certain opportunities that are closed to you," said Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque.

*******Sharer said his bill aims to provide the best the state can for its children. "Ninety percent of the men in prison today don't have a dad," he said. "Obviously, they have a father, but they don't have a dad. And that's where I'm coming from, how can we help those guys have a dad?"

*******Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, denied the bill would discriminate against anyone. "This has nothing to do with any kind of unlawful discrimination or anything else," he said. "None of the people I know who are advocating this legislation have anything but good will in their hearts."

*******During Senate floor debate, Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, explained her decision. She in the past has said she opposes gay marriage and signed Sharer's bill. She voted against the bill on the floor.

A Roman Catholic who helps serve Mass, Garcia said, "the God that I pray to, our maker, he loves everybody; he's not one to say you can't love this person because he's gay or you can't love that person because he's a Native American."

Garcia said that not everyone in her district would be happy with her vote. "I'll get a big scolding when I get home; I'll get a big scolding probably from the clergy and probably from the church that I belong to," she said. "I don't know if they will allow me to continue serving Mass on Sunday, perhaps not, we'll see. But you know what, I have to stick with my convictions of loving everybody regardless of who they are."

The last set of quotes are from the Albuquerque Journal.

Click to the continuation page for a listing of who voted yes, voted no and who didn't have the guts to show up to vote on this bill.

Here is the Senate's 25-12 vote Wednesday approving a measure (SB 597) to define marriage as a contract between a man and a woman.

Voting yes, in favor of the measure, were 17 Republicans and eight Democrats. Voting against the bill were no Republicans and 12 Democrats. Not voting or excused were one Republican and four Democrats.

REPUBLICANS VOTING YES
    Rod Adair (Roswell)
    Vernon Asbill (Carlsbad)
    Mark Boitano (Albuquerque)
    Joseph Carraro (Albuquerque)
    Kent Cravens (Albuquerque)
    Dianna Duran (Tularosa)
    Clint Harden (Clovis)
    Stuart Ingle (Portales)
    Gay Kernan (Hobbs)
    Steve Komadina (Corrales)
    Carroll Leavell (Jal)
    Steven Neville (Aztec)
    William Payne (Albuquerque)
    Leonard Lee Rawson (Las Cruces)
    John Ryan (Albuquerque)
    William Sharer (Farmington)
    H. Diane Snyder (Albuquerque)

DEMOCRATS VOTING YES
    Carlos Cisneros (Questa)
    Joseph Fidel (Grants)
    Tim Jennings (Roswell)
    Richard Martinez (Espanola)
    Mary Kay Papen (Las Cruces)
    Lidio Rainaldi (Gallup)
    Bernadette Sanchez (Albuquerque)
    James Taylor (Albuquerque)

DEMOCRATS VOTING NO
    Dede Feldman (Albuquerque)
    Mary Jane Garcia (Doña Ana)
    Phil Griego (San Jose)
    John Grubesic (Santa Fe)
    Linda Lopez (Albuquerque)
    Cisco McSorley (Albuquerque)
    Gerald Ortiz y Pino (Albuquerque)
    John Pinto (Tohatchi)
    Shannon Robinson (Albuquerque)
    Nancy Rodriguez (Santa Fe)
    Michael Sanchez (Belen)
    Leonard Tsosie (Crownpoint)

DEMOCRATS NOT VOTING
    Ben Altamirano (Silver City)
    Pete Campos (Las Vegas)
    Cynthia Nava (Las Cruces)
    John Arthur Smith (Deming)

REPUBLICANS NOT VOTING
    Sue Wilson Beffort (Sandia Park)

Flyers for Ward & Precinct Meetings in Sandoval and Bernalillo Counties

We have received flyers from the Democratic Party of NM promoting ward and precinct elections in Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties.

It would be much appreciated if folks would download and distribute these in their neighborhoods and to friends and acquaintances. Bookstores, laundromats, grocery stores, libraries and other locations with bulletin boards are good places to post them, and they are perfect for distribution to Democrats in your precinct. Just remember it's illegal to put them in mailboxes. If you need a list of Democrats in your precinct, call Terri Holland at the DPNM at 830-3650 x11.

