An action alert from Alaskans Together for Equality —

Dear Members and Supporters of Alaskans Together For Equality Inc.,

Senate Bill (SB) 11, the Alaska Hate Crimes Bill, has been scheduled for its first hearing, before the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, February 16th. The full text of the bill can be found at:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2011&session=27

The Judiciary Committee meets at 1:30 p.m. and has several bills scheduled to be heard so testimony could be taken on SB 11 anytime between 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. We invite you to provide short testimony in support of SB 11 as written which includes sexual orientation and gender identity. Testimony can be given in person in Room 105 of the new Thomas Stewart Building adjacent to the Capitol, by teleconference from your local Legislative Information Office (see http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/misc/lios.php for the location of your LIO) or by calling toll free 877.763.5073.

If you are not able to testify on Wednesday, February 16th, please send a message to your own state senator and ask them to co-sponsor the bill and the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee plus the bill’s sponsor, Senator Davis.

The legislators are:

Senator Hollis French – Co-Sponsor
Senator_Hollis_French@legis.state.ak.us

Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator_Bill_Wielechowski@legis.state.ak.us

Senator Joe Paskvan
Senator_Joe_Paskvan@legis.state.ak.us

Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator_Lesil_McGuire@legis.state.ak.us

Senator John Coghill
Senator_John_Coghill@legis.state.ak.us

Senator Bettye Davis – Sponsor
Senator_Bettye_Davis@legis.state.ak.us

If you are not able to send an email message, then your third option is a Public Opinion Message or POM, a short and easy-to-send 50 word message that should be addressed specifically to the Senators listed in the previous paragraph. Your POM could say something like: “I strongly support SB 11. Please pass this bill as written out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.” To send a POM go to: http://www.legis.state.ak.us/poms/

The following talking points are provided for your use in writing testimony or sending a message to legislators regarding SB 11.

We look forward to hearing your testimony on Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at alaskanstogether@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Board of Directors
Alaskans Together for Equality Inc.