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SJR-7: Without extra research, Paul Robertson keeps me guessing

Like a good little soldier, when Indiana Equality sends out an email notice stating that my State Rep or Senator, or members of a committee, need to hear from me about SJR-7, I often follow through. One such email even caused a sign of life to appear in my snail mail recently --- a form letter from my State Rep of House District #70, Paul Robertson.

(SJR-7 passed in both houses in 2005. In the current legislative session, it has passed in the Indiana Senate, and at the time of this post, is in committee in the Indiana House.)

For the sake of completeness, here is the full text of the letter I received:

"Dear Mr. Lopp,

"Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate learning of your thoughts on the various issues that are before the Indiana General Assembly.

"Hearing from my constituents regarding the issues that are being considered allows me to make better, informed decisions, and I appreciate your taking the time to share your sentiments with me.

"I thank you once again for your input into the legislative process. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

"Sincerely, Paul J. Robertson"

On the surface:  The letter says absolutely nothing about the lawmaker's position on this issue --- in fact, it doesn't even identify what the issue is! But I have been told by an IE lobbyist (I believe it was Mark St. John, if I am not mistaken) that Mr. Robertson is more than merely supportive of the "Marriage Discrimination Amendment" --- he is virtually immovable. The letter I received seems to be in agreement with this evaluation.

Translation:  It is most likely that this is the type of form letter that a lawmaker sends in response when there will be a cold day in Hell before the lawmaker will vote in agreement with the opinion expressed by the constituent. But technically, he is keeping us guessing unless we know how to read between the lines.

Conclusion: The best guess is that the gay men and lesbians of House District 70 will need to help find a replacement for Mr. Robertson if they want favorable representation in Indianapolis. Even if he is a Democrat. That's the way the system works. Come out, come out, whereever you are!

Welcome to ajlopp.com!

Thanks for coming to visit! This blog is for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders ... and anyone else who fits under the general term "queer" ... and our non-queer friends and supporters ... who live in the area of Indiana that is near Louisville. I intend this area to be specifically Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Orange, and Washington counties ... but if you are slightly out, or even way out, of these bounds your posts and comments are still welcome.

Ultimately, I hope that this blog can help network GLBT folks in this area, maybe even prove useful in bringing together one or several GLBT groups. Unfortunately, this area of Indiana is dominated economically and media-wise by Louisville, Kentucky, and this makes developing our own identities as Hoosier residents a bit more challenging. The same goes for our GLBT identities and sense of community --- GLBT organizations, institutions, and social life seems to be centered around Louisville.

There is one area, however, where it is very important that we remember that we are GLBT citizens of Indiana. Politics. Ouch, I said the dreaded p-word! Indiana has a constitutional amendment working its way through our statehouse --- through your statehouse --- that would prohibit any possibility of our current and future generations from having our same-gender relationships acknowledged by the Indiana legal system.

I suppose you have a right to be apathetic, but one reason I started this blog is to attract the sub-segment of our GLBT population that is willing to be politically active on GLBT issues. If the constitutional amendment makes its way onto a ballot for a vote by the citizenry of Indiana, I want our area to do its share in fighting to defeat this threat to our rights in the future.

This is not to say that posts that help us bring together social events, parties, and other fun stuff will be unwelcome --- quite the contrary! I hope that this blog will help develop a GLBT network and community in this region of the state, and social events are clearly part of that process.

Enjoy your visits to ajlopp.com!