ARTICLES
FEBRUARY 2005 ARTICLES
Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
More Than 400,000 Signatures
Volunteers Tell How They Do It
BY ROBERT KUMPEL
The Parents' Right to Know initiative is sprinting its way to the next statewide election ballot. By Monday, January 24 the count reached 415,000 signatures gathered. Readers can see a twice-weekly updated "Signature Count-Down," download other information, and order more petitions on the website: www.parentsright2know.org
The initiative requires that a physician notify a parent or guardian of a minor daughter at least 48 hours before performing an abortion upon her. If the initiative is approved by California voters (polls show that around 75 to 80 percent support parental notification), the California Supreme Court, lower state courts, and the legislature could not nullify it since it would be placed directly in the California Constitution.
The initiative has been drafted by legal experts in compliance with United States Supreme Court decisions, so that the Federal Courts will not block it. One of the experts who drafted the initiative is Law Professor Teresa Collett. Her testimony to the United States House of Representatives on the importance of parental rights appears on the website: www.parentsright2know.org
Qualification for the ballot requires that 598,105 valid signatures of California registered voters be obtained within 150 days, from November 15, 2004 until this April 14, 2005. The goal is to turn in around 800,000 total signatures to ensure enough valid signatures.
Signature gathering, using volunteers and paid signature gatherers, is ahead of schedule in spite of the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years holidays and rainy winter weather.
The rate of signature gathering should increase to eight to ten thousand or more per day during January and February, so enough signatures will be gathered by six to eight weeks before the April 14 deadline.
The campaign has contacted some volunteer circulators who turned in large numbers of signatures before December 31, 2004, to ask them about their success.
Aurea Damm of Gardena turned in 161 signatures. Damm, 50, who volunteers with a pregnancy crisis center, said, "I feel like I should have collected a lot more..." Damm had no hesitation about getting involved and hopes that she is just getting started with the initiative. "I've given them to people and groups, this church and that church. I attend St. Anthony of Padua, and we have an awesome pro-life priest. He has let us gather signatures before and he is a great help."
Another standout signature-hunter is Rita Williams of Galt (near Stockton), who got 143 people to sign petitions so far. Williams, 45, works for the Pregnancy Resource Center of Lodi. Williams said, "I belong to a very large church, Century Assembly of God, so I just made an organized thing of it. We also asked anyone coming into the center here if they would like to sign. We have had a lot of very positive responses." Williams added, "My target figure is 1000 signatures. I've been asked to speak at several engagements on the sanctity of human life, and I'm going to try to get more signatures there. The Catholic diocese has invited me to set up a table and speak, First Baptist Church, Lodi Avenue Baptist Church, and Youth For Christ have all asked me to speak, so I'm going to try to put them to work!"
Gerald Adler, 76, of Visalia with 138 signatures already turned in, was modest about his work: "I would like to have got more. I did it at church during two services. I had three more people at two more tables, because we have a really large church, Visalia First Baptist, plus I had a lot of help from the local Right to Life people. They gave me those 'VOTE LIFE' election-time placards for the tables. I have a pretty good motivation, because both of my children were adopted, so I'm pretty much a right-to-life advocate. I also have two grandchildren." Adler concluded, "seriously, I'm honored that I can help."
Other successful circulators were Sara Castle of Coulterville, who already turned in 100 signatures; Cheryl Anaya of Fontana with 67 signatures; Kim Long of Bakersfield and Maria Cynthia De La Rosa of San Bruno, who each turned in 63 signatures; and Mary Lou Thomey of Lake Isabella with 60 signatures.
Nancy Graham of Sacramento who will have her 94th birthday on April 8, six days before the deadline for turning in all the petitions, has already turned in 60 signatures. Graham insists that she hasn't done any great task. "It's really all these beautiful people helping me. I'm not feeling too well, and I'm not moving too fast right now. I haven't been working on this for two weeks, and I'm trying to get other people to step in and take over. When you're (about) 95, you get to know a lot of people!" Graham had been waiting to start signature gathering since she first learned about plans for the initiative.
Paul Schmidt of Weaverville in Trinity County turned in 56 signatures. Mary Kwoka from Fiddletown, a Gold Rush town in Amador County, submitted 55 signatures. Maria Guildrey of Simi Valley has already collected 53 signatures.
Other early signature gathering was done at large and small churches. At St. Mel's Catholic Church in Fair Oaks California, Diane Nye, Bruce and Leslie Fairchild, and other parishioners already gathered 500 signatures. At St. Clare Catholic Church in Santa Clarita Valley, 408 were collected. At Calvary Chapel in Upland, 67; at New Creation Christian Faith Center of Los Angeles, 63; and at St. Reed Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, 42 signatures were collected.
Other motivated volunteers from cities, towns, villages, and suburbia submitting substantial numbers of signatures include:
Barbara Craddock, San Andreas, Carolyn Skeie, Covina, Priscilla Dack, Fresno, Rachel Lippincott/Mid-Valley Church of Christ, Tulare; James Page/El Camino Baptist Church, Fresno; Elsie Bishop, Ripon; Jennifer Hales, Tulare; Donald Combar, Torrance; William Hobbs, Visalia; Jessica Hume, Clovis; Valley Church of Christ, Sun City; Linda Parker, El Cajon; Elsa Van Leuven, Downey; Eduarda Sese/Good Shepherd Parish, San Diego; Ruth Yancey/East Clairemont Southern Baptist Church, San Diego; John Cully, San Diego; Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, San Diego; Dorothy Sharp, Lomita; Isadore Colletti, Mission Viejo; Jadele Taylor, Vista; Michelle Garrett, Fresno; Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, San Bernardino.
To get information and petitions, call toll-free (866) 828-8355 or email Janet@ParentsRight2Know.org