ROAR! 2013 – Restore Ohio Adoptee Rights in 2013

IN THIS UPDATE
• Summer 2013 ReCap
• Action Alerts: Things YOU CAN DO
• ROAR Resources

Summer 2013 ReCap
Following an exciting and fast-paced series of victories in the spring, the ROAR campaign is ready to finish the job! After passing the Senate Medicaid, Health and Human Services Committee unanimously, SB 23 was held over as the Senate finished its difficult work on the massive state budget bill. The ROAR leadership team worked throughout the summer with our Senate sponsors to strategize our approach for the upcoming Senate session, which begins mid-September. We want to thank all of ROAR's grassroots supporters for staying engaged throughout these slow summer months and not losing your momentum. Your passion helped pass HB 61 in the House and it will be a critical factor in the success of SB 23 in the Senate!

Action Alert: Things YOU Can Do
This Autumn, our first priority is to get SB 23 passed through the Senate. To do this, we must encourage Senate leadership to bring the bill for a vote and continue to drum up support for the bill from all 33 Senators. We need all ROAR grassroots proponents to ACT NOW and complete the following action items in September:
1. Write a Letter to the Editor
• During election season Senators pay close attention to what is written in the local weekly/suburban newspapers in their districts (perhaps even more than the big daily papers!). Use the attached template to craft a letter to the editor of your local paper and try to get it published in print or online during September or October. If you don't succeed at first- keep writing!

2. Call your Senator!
• This month, contact your Senator's office via phone, email or mailed letter and express your support for SB 23. If your Senator is already a co-sponsor, thank them for their commitment to adoptee rights and encourage them to help bring SB 23 for a full vote in the Senate. If you have an adoption connection to Ohio but are not a resident of this state, consider calling the Senator in the district in which the adoption took place and/or complete the other action items.
• Please email us with any information you gather from your Senate office.
• **IMPORTANT: All communications should be positive in tone. Elected officials do not respond well to negative calls or talk of voter retribution, so keep it encouraging and friendly!

3. Send a Thank You Postcard to Senators Beagle and Burke
Send a postcard to our two primary sponsors, Sen. Bill Beagle and Sen. David Burke, thanking them for their leadership and support of adoptee access to original birth certificates. We want to fill their offices with postcards so that they have a strong visual representation of SB 23's grassroots support. We hope that an office full of thank-you's from across Ohio will be a helpful visual aide for our sponsors when they meet with Senate leadership.
• Sen. Bill Beagle , Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, Columbus, OH 43215
• Sen. Dave Burke, Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, Columbus, OH 43215

ROAR Resources
To find your legislator, visit: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/
Visit www.AdoptionEquityOhio.com and www.AdoptionNetwork.org for more information, tips & talking points, and previous bill updates.
Visit http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Adoption-Equity-Ohio/342147335870?fref=ts for media coverage and updates.