Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 17:20:33 -0700 From: Jean Richter Subject: 6/16/99 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news, pt. 2 1. Urgent - urge your reps to defeat the Souder amendment to H.R. 1501 2. UT: Anti-gay conference focuses on education issues ========================================================================== Reply-To: listserver@channelq.com Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 15:19:40 -0700 From: "Channel Q" To: (LGBT Political Activists), queerpolitics@abacus.oxy.edu Subject: HRC Action Alert: Sounder Amendment URGENT: Possible Floor Vote Today Please call your Representative to tell him or her to vote NO on the Souder Amendment to H.R. 1501, the Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act. The House of Representatives is considering H.R. 1501 on the House floor today, and the Souder amendment could be voted on as early as this afternoon. The Department of Justice recognizes that the majority of hate crime offenders and victims are young people. So, DOJ's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has developed a curriculum to help address violence and prejudice called "Healing the Hate: A National Bias Crime Prevention Curriculum for Middle Schools." The Souder amendment could interfere with OJJDP's ability to include the teaching of tolerance of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people in its curricula. The amendment is being supported by Rev. Jerry Falwell and the rabidly anti-gay Traditional Values Coalition and would prohibit OJJDP from producing literature, curriculum, etc., which would "discriminate against, denigrate or otherwise undermine the religious or moral beliefs" of any juvenile or adult in programs authorized in the bill. They claim that the OJJDP curriculum is an "attack on Biblical Christianity" and will be "used to indoctrinate the young." Nothing could be further from the truth. The Souder amendment language is too broad and vague. The phrase "discriminate against, denigrate or otherwise undermine the religious or moral beliefs" could be used as an excuse to omit any category -- race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. -- from inclusion in hate crime prevention curricula. We strongly urge you to call your Representative AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and tell him or her to vote NO on the Souder amendment. Capitol Switchboard: 202-225-3121. Tracey St. Pierre Senior Policy Advocate Human Rights Campaign 919 18th Street, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006 Ph: 202-216-1555 FAX: 202-347-5323 e-mail: tracey.stpierre@hrc.org Donna Red Wing National Field Director 919 18th Street, #811 Washington, DC 20006 202.216.1541 FAX-202.347.5323 donna.red.wing@hrc.org This special 'e-mail alert' service of the Human Rights Campaign is provided exclusively to our members. It is designed to keep you up-to-the-minute on breaking news, legislative developments, and ways that you can take action. 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Some messages may be from anti-gay organizations and are forwarded as opposition research. =============================================================================== Deseret News, May 31, 1999 Box 1257,Salt Lake City,UT,84110 (Fax 801-237-2121 ) (E-MAIL: letters@desnews.com ) ( http://www.desnews.com ) Coalition blasts 'gay agenda' in schools Militants covertly influence kids, audience is told By Leo Tyson Dirr, Deseret News staff writer NORTH SALT LAKE - The "militant gay community" is subversively influencing students in Utah public schools, and throughout the nation, to promote its lifestyle and a world government, according to the Utah Coalition for Freedom in Education. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================= Jean Richter -- richter@eecs.berkeley.edu The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) These messages are archived by state on our information-loaded free web site: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/