How California MassResistance stopped anti-family ‘stay gay’ bill after extraordinary push

Sep 3, 2018 by Jill

from Mass Resistance:

Absolutely everyone said that Bill AB 2943 bill was impossible to stop in the California Legislature. It was the crown jewel of the powerful LGBT lobby. Democrats supported it and Republicans were afraid to touch it. But MassResistance organized statewide and stopped it!

Bill AB 2943 would have banned all therapy or counseling for sexual orientation or “gender identity” issues, even promotion or descriptions of it. Legal groups said this would include Bible verses.

The bill flew through the State Assembly last spring. On August 16 it breezed through the Senate. But because the Senate added an amendment, it had to go through another Assembly vote. That seemed like a slam dunk.

There were then only 14 more days in the legislative session ending August 31 – little time to organize in the 80-member Assembly. Major pro-family groups in California were so sure it would pass that they told their supporters to start calling the Governor’s office to get him to veto it.

But MassResistance said: “No, we will stop it.”

Last month we stopped a similar bill in the Massachusetts Legislature, a furious fight which also went to the final day of the session.

California MassResistance Director Arthur Schaper, a brilliant and tireless organizer, worked night and day.

But California is huge, a considerable challenge. Using various methods, including analyzing the districts, the upcoming elections, and watching the interaction on the Assembly floor, Arthur identified about 20 assembly members who were most likely to waver – one way or the other. He focused on those. As time went on, that group grew to 24 as legislators’ fear began to show.

Read here

Read also: A Big Christian Victory: ‘Gay Conversion Therapy’ Ban Shelved in California by Michael Brown, The Christian Post