Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 21:33:32 -0500 (EST) From: GLAAD Subject: COVERING THE MURDER OF BILLY JACK GAITHER MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Ben Stilp, Interim Director of Communications phone: (212) 807-1700 x14 pager: (888) 656-9045 e-mail: stilp@glaad.org GLAAD'S SUGGESTIONS FOR COVERING THE MURDER OF BILLY JACK GAITHER NEW YORK, NY, FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1999--Recent media coverage of the brutal murder of Alabama resident Billy Jack Gaither has prompted the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to release suggested guidelines to media professionals covering this tragedy. These recommendations are aimed at ensuring fair and accurate coverage of the issue and of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Background: 39-year-old Gaither was murdered on February 19 in Coosa County, Alabama. He was bludgeoned to death with an axe handle by 21-year-old Charles Monroe Butler, Jr. and 25-year-old Steven Eric Mullins, both of whom confessed to the murder this week. Following the beating, the two men took Gaither's body to a remote location and set it on fire. In their confessions, they alleged that Gaither had made a sexual advance toward them. Problems to Consider: Framing the story with undue focus upon Butler and Mullins' allegation of a sexual advance from Gaither lends credence to the "blame the victim" mentality and the "homosexual panic" defense. It suggests that Gaither's alleged actions somehow gave Butler and Mullins license to commit murder, because he was gay. Sexual orientation - perceived or real - does not give license to discriminate, perpetuate violence, or commit murder. Framing Your Story: There is a direct and documented connection between anti-gay rhetoric, attitudes and violent attacks. During the past year, there has been a coordinated and deliberate rise in anti-gay rhetoric from politicians and other public figures. The fallout from this hate speech is devastating, as seen in this incident with Billy Jack Gaither. GLAAD believes in the need to be conscientious in recognizing the influence that the media has in shaping our society's attitudes. GLAAD urges media professionals to be mindful of their responsibility to avoid perpetuating damaging stereotypes, which contribute to intolerance and violence. For more information and referrals to sources, please contact Wonbo Woo, GLAAD Communications Associate at (212) 807-1700 x24 or page him at (800) 689-0196. GLAAD is the nation's lesbian and gay media advocacy organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of combating homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. -30- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combatting homophobia and challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.