[Massachusetts-NFB] PLEASE FW: Please Submit Your Testimony Today about Our Right to Parent

[sharawinton at gmail.com]

Hi All,
I hope all of you are gearing up to have a great holiday. In the meantime,
Please submit your testimony for our Parents Right bill. Attached you will
find a templet, that may be helpful. This is important for anyone who is or
hopes to be a parent someday. 
Thank you for your prompt response and action in this matter. 

Warmly,

Shara Winton
617-304-0347


-----Original Message-----

Fellow Federationists:

Today, there was a hearing in our state legislature in the Joint Committee
on the Judiciary on a bill that will create a right to parent for people
with disabilities in Massachusetts. The hearing went well, but we need more
testimonies submitted to the Committee to show them that lots of us care
about this initiative. We submitted a testimony as an affiliate, but
individual testimonies also make a big difference. The attached template
testimony is a guide that you may follow if you'd like. I have also attached
a PDF copy of our affiliate testimony.  

As an affiliate, we requested an amendment. To explain the amendment simply,
we are asking the committee to raise a standard of evidence that a court
must prove to use a parent's disability to take a child away from them.
Currently, the bill uses the high standard of "clear and convincing
evidence" for some situations and a lower standard of "a preponderance of
the evidence" for other situations. We are asking that they use the higher
standard for all situations. 

Please submit your individual testimony by e-mail to
michael.musto at mahouse.gov.
Please copy (Cc) both of your legislators, sharawinton at gmail.com, and
808salisbury at gmail.com.
If you don't know who represents you in our state legislature, you can find
your state senator and state representative by visiting
https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator. 

There is no clear deadline for these testimonies because we need to get
these testimonies to the committee before they act. A good rule of thumb is
no more than one week following the hearing. I would like to ask affiliate
members to get their testimonies submitted no later than Sunday, November
19, 2023. Please do it on the same day that you read this email if you can. 

Thank you for your participation in our movement. We need lots of voices,
including yours. Please let us know if you have questions. 

Sincerely,

Justin Salisbury


Justin MH Salisbury, MEd, NOMC, NCRTB
English Pronouns: he/him/his
Phone: 808.797.8606
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu
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