We have just learned that the Massachusetts House will be voting tomorrow (Wednesday) on the terrible new buffer zone legislation that passed the Mass Senate last week. (We wrote about this measure in our last blog post–the new law, if passed, will establish a new buffer zone and penalize pro-lifers with fines and potential jail time). It is critical that everyone contact their Massachusetts House Rep immediately (tonight or better still, first thing Wednesday morning) and ask them to vote against this legislation. Below are email alerts with contact information for legislators that just came out today from Mass Citizens for Life and the Mass Catholic Conference (yes, even MCC has finally sent something out!).
From Mass Citizens for Life
At the hearings last week, legislators said how proud they were to be behind a Planned Parenthood bill, almost all the people testifying in
favor of the bill said they were on the staff of Planned Parenthood. Only one person never mentioned that he had served on the Board of Planned Parenthood. That was Governor Patrick. Talk about the fix!
As you know, the Senate voted unanimously for the New Buffer Zone (now that it is a real bill, it is S 2283).
We just received word that the House will vote on it tomorrow. Some of the pro-life legislators are going to try to get it amended – a noble endeavor which, if successful, will make the bill less bad.
If you have not called your representative, please do so with this message, “I am a constituent calling in opposition to S 2283. The Supreme Court spoke about trying the current laws before passing new ones. I encourage you to do that and to put off the vote until next session. If you must vote now, please support the amendments which will be proposed.”
To make the calls: After you are on: http://masscitizensforlife.org/get-informed/legislation/, if you know the names of your State Rep, click onto “State Representatives” for his/her phone number. If you do not know the name of your Representative, click onto “Look Up Your Legislator.”
Calls or personal visits are the way to go – emails are easily ignored. I am afraid the rest of the country will copy this New Buffer Zone, so what we do is very important!
From Mass Catholic Conference
The Massachusetts Catholic Conference urges you to contact your State Representative regarding the scheduled vote tomorrow on a bill to limit free speech at abortion clinics. The bill is titled “An Act to promote public safety and protect access to reproductive health care facilities.” It is Senate bill 2283.
Tell your Representative that you agree with the Supreme Court’s decision that eliminated the 35 foot buffer zone, and any legislative steps to weaken the Court’s ruling is wrong. It is particularly troubling since it is being rushed through both branches at the eleventh hour of the legislative session without the benefit of a full debate.
Click here to find your State Representative.
Click here to read Cardinal O’Malley’s statement on the Supreme Court decision.
Click here to read Bishop McManus’s statement on the Supreme Court decision.
This is BCI now. Please pick up the phone and either leave a message tonight or call first thing in the morning. Have your husband or wife call too. Also, please forward this message to your like-minded friends and relatives and ask them to call. And pray a Rosary tonight and tomorrow morning asking the Blessed Mother to intervene in tomorrow’s vote.
Boston Catholic Insider 
Don’t quite understand how the Mass legislature can overrule the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
You would think the Attorney General, Governor, and legislators would have the sensibility to accept the SCOTUS decision, and accept our constitutional right to freedom of speech. No! They are going off to create another egregiously bad law, which will then be contested in court for years and ultimately make it back to the Supreme Court, where, hopefully, it will be shot down again.
On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 6:21 PM, Boston Catholic Insider wrote:
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I’m not sure what’s the point of calling the state house. My state representatives are all pro-abortion and pro-homosexual marriage.
Perhaps we should be calling Cardinal O’Malley’s office and asking that he enforce Canon 915 and stop the “Catholic” politicians who support abortion and sodomy from receiving Holy Communion.
David S, We share the frustration. Still, if we do not call, then the legislators think we do not care about this issue ourselves. Even if we lose, it is our perspective that it is better to go down fighting than to lose without trying.
It is said that evil triumphs when good men do nothing. We already have out Cardinal doing nothing. Surely we can all do better than that.
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Perhaps Cardinal O’Malley could ask his friend Governor Patrick why is it these same Catholics who are too dangerous to set foot anywhere near the abortuaries in Massachusetts are not too dangerous to provide housing and other support for illegal aliens.
Well, look on the bright side. This will end up in the Supreme Court where another 9-0 defeat for Coakley (or successor) will occur. To make some impact, it would be nice to stick them with damages. Absent that, there will be no brake on the behavior.
Jack, do you know or are there any lawyers on this board who know, how long it will take to make it to the Supreme Court? And in that interim period, would the new buffer zone will be in effect or can its’ enactment be delayed pending a Supreme Court review?
I’m also concerned that some rabid pro-abortionist may decide to feign to be pro-life and provoke violence outside an abortion facility in an effort to give justification to this new buffer zone.
Not discounting the difficulties that the proposed legislation creates. You can expect all manner of games and stunts to help the abortionists spin this in their favor. But the reality is that a legal remedy is the only way to stop them. We live in the people’s republic, after all.
I will call–to support.