Friends,

It looks like I spoke too soon about the Governor’s Council finally being a place where conservatives have a voice. As if on cue, there is a movement on Beacon Hill to disband the Governor’s Council now that Republicans have finally broken through and occupy a quarter of the seats. It will take a constitutional amendment to disband the group, but the debate is happening and there appears to be momentum.

Speaking of the Constitutional Convention, as has become the tradition, the Joint Session of the House and Senate met yesterday, per the constitution, and promptly recessed until Wednesday, July 13. This is an important ConCon this year. In addition to the Governor’s Council amendment, there are two amendments that we have spoken much about that would virtually end the citizen petition process we have today. One of these bills received a positive committee recommendation, while the other was a negative, but they are both on the ConCon Calendar to be voted on. (For more on these bills, CLICK HERE.)

The Maria Talks saga continues as Gov. Patrick is refusing to drop the site or make the extensive changes necessary. This comes despite thousands of calls and emails from citizens, a letter from sixty-three legislators, and a letter from the state’s Catholic bishops to do just that. In response to the Governor’s failure to act, we are turning up the heat with an extensive media campaign centered around the website: www.StopMariaTalks.com.

If you want to help us to shutdown the Maria Talks website, please take these actions:

  1. Visit www.StopMariaTalks.com and sign the petition.
  2. Share the website on Facebook and Twitter.
  3. Email your friends and family, and parents you may know, about the website.
  4. CLICK HERE to donate to MFI and help us spread the word.

Finally, I want to congratulate and welcome the latest member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Peter J. Durant. Though having won the election after an initial count and a recount, a judge ordered a new election in the Sixth Worcester District between Durant and the incumbent, Rep. Geraldo Alicea. This latest and last election took place yesterday and Durant was victorious, this time with a slightly more comfortable margin of 56 votes. Rep. Alicea was elected in 2006 after campaigning that he would support the Marriage Amendment, a promise he promptly reneged upon during the Constitutional Convention of June 2007. MFI looks forward to working with Rep. Durant on pro-family legislation.

For our families,

P.S. The Joint Committee on the Judiciary has announced that a hearing on the updated “Bathroom Bill” will take place on Tuesday, June 8, at 1 pm in the Gardner Auditorium. This gives us just four weeks to prepare. Please consider a generous TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donation to MFI as we gather witnesses, prepare testimony and alert the public. Thank you.