Therapeutic Justice Project: Domestic Partner Rights at Risk

Monday, September 7, 2009

Domestic Partner Rights at Risk

In May of 2009, Governor Gregoire signed into law the Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill. This bill granted same-sex couples, as well as heterosexual, unmarried seniors, the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual, married spouses.

Now those new rights are at risk. Those who oppose granting increased rights to same-sex partnerships created Referendum 71, which will put the new law up for public vote in November's election. Backers of Referendum 71 obtained enough signatures to have their initiative appear on November's ballot. The public vote in November will either uphold, or repeal, the Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill.

Things you need to know about Referendum 71:

- You are voting to uphold, or repeal, a law that was already voted on by our legislators and signed into law by Governor Gregoire.
- The rights granted in this law give gay, lesbian and senior couples the same legal rights that heterosexual, married couples already possess.
- Voting YES on Referendum 71 means you want to UPHOLD the Domestic Partnership Expansion Law, while
- Voting NO on Referendum 71 means you want to REPEAL the Domestic Partnership Expansion Law.

How you can help:

Healers and mental health professionals can play a special role in this type of situation. We have the interpersonal and group process skills to be able to hold differences and facilitate difficult conversations. We have the knowledge of empirical data to support domestic partner relationships and refute discriminatory messages. We also know that contact theory suggests that the best way to reduce discrimination and prejudice is to have personal, 1:1 contact between individuals who hold prejudicial beliefs and those in the target group. Therefore, we are asking you to personally be a part of the effort to VOTE YES on 71.

Equal Rights Washington and Washington Families Standing Together are hosting community meetings throughout September in communities all over Washington. These meetings will give people the information, materials, and support we need to go out into our communities and talk to people about the importance of this law and how it affects same-sex and senior partners on a daily basis. You can visit their website at http://approvereferendum71.org/ to find materials, talking points, and information to help you. The more people go out into their communities and talk about Referendum 71, the better. Their schedule of community meetings appears here (you will need to contact them directly to RSVP).

This is an urgent and time sensitive issue, as mail-in ballots will be sent out to voters in less than 6 weeks. While asking for your support on this issue, we also recognize there are many ways to be a family that Referendum 71 does not include, such as being non-monogomous or polyamorous, and that the rights granted in this legislation are rights that ALL families need, regardless of relational status. Knowing that change is slow and incremental we choose at this time to tackle Referendum 71 while recognizing the bigger picture needs. We hope you will stand with us in supporting domestic partner rights for same-sex and senior couples.

Submitted by Stacey Prince

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Us

Therapeutic Justice Project is a multidisciplinary collective of healers, advocates and activists dedicated to social justice. Our vision is to integrate social justice with health and mental health services at all levels including psychotherapy, service delivery, professional development, community/organizational support, and systemic change. In psychotherapy, our mission is to develop and implement a model that moves clients from unconscious to conscious, from an individual to a societal perspective, from depression and helplessness to activism and empowerment. We also aim to integrate therapeutic healing within social movement work. Socially, our intention is to make systematic change through community organizing, policy change, transformative dialogue, education, and special initiatives.

For TJP flyer, click here.

For more information or to submit to the blog, please contact:

sprince38@hotmail.com

Call to Action

Members of Congress are proposing substantial cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security in order to reduce the federal deficit. Instead of restoring taxes on the wealthy which could provide increased revenue, they are proposing cuts to the safety net to our country's most vulnerable. Call on congress to reach a budget agreement that will protect programs that disproportionately serve women, the disabled, the elderly, and people of limited means. Please sign this petition to strengthen social security, not cut it.

Announcements

Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment - now available!!!

The long-awaited book Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment, from Olympia’s Dr. Leticia Nieto, provides a breakthrough in the fields of liberation and cultural studies. It presents a powerful analysis of the psychological dynamics of oppression and privilege, and shows readers how to develop skills to promote social justice. It includes personal stories, exercises, visualizations and poetry. The book has roots in developmental psychology, theater, and liberation pedagogy. It was developed through collaboration among Leticia Nieto, Garth R. Johnson, Liz Goodwin, Margot Boyer, and Laurel Collier Smith. Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment is now available on Amazon.com, and Elliott Bay Books. More information is online at http://www.beyondinclusionbeyondempowerment.com/.

Fremont Community Therapy Project

The Fremont Community Therapy Project, a feminist, multicultural, queer-friendly, trauma-oriented clinic offering high-quality, low-cost psychological services is in need of assistance. While we are open for new assessment requests, we are currently experiencing a huge influx of requests for psychotherapy, to the point where we now have a 12-week wait list for psychotherapy.

We would like to be able to refer folks on this list, if possible, so that people are not stuck waiting for care for three months. Most of the people who seek our services have a complex trauma history. Thus, we are looking for therapists who share our values, and who would be willing to accept the referral of a person who you would see at our fees, which range from 20-45/session. Most of them require a longer-term commitment from a therapist (typically people remain at FCTP for up to four years). If you're willing to accept a referral from us, please contact Laura Brown, FCTP Director, at 206-633-2405 ext 1, or email Laura at lsbrownphd@cs.com.