NO ACTION TAKEN: MASSACHUSETTS ANTI-COLUMBUS DAY BILL DIES IN COMMITTEE
Friends, WE DID IT! Thanks to your phone calls and emails our collective voices were heard! No action was taken on the Anti-Columbus Day bills at the end of the legislative session, these bills are dead. We believed that this Bill was unjust, unfair, and divisive, not only to the 800,000 strong Italian American community of Massachusetts, but also to the scores of other Massachusetts residents who support and celebrate this National Holiday. The many personal contacts and emails that were made to House Speaker Mariano and other legislators made the difference to Save Columbus Day in Massachusetts! Thanks go out to all the people and organizations who took up this cause and supported it with your actions! In the meantime, we need to make it clear to our own legislators that we will not support them with our votes if they insist on supporting this bill in the future. We have listed for your attention those legislators who were petitioners and sponsors of the House and Senate Bills to replace Columbus Day. If they happen to be your representatives or senators, don’t hesitate to continue to let them know your own position is one of opposition and a no vote for them. At the same time, we support the Native American community in their desire to have their own day of celebration and recognition of their proud heritage. We support both Native American Heritage Day, which was proclaimed by President Obama as the day after Thanksgiving in 2009, and November as Native American Heritage Month, which was declared by an Act of Congress and signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. Thank you all again for your support, hard work, and dedication in this effort. We will be vigilant at the state house and inform you if these bills come back in a future session. Sincerely, Save Columbus Action Group Tom Damigella, Italian American Alliance
Adam G. Hinds Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden Brandy Fluker Oakley 12th Suffolk Carmine Lawrence Gentile 13th Middlesex Christine P. Barber 34th Middlesex Cindy F. Friedman Fourth Middlesex Danillo A. Sena 37th Middlesex David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf 17th Worcester David M. Rogers 24th Middlesex Elizabeth A. Malia 11th Suffolk Erika Uyterhoeven 27th Middlesex Jack Patrick Lewis 7th Middlesex James B. Eldridge Middlesex & Worcester Jason M. Lewis Fifth Middlesex Jay D. Livingstone 8th Suffolk Joan Meschino 3rd Plymouth Joanne M. Comerford Hampshire, Franklin & Worcester Julian Cyr Cape & Islands Kay Khan 11th Middlesex Kenneth I. Gordon 21st Middlesex Kevin G. Honan 17th Suffolk Lindsay N. Sabadosa 1st Hampshire Lydia Edwards First Suffolk and Middlesex Marjorie C. Decker 25th Middlesex Mary S. Keefe 15th Worcester Michael J. Barrett Third Middlesex Michelle L. Ciccolo 15th Middlesex Mike Connolly 26th Middlesex Mindy Domb 3rd Hampshire Natalie M. Blais 1st Franklin Natalie M. Higgins 4th Worcester Nika C. Elugardo 15th Suffolk Patricia D. Jehlen Second Middlesex Patrick M. O'Connor Plymouth & Norfolk Rebecca L. Rausch Norfolk, Bristol & Middlesex Steven C. Owens 29th Middlesex Tami L. Gouveia 14th Middlesex Vanna Howard 17th Middlesex