Download Flyer-BernalilloCountyPrecinct.doc

Death Penalty Repeal Bill at SJC Friday

From the NM Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty:

Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing Confirmed
Friday, March 11th - Room 321 - Late Afternoon or Evening

HB 576 Abolish the Death Penalty will be heard first on the agenda of Senate Judiciary this Friday. The Committee will meet directly following the day's Senate floor agenda. While we cannot give an exact estimate of when the hearing will begin, it will be no earlier than 5:00 PM and possibly as late as 8:00 or 9:00 PM.

Out of respect for the Senators' time and busy schedules this late in the session, we will be limiting testimony to five witnesses. As always, however, public support is important. Please join us!

To confirm the time of the Committee hearing, please contact Senate Majority Leader, Michael Sanchez's, office at 986-4727 beginning at 5:00 pm. Ask the secretary what time the Senators will adjourn from the floor. Our hearing will begin approximately 15 minutes after the floor closes for the day.

Don't forget to contact all of the members of Senate Judiciary before Friday. Their contact information is listed below.

SENATE JUDICIARY

Cisco McSorley (D), Chair
Bernalillo
986-4485
Capitol 319A

Richard C. Martinez (D), Vice Chair
Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe
986-4389
Capitol 414D

Rod Adair (R)
Chaves, Lincoln
986-4385
Capitol 416F
VOTED NO MONDAY

Kent L. Cravens (R)
Bernalillo, Sandoval
986-4391
Office 416D
VOTED NO MONDAY

John T.L. Grubesic (D)
Santa Fe
986-4260
Capitol 414B
VOTED YES MONDAY

Clinton D. Harden, Jr. (R)
Colfax, Curry, Quay, San-Miguel, Taos, Union
986-4369
Capitol 416E

Linda M. Lopez (D)
Bernalillo
986-4737
Capitol 320A
VOTED YES MONDAY

William H. Payne (R)
Bernalillo
986-4276
Capitol 415H

Lidio G. Rainaldi (D)
Cibola, McKinley
986-4310
Capitol 302A

Michael S. Sanchez (D)
Valencia
986-4727
Capitol 120A

ONWARD!

NM Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty
www.nmrepeal.org
(505) 986-9536

NM Senate Passes DOMA

From Equality NM:
Senate Bill 597, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, passed the Senate by a vote of 25-12, but we got four more votes than expected.  And two courageous Senators, Mary Jane Garcia and Leonard Tsosie, who had actually signed on to the DOMA as co-sponsors, changed their votes and voted against it.

The debate was civilized and eloquent, with Senators Ortiz y Pino, Grubesic, McSorley, Feldman, Griego, Tsosie, Garcia, Rodriquez, Robinson, and Sanchez all speaking out movingly in support of our rights.  Please take a few minutes to thank them and the other Senators who voted to defeat the DOMA.

Senator Dede Feldman dede.feldman@nmlegis.gov, 986-4482
Senator Mary Jane Garcia, maryjane.garcia@nmlegis.gov, 986-4726
Senator Phil Griego phil.griego@nmlegis.gov, 986-4265
John Grubesic john.grubesic@nmlegis.gov, 986-4260
Senator Linda Lopez 986-4737
Senator Cisco McSorley cisco.mcsorley@nmlegis.gov, 986-4485
Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino jortizyp@aol.com, 986-4380
Senator John Pinto, 986-4835
Senator Shannon Robinson shannon.robinson@nmlegis.gov, 986-4856
Senator Nancy Rodriguez, 986-4264
Senator Michael Sanchez senatormssanchez@aol.com, 986-4727
Senator Leonard Tsosie senate@state.nm.us, 986-4859

The bill will go to the House next week.  Stay tuned.  We'll get you more information as soon as we know it.  We hope we can run out the clock. 

Thanks for all your email, letters, and faxes.  Even Senator Boitano, who spoke in support of the DOMA, noted that he's received "dozens and dozens" of emails urging him to vote against the bill, so our "blast email" and website appeals are clearly being noticed.  For those of you who couldn't attend, we'll publish excerpts from all the testimony on the EQNM website in the next few days.  And thanks again to all of you who were able to sit through the session!
*************
Editor's Note: And I have to say I think it's a shame that ANY Democrat voted for this bill that emphasizes that GLBT folks are second class citizens.

No Election Reform Action in Senate Rules Committee Today

From Robert Stearns of Verified Voting NM:
The Senate Rules Committee met briefly this morning (WEDNESDAY) but did not get to considering the McSorley Bill. The Ortiz y Pino Bill was SB621, Same Day Voter Registration, and not SB718, his VVPB bill. SB621 was not considered either. The Rules Committee will meet again at 8:30 am on FRIDAY and on SATURDAY also, Chair Linda Lopez said.

NM Democratic Friends Meeting Saturday in ABQ

The next NM Democratic Friends - Democratic Party Meetup will be on Saturday, March 12, at 6:00 PM at the IBEW Hall at 4921 Alexander Blvd. NE in Albuquerque.

The agenda will include a visit from Terry Brunner of Senator Bingaman's office. You are encouraged to bring questions and concerns about national policy issues you'd like to discuss with Terry. There will also be reports on events at the Legislature and from each of the group's committees.

Election Reform Action Today & Tomorrow

From Bob Stearns:
Hi All, This is late notice. Bills are moving fast in these final weeks. Today (WEDNESDAY) the Senate Rules Committee, meeting at 8 AM in Room 321, will consider a packed agenda including the Ortiz y Pino Bill SB621 and the McSorley Bill SB1065.

This afternoon (WEDNESDAY) the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet at 2:30 PM or a half hour after the floor session in Room 321 to cope with another heavy agenda, including the Judiciary Substitute Bill C/SB 678 on the Voter Verifieable Paper Ballot (VVPB).

On THURSDAY at 8 AM in Room 305 the House Voters & Elections Committee will consider again the Sandoval Bill HB1063 on the VVPB. Hope you can make it.

More info on Verfied Voting New Mexico
https://vvnm.org

Latest on Election Reform Bills

From Bob Stearns and Charlotte Roybal:
Hello Activists, First off, on arrival at 8 AM we found a sign on the door saying the Senate Judiciary Committee’s meeting of today had been cancelled until sometime late afternoon tomorrow (WEDNESDAY). We were tentatively told that the Judiciary Committee will take up the bill (Committee Substitute for SB678) late tomorrow WEDNESDAY afternoon, but this is not confirmed until it appears on the Legislature website.

Twelve of us went on to the other 8 AM meeting of the House Voters & Elections Committee. Chair Ed Sandoval said the plan is to merge HB1063 with amendments and on THURSDAY discuss the bill as a whole (but this is not officially confirmed).

He said the Committee needs to work on the dates in Rep. Martinez’s moratorium amendment or run the risk of losing NM’s HAVA funding. He asked Martinez and SoS Elections Director Ernie Marquez to work on that question for a floor amendment. Martinez noted that all the Committee members want VVPB machines and that maybe the moratorium amendment could rearrange its approach to give the proposed Election Reform Task Force time to look at the situation and the SoS time to check out the available machines.

In answer to Committee questioning, Marquez said that $7-9 million in HAVA funding is available to buy HAVA compliant machines and that the money must be spent by 1/1/06. (Another state finance official testified that the HAVA funds total $14 million and have been set aside in NM’s DFA account since 2003.) Marquez said the SoS office is not planning to buy machines in the near future and is awaiting new federal standards for voting machines expected in June. He alluded to the June 1 deadline for the SoS to certify new voting machines in NM in its every-two-years window for doing such.

He said the VVPB-equipped Sequoia Edge, used in Nevada’s 11/04 election, is HAVA compliant but not yet certified in NM. He said the Edge costs $3500 plus $500-$1,000 for the printer, and $50,000 total for the software and licensing for the state. He said NM has 4,000 voting machines but only 1,500-2,000 would need retrofitting or replacement to provide VVPBs.

We will advise you about the next Key Meeting as soon as we know. Meanwhile watch the Legislature website and your e-mails. (To get on the email update lists about NM election reform, send an email to vvnm@yahoogroups.com or update@uvotenm.org.)

More info on Verfied Voting New Mexico
https://vvnm.org

Finalized Info On Bernalillo County Dem Ward-Precinct Meetings

Bernalillo County Precinct/Ward Meetings
Monday, March 28, 2005
6:30 - 8:30 PM

South Valley Cluster - Wards 10, 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B, 14A, 14B
Westside Community Center
1250 Isleta Blvd. SW

West Side Cluster – Wards 16A, 16B, 23A, 23B, 29
Taylor Ranch Community Center
4900 Kachina St. NW

North Valley Cluster – Wards 11A, 11B, 11C, 15A, 15B, 17A, 17B
Raymond Sanchez Center
9800 4th NW

Sandia Cluster: Wards 24A, 24B, 27A, 27B, 30A, 30B
Sandia High School – Media Center (Library)
Pennsylvania and Candelaria

Highlands Cluster -  Wards 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B, 25A, 25B, 26
Plumbers Hall
510 San Pedro SE

Mountain Cluster – Wards 22 and 22C
Tijeras Community Center

Southeast Cluster – 20A, 20B,  21A, 21B
Operating Engineers Hall
151 Pennsylvania SE

East Central Cluster – 28A, 28B, 21A,  31B
Mascarenas Insurance Agency
11321 Central NE

Keep New Mexico's Wildlife Free-Ranging: Register Your Opposition to SB 337

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:
NM Senate Bill 337, one of the worst bills of the 2005 New Mexico Legislative Session, would lead to the fencing-in and confiscation of New Mexico’s publicly owned wildlife. The tall fences would also block free-movement of New Mexico’s wildlife across the landscape, and would block access to food, water and cover.

To top it all off, the captive animals shipped into these game farms would bring with them the risk of exotic diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease. CWD is devastating to wild herds of deer and elk and it is spread through game farms. The future of New Mexico’s wildlife depends on defeating Senate Bill 337.

Please take a moment out of your day to call the Chair and Vice-Chair of this committee, plus any representatives from your area. Call during business hours before Friday, March 11. Contact list and talking points:

Gail C. Beam, Chair (D), Albuquerque: 986-4844
Irvin Harrison, Vice Chair (D), Gallup: 986-4464
Thomas A. Anderson (R), Albuquerque: 986-4452
Keith J. Gardner (R), Roswell: 986-4211
Joni Marie Gutierrez (D), Las Cruces: 986-4234
Dianne Miller Hamilton (R), Silver City: 986-4221
Al Park (D), Albuquerque: 986-4234

Talking Points:
*SB 337 will increase the risk of Chronic Wasting Disease infecting our wild elk & deer herds. There is no cure for CWD and no test for live captive elk shipped into New Mexico. We should not risk infecting our valuable wild herds with this devastating disease.

*SB 337 is an economic loser. SB337 would benefit a few landowners, but is not worth the larger economic risk to our rural economies. Hunting and viewing of free-ranging wild animals pumps hundreds of millions of dollars each year into rural New Mexico economies—we should not risk devastating this far larger economy that is dependent on free-ranging wild game.

*SB337 privatizes wild animals, which are unavoidably enclosed in the tall fence. In America, wildlife belong to all people equally—which makes sense because wild animals move at will across the landscape of private and public properties and should not be owned by any one person. SB337—which is being promoted as a private property right—would confiscate and privatize property belonging to all of us (our wildlife).

*SB337 will block free movement of wildlife to valuable food, cover and water sources. Free-movement and public ownership of wildlife—as well as fair-chase hunting—are the foundations of our conservation heritage and should not be undermined by tall fences and privatization. Thank You!