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Press release: Response to John Hanger and Rachel Tabachnick

On March 18th Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Max Myers got hisfirst class in Politics 101. He was scheduled to declare his candidacyfor governor at the Wm. Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia

and in the capitol rotunda when two teachers entered his politicalclassroom.

The first was John Hanger, who felt it important to misrepresent Maxspositions in a press release. He threw down the gauntlet andchallenged Max to a debate. To that end, Max says, I would like tocommend John Hanger for having the culture of politics embedded sodeeply in his character. Does Pennsylvania really need a governor thatmisrepresents, attacks and challenges their opponent on the day thatthey are declaring? I had hoped for a higher respect level.

The second teacher was Rachel Tabachnick with the Political ResearchAssociates. She released a report connecting Max with what sheconstrued to be a dangerous religious movement. Her intent was toreveal Max as something other than what he claims to be. To this, Maxresponded:Abortion and gay marriage are social issues that divide our populationand focus on toxic partisan politics. I choose to lead this campaign byexample and believe that the time has come for Pennsylvanians of allpositions to treat each other with consideration and respect.

Prolife and prochoice have become divisive labels that cause people to

stop listening to one another. I believe that the key to productiveconversation about this issue is to bring people together in honor andrespect. The best way to respect both the life of the baby and therights of the woman is for both sides to work together to attack theroot of the problem, not the politics of the issue.

The bottom line is that I want to move the dialog to the "why behindthe number of unwanted pregnancies we see in our society. In reality,we can uphold the law of the land while focusing our attention on thecause of the situation, not the response to the situation.

The same is true of gay marriage. It is time for the LGBT community tobe given the same respect that we give to all other people groups. Inthat vein, I will support legislation that gives equal access and equaltreatment under the law. William Penn established that allPennsylvanians are to be treated with honor and respect; I want toreestablish this powerful value for all of Pennsylvania and specificallyfor the LGBT community.

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Prolife and Womens Rights groups have much to contribute to oneanother. Similarly, traditional values and LGBT groups have much tooffer each other. Max simply wants to be able to build bridgesbetween all groups. He realizes that it may seem like entering into theenemy territory, but this is where the problem begins. People who

hold values that dont exactly reflect ours are not our enemies. If fact,Max believes that they are more like each other than what they wouldlike to believe.

In response to a reference that Rachel made about a book on churchleadership he published, Max says, If you are going to believe in God,you might as well believe in one that can actually do something.

It was an interesting day of class for Max in Politics 101. He says thathe learned two lessons. First, dont ever treat another person the waythat you were treated today. Secondly, this is exactly why

Pennsylvania needs a governor like Max.