Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 18:27:34 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines - August 9, 1999 GLAADLINES Contact: Sean Lund, GLAAD (323) 658-6775 x18 lund@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 9, 1999 News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community GLAAD CALLS ON COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO EDUCATE DR. LAURA SCHLESSINGER: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has initiated a campaign to educate popular radio talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger on the impact of her increasingly anti-gay rhetoric. In recent weeks, Schlessinger has escalated her attacks on lesbians and gay men and their families, while assailing the American Psychological Association for its 1972 removal of homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. In response, GLAAD has encouraged members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to write Schlessinger, telling her, without rancor, how her words harm individuals and families. On her radio program Friday, Schlessinger responded, attacking GLAAD as having "misrepresented" her and characterizing the letter-writing campaign as part of a "three-point plot" to "deal" with her. "Changing hearts and minds is fundamental to GLAAD's mission," said GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry, who met with Schlessinger twice (most recently in March) to discuss her position related to lesbians and gay men. "Our meeting exposed how deep runs the schism of our ideologies. Through this campaign, we want Dr. Schlessinger to realize that her words and her rhetoric hurt real people." For more information, contact GLAAD Communications Director Stephen Spurgeon at (323) 658-6775, or via e-mail at spurgeon@glaad.org . RELIGIOUS ROUNDTABLE TO ADDRESS LESBIAN AND GAY SPIRITUALITY: Seeking to challenge the religious right's "narrow theology of exclusion," the National Religious Leadership Roundtable will convene August 23-24 in Colorado Springs. Co-sponsored by Equal Partners in Faith and the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), the semi-annual Roundtable gathers a national network of leaders of faith, spiritual and religious organizations who affirm gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. A free public forum, "Spirituality and Sexuality: In the Image of God," will be held in conjunction with the event. "We are coming to the religious right's front porch in Colorado Springs to tell the world that they do not speak for all people of faith," said Laura Montgomery-Rutt, national organizer for Equal Partners in Faith. "Across the country, millions of spiritual Americans now embrace the simple truth that their faith does not conflict with support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people." For more information, contact Rev. Steven Baines at Equal Partners in Faith, (202) 296-4672, and NGLTF Communications Director David Eliot at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3303. AMERICAN AIRLINES, U.S. AIRWAYS FOLLOW UNITED'S LEAD, OFFER DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS: On the heels of United Airlines' offer of equal domestic partner benefits to its lesbian and gay employees and their partners, American Airlines on August 5 and U.S. Airways on August 6 followed suit, offering packages of benefits to the partners of their lesbian and gay employees. "We are pleased to see U.S. Airways following the example of United and American," said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Education Director Kim I. Mills. "With unemployment running at a rock-bottom 4 percent, employers have discovered these benefits are a tool for attracting and keeping the best employees." For more information, contact American Airlines Spokesperson Tim Kincaid at (817) 967-1577, U.S. Airway's Corporate Communications Department at (703) 872-5100 and HRC Communications Director David Smith at (202) 628-4160. NEO-NAZI GROUP CANCELS D.C. MARCH; HUNDREDS TURN OUT FOR COUNTER-RALLY: A planned neo-Nazi march down Washington D.C.'s Pennsylvania Avenue evaporated Saturday when organizers from the South Carolina-based American Nationalist Party abruptly cancelled the planned rally, leaving the district with a nearly $1 million bill for a heightened police presence deployed for the event. A counter-rally at the Lincoln Memorial, co-sponsored by a broad-based coalition of cultural communities (see GLAADLines 08.02.99), was held as scheduled. "Thanks to the leadership of the NCCJ and the diverse sponsors and co-sponsors of the rally, we were able to take advantage of a potentially divisive situation and put forth instead a celebration of diversity and equality," said Cathy Renna, GLAAD's director of community relations. For further information, contact GLAAD Director of Community Relations Cathy Renna at (202) 986-1360. NEW JERSEY HIGH COURT: BOY SCOUTS CANNOT DISCRIMINATE: The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled August 4 that the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay members is illegal under New Jersey's anti-discrimination law. In its unanimous decision, the court ruled that the Boy Scouts, given its broad-based membership and partnerships with public entities and public service organizations, constitutes a "place of public accommodation," and thus acted unlawfully nine years ago when it expelled James Dale, an assistant scoutmaster, after leaders found out he was gay. "The highly respected New Jersey Supreme Court handed down a win-win-win ruling: a victory for an outstanding Eagle Scout; a victory for gay youth who should be included, not excluded, from scouting; and a victory for all members of scouting, who join because they value honesty, community service, self-reliance, and respect for others - not discrimination," said Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Attorney Evan Wolfson, who argued the case in January. For more information, contact Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund's Communications Director Peg Byron at (212) 809-8585. GLAAD is the nation's lesbian & gay multimedia advocacy organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe, contact Wonbo Woo at (212) 807-1700 or at woo@glaad.org . 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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 combating 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.