Short Version: If you’re a Massachusetts Democrat or Independent, click here, go to the bottom of the page and post a comment explaining why you believe the Massachusetts Democratic Party should formally endorse Shared Parenting at its State Convention on June 6, 2009.
If words fail you, see the three suggested messages at the bottom of this blog post. All comments posted on http://massdemsplatform.blogspot.com will become part of the testimony considered by the Massachusetts Democratic Party in revising its Platform.
Medium Version: Do the short version above first. Also, the Massachusetts Democratic Party is holding a series of meetings to help form its new Party Platform. Fathers & Families is organizing activists to attend the Democrats’ local Platform Hearings and ask them to include Shared Parenting. We need Democrats and Independents to attend the meetings in their areas listed below to show support for shared parenting.
If you can help, please call Fathers & Families ASAP at 617 542-9300 or write to adminfaf@fathersandfamilies.org. We also urge you to call and bring friends who are sympathetic to Shared Parenting.
Full version: Fathers & Families has shown that the public believes in Shared Parenting. Our 2004 Shared Parenting ballot initiative was approved by an 86%-14% margin. We got over one-fourth of the Legislature to co-sponsor our Shared Parenting bill. We obtained a favorable editorial for Shared Parenting in the Boston Globe. We made Shared Parenting the # 1 issue on Governor Deval Patrick’s website, and we got the Governor to tell the Legislature that if they pass Shared Parenting, he will sign it.
Now we want the Democratic Party to endorse Shared Parenting by putting a Shared Parenting plank in their platform this spring. The platform will express the Party’s goals for the next four years.
Our members have been attending most of the Democratic Party’s Platform Hearings for the past week, and the feedback we have been getting has been very positive. The Party knows we are there and that we care, and we want you to join us both by sending an email supporting shared parenting, and/or by attending a small meeting in or near your town in the next week.
John Walsh, Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, writes:
The 2009 Massachusetts Democratic Convention is just around the corner. This year’s issues convention offers us a historic opportunity to focus, as Massachusetts Democrats, on who we are and what we stand for.
The 2009 Platform will be crafted using similar principles that were used in crafting the National Platform that was adopted at the 2008 National convention…All testimony we receive by the hearing deadline will be posted on our website for anyone to access and comment on. Our goal is to make the drafting of the platform as inclusive and transparent as possible.
We need Democrats and Independents to attend any or all of the meetings listed below to show support for shared parenting. Many of you responded to our Action Alert last week and attended meetings–to learn more, click here.
If you can help (or if you have any questions), please call Fathers & Families at 617 542-9300 or write to adminfaf@fathersandfamilies.org. We also urge you to call and bring friends who are sympathetic to Shared Parenting.
The Democratic Party Platform hearings we’d like you to attend are listed below. For details on the hearings, see the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s calendar page here. (more…)
