Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal Weekly Newsletter

Newsletter

March 17, 2016

Senate Democrats Filibuster Anti-Gay Legislation for Two Days

Democrats in the Senate staged a 39-hour filibuster this week to block the passage of an anti-gay bill that would enshrine discrimination into our state constitution. Under the measure, businesses would be allowed to refuse service to same-sex couples solely based on their sexuality. I do not believe in the 21st Century, we should be promoting the discrimination of others. We have worked too hard, and come too far in the name of justice, to take such a step backwards. I know we are on the right side of history, and the future will validate that view. It was all too appropriate that the arguments we heard in defense of this bill were the same used to discriminate against people of color in the past.

I believe that if you open your door for business in Missouri, you’re opening it to all. If that business entails making a wedding cake, then you make a wedding cake. You do not impose your religious perspective on a business transaction. Indiana recently tried to do that with a similar measure as Senate Joint Resolution 39. There were numbers of boycotts. All total, it’s estimated it cost the state around $60 million in revenue. This is why multiple businesses supported our efforts to kill this resolution.

Despite the hard work, the Senate Majority ultimately resorted to a rarely used parliamentary procedure to force a vote. It’s telling the majority recognized the support behind our filibustering efforts and relied on a little-used rule to cram the measure down the throats of Democrats in the chamber. Refusing to serve someone because of who they are, whether gay, straight, white, black, Asian or Hispanic, is discrimination, period.

Our state has no business exempting any people from equal treatment. This same principle is what I have been fighting for in Ferguson and in Bridgeton and along Coldwater Creek. We must protect and serve each other as one people. While I was disappointed in the outcome, I know this is but one battle in the long fight for the equitable treatment of all.

Senate Passes Half-Way Point of Session

We are now in week 11 of the 19 week session, meaning we’ve crossed the halfway point. In the coming weeks, we’ll be hit with a barrage of bills aimed at everything from disenfranchising low-income and minority voters to another attempt at slashing social services to needy Missourians. It’s appalling that as families around the Bridgeton landfill are dying, young men of color are being racially profiled and students in unaccredited school district languish for a solution, we spend time on soap-box, election year measures. Even more concerning is these bills tend to overwhelmingly affect families in our district the most.

There is enough opportunity for all, but only if individuals and businesses can look past their own greed. We can all share in what this great state has to offer, instead of forcing hard-working families to scramble over crumbs from the figurative pie. There are too many corporate hand-out bills, too many hyped tax-cuts that only help the right and too many measures designed to make life more difficult for poor families struggling to make ends meet.

The Legislature is quickly turning into a reverse Robin Hood that takes from the needy and gives to the greedy. We can’t allow this to happen. We must speak as one to members in the Legislature and say, enough is enough. We deserve more economic development in our municipalities; we need support for our education from pre-k to graduate school; and we need a diversity program in state contracts to address the 17% minority unemployment in the St. Louis region.

This is what I will be working on for the next half of the session in addition to the landfills, Coldwater Creek, the everyday events of Ferguson and two unaccredited school districts. I will bring attention to our problems and fight against the attacks on the middle class and poor.

On Friday, March 4, I attended Ackerman School as a guest reader to students as part of Read Across America, a yearly event sponsored by the National Education Association to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday and promote literacy. As an avid reader, and a supporter of encouraging the same in children, I love these events.

It was a wonderful program, and I enjoyed getting to read two Dr. Seuss books to the students, including “Fox on Socks,” one of my favorites. The experience was both interesting and rewarding. I’d like to thank Ackerman School for inviting me to the celebration. There is no better way to advance in life than through the acquisition of knowledge, which can be found by simply picking up a book. To all students, and parents alike, keep reading!

The same day, I attended an in-district meeting with members of the Sierra Club, an organization dedicated to protecting our environment. There are more than 300 members of this club in the 14th District. This session, I’ve been discussing at length the importance of caring for our environment and safe-guarding the health and well-being of families in Missouri. The meeting was a great chance to discuss these issues with like-minded citizens and share our passion for a safe, healthy environment.

I was also able to attend the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority regional conference on March 4, which was held at the Marriott Grand St. Louis Hotel from March 3 to March 6. There were more than 1,000 sorority sisters and guests from 13 states and four countries. I was invited as a guest at the Public Meeting, during which the sorority recognizes community leaders and organizations that demonstrated this year’s theme, “The Unbreakable Power of Vision, Voice and Virtue.” The meeting, which was held on March 4, was inspiring, and I was grateful for the invitation.

Then, on Saturday, March 5, I was a guest at the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s “A Voteless People is a Hopeless People” (VPHP) joint committee.” Alpha Phi Alpha is the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African American men. It focuses on developing leaders, promoting brotherhood and providing service and advocacy in local communities. The VPHP was established in the 1930s when many African-Americans were prevented to vote due to poll taxes, threats of reprisal and a lack of education on the voting process.

Today, African-Americans face new forms of discrimination at the polls, the most egregious being the wave of voter ID laws that have swept the nation. We must continue to education our fellow African-Americans on the importance of voting, and how we can block attempts at disenfranchising people of color. I was honored to take part in this meeting and national program.