Scheduled same-sex marriage floor debate forces Shea to postpone, reschedule telephone town hall meeting
Rep. Matt Shea has learned the House of Representatives may take up same-sex marriage legislation, Senate Bill 6239, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, the same date he had scheduled for a telephone town hall meeting. Due to the possibility of the debate conflicting with Shea's early evening telephone town hall meeting, he has cancelled the event and rescheduled it for Feb. 22.
“I said in early January that I was concerned the issue of same-sex marriage would become a diversion away from other important issues during the 60-day session, including the budget and jobs. Now this scheduled debate has run directly in conflict with my ability to communicate with 4th District constituents on the evening we were scheduled for a town hall meeting,” said Shea, R-Spokane Valley. “It will be extremely important for me to be on the floor and involved with the debate as we defend the religious liberty laws in our state constitution and the long-standing institution of marriage as between one man and one woman. So I am postponing the telephone town hall meeting for two weeks.”
The new time/date of the teleconference will be Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
To connect to the Shea teleconference, call toll-free at 1-877-229-8493 and enter PIN number 15550. People may choose to stay on the line and if they have a question, press *3 (star 3) on their telephone keypads to talk with Shea. The forum is similar to a radio call-in talk show. Callers have complete control over how they choose to participate and how long they wish to stay connected.
“While I'm disappointed that I must reschedule the teleforum to later, it is very important to me to hear from our citizens and get their viewpoints on the issues that matter to them. So that's why I'm still planning to hold the event,” added Shea. “I encourage our local citizens to call in and become involved in the legislative process.”
For more information, call Shea's office in Olympia at (360) 786-7984.
MEDIA CONTACT: John Sattgast, Senior Information Officer/Broadcast Coordinator: (360) 786-7257