From: "Rodney Hoffman" <rodney@oxy.edu>
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 95 14:34:34 PST
Subject: "Bill of Wrongs"

[By request, from a few years ago:]

From Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) / Los Angeles:

On December 15, 1991, America will celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the 
Bill of Rights.

As lesbian and gay Americans, we are taking this occasion to remind our 
fellow citizens that many of us live under a "Bill of Wrongs". Lesbians 
and gay menare denied fundamental rights solely on the basis of sexual 
orientation. In acountry founded on equality and freedom, lesbians and 
gay men are treated asinherently unequal.

Gay men and women face the following forms of legalized discrimination,
amounting to a Bill of Wrongs:

  *  First: Lesbians and gay men shall be subject to discrimination
     in hiring, promotion and other aspects of employment.

  *  Second: Lesbians and gay men shall be subject to discrimination
     in housing.

  *  Third: Lesbians and gay men shall not be permitted to protect
     their country by serving in the nation's armed forces.

  *  Fourth: Lesbians and gay men shall be denied the right to marry
     or to have their committed relationships lawfully recognized.

  *  Fifth: Lesbians and gay men shall be denied the right to adopt and
     retain custody of their children to the same extent as heterosexuals.

  *  Sixth: Lesbians and gay men shall not be permitted to protect their
     committed partners under employee health insurance plans, and shall
     be denied tax benefits taken for granted by married heterosexual couples.

  *  Seventh: Lesbians and gay men shall be discriminated against, and their
     committed relationships shall not be recognized, for purposes of
     immigration into these United States.

  *  Eighth: Artistic expressions by gay and lesbian artists shall be
     denied the support of public bodies and governmental institutions.

  *  Ninth: Lesbians and gay men shall be denied the right of privacy,
     and shall be subject to discriminatory treatment under state law.

  *  Tenth: Lesbians and gay men shