Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 11:50:37 +0100
From: glaad@glaad.org (GLAAD)
Subject: GLAAD ALARMED BY HATE WEB SITES ON THE INTERNET

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:        Loren Javier
                (213) 658-6775
                javier@glaad.org

GLAAD ALARMED BY HATE WEB SITES ON THE INTERNET

LOS ANGELES, CA -- February 1, 1996 -- The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD) reports the proliferation of Web sites devoted to hate
and anti-gay rhetoric is alarming.  The Radical Right, White Supremacists
and the Neo-Nazis are among the top groups posting misleading information
about the gay and lesbian community on the Internet, the organization says.


"Such obvious hatred being transmitted via a public forum like the Internet
is a blatant example of how easy it is to marginalize a group of people in
an attempt to make them appear inferior," said Loren Javier, GLAAD's
Director of Information Systems, "One Web site entitled, 'Intolerance of,
Discrimination Against, and the Death Penalty for Homosexuals is Prescribed
in the Bible,' is a venomous attack on the gay community.  It is
distressing when "pro-family" quasi-religious groups like the American
Family Association post articles and pamphlets in the form of educational
material which in fact threaten the existence of lesbians and gay men.
Both produce the same results -  fear, hatred and intolerance."

GLAAD is researching and monitoring the Internet and maintains a list of
URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) that link hate sites.   "We are also
attempting to quantify the increase in violence acts against lesbians and
gay men and an increase in the availability of hate materials from groups
that maintain these Web pages," he said.  According to the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force, there has been close to a 100 percent increase
nationally in anti-gay homicides between 1992 and 1994.   Anti-violence
projects nationwide also report an increase in other acts of violence
against lesbian and gay men.

"The spread of hatred is reaching epidemic proportions and now has a much
wider audience because of the Internet," Javier said.  "GLAAD is opposed to
censorship in any form, but these kind of lies and misinformation cause
extensive damage and that raises our concern.  Whenever anyone attempts to
justify discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, disability
or sexual orientation, it gives a green light to those individuals who
think nothing wrong of acting on their impulses.  Calling for a death
penalty for all homosexuals is but one extreme example," he said.

Examples of extremist materials available via the Internet include
"Homosexuality in America: Exposing the Myths," "The Homosexual Lie," "The
True Objective of 'Gay Rights': Total Domination!," "Homosexual Groups:
Organized Sex Perverts on the March," "Homosexual Practices: Self-Loathing
In Action," "Homosexuals: A Clear and Present Danger to our Children," "The
Gay Agenda," "AIDS and God's Wrath!," and "The Homosexual Threat."

Groups that consistently post anti-gay rhetoric on their Web sites include
the American Family Association, Skinheads USA, The Christian Coalition,
the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,  American Life League, Aryan Nations, The
Creators Rights Party, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, The Constitution
Action Party, Promise Keepers, Stormfront White Nationalists, The Family
Research Council, National Alliance and Christian Leadership Ministries,
The Constitution Action Party, the 700 Club, Exodus International and the
Rutherford Institute.

For a more complete list of hate web sites or to report a new hate site,
contact Loren Javier at javier@glaad.org or call (213) 658-6775.

GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive
representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of
challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.

##

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Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
glaad@glaad.org
http://www.glaad.org

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
all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.
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