Are you feeling complacent about the Federal anti-Marriage
Amendment? Think it's not a threat? That the Senate or House
would never pass it?

Think again.

Groups like the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for
American, Focus on the Family, and the American Family
Association are banking on our community and our straight allies
being silent or being lulled into a false sense of security that
Congress would not write discrimination into the United States
Constitution. And they will stop at nothing.

These groups all have millions of dollars -- more than all GLBT
advocacy groups combined -- between them that they can use for a
gigantic media blitz the week before the FMA comes up for a vote
in Congress.

We need to make our voices heard NOW - before Members of
Congress have made up their minds. And this week, we're asking
you to take a specific action to help -- to hand-write a letter
and mail it to your Senators' and Representative's district
offices. Here is a step-by-step guide:

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1. Sample letter - use this sample letter as a starting point.
Make it personal - tell your story.

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/_d10y2M1hBk8/

2. Send your letter to the district office. Look up the address
here:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/Ld10y2M1hBkU//

Why the district office? Mail sent to Washington, DC goes
through a screening process that can take up to 8 weeks. If you
send your letter to the district office, then it will reach your
legislators much more quickly. That's critical for this fight --
it seems likely we will face a vote on the Federal anti-Marriage
Amendment by the end of the summer.

3. Tell us you sent a letter so we can keep count:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/_710y2M1hBki/

4. Tell your friends to write a letter:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/_p10y2M1hBkk/

Between now and the vote, we need literally hundreds and
thousands of letters pouring into Congressional offices.

5. Download HRC's new Marriage Pamphlet:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/L710y2M1hBky/

A pamphlet that answers many common questions and concerns about
marriage equality for same-sex couples, including "Why aren't
civil unions enough?"
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Here's the Family Research Council's preferred version of an
amendment: "Marriage in the United States, whether entered into
within or outside of the United States, shall consist only of
the legal union of one man and one woman. The uniting of persons
of the same or opposite-sex in a civil union, domestic
partnership, or other similar relationship as a substitution for
such marriage shall not be valid or recognized in the United
States."

The House held the first of a series of five hearings on the
discriminatory Federal Marriage Amendment today - Tuesday, March
30, 2004. HRC was there - we held a press conference, we're
working with out allies, and we are lobbying today with families
who are constituents of the members of the subcommittee.

As we saw yesterday in Massachusetts, if lawmakers throw a
"civil unions compromise" into the mix, some of our allies might
be inclined to support a discriminatory amendment. Some members
of Congress are looking at just such a "compromise amendment" -
but it's no compromise. It's still discrimination. (For the full
story on what happened in Massachusetts yesterday, visit
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/A710y2M1hBkl/)

Last week we asked some of you who are constituents of Judiciary
Committee members to call Congress. Thousands of folks made
phone calls - and we heard that several offices got literally
hundreds of calls. But we need more. So today, write your
handwritten letter, mail it to the district office, and then
phone your Representative and Senators.

Call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1-877-762-8762 - and
then let us know that you called by e-mailing us at
field@hrc.org

With your help, we can win this fight. Please make sure that you
take action today!

Sincerely,

Seth Kilbourn and the activist team at the Human Rights Campaig