There's more good news from Harrisburg:

Pennsylvania will not be jumping on the bandwagon of 20 states that have put gay marriage bans in their constitutions anytime soon.

... The failure to address this issue before the summer break delays it for at least three years since the process of changing the constitution is a lengthy one. It requires the House and Senate to pass an identical bill 90 days before the general election in two separate legislative sessions before it can be placed on the ballot for voters to ratify.

... (Opponents) said the House-passed version of the amendment could have had far-reaching effects that could have negatively impacted the lives of thousands of unmarried heterosexual couples who live together as well as gay and lesbian couples.

This victory is due to a great effort by many, led by the Value All Families Coalition, including the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, the ACLU of PA and Liberty PA (which is also working to turn out the LGBT/allied vote against Santorum in November). Thank you to everyone who called, e-mailed or visited your state legislators and urged them to stop this lousy amendment. Well done!

So to sum up, a minimum wage increase, tons more for education in the state budget, and defeat of this hateful constitutional amendment. Now imagine what we could do if Governor Rendell gets a Democratic legislature to work with!

There are tons of winnable state Senate and House races this year, many of them in Southeastern PA. The PA House Democratic Campaign Committee reports that: "The desire for change in the State House is more evident now than ever, as a record number of Democrats (76) have filed in Republican held seats!" (Many of these seats are even more winnable since they're open due to Republican retirements.)

The Senate is now 29 R, 21 D, thanks to the recent special election win in Chester and Montgomery counties. Sounds like a steep climb but actually it's doable. Rafferty, Tomlinson, Wonderling and other seats are all possible flips.

The House is now 109 R, 94 D, thanks to a recent special election win in suburban Pittsburgh.

If you're not sure which district you or a friend lives in, you can find out here (see top right corner, "Find Members by" -- the site will help you find your zip+4 code if you don't know the plus-4 part).

Here are links to connect you to state House and Senate candidates in your area:

Bucks County (FYI: candidate links are mixed in with other links)

Chester County Home of Andy Dinniman, first Democratic state senator elected from Chester County in more than 100 years!

Delaware County

Montgomery County (/FYI: Brendan Boyle, 170th District state House candidate is in here since Philly-based district crosses into MontCo)

Not being from Philly, I'm not as familiar with the candidates in the city districts, so please post links or contact info for them in the comments. :-) There are currently 4 Republican state reps whose districts are mostly or totally within Philadelphia's city limits. I do know that a right-winger is planning to run against Speaker Perzel on the Constitution Party line, which could improve our chances there.

Happy Fourth of July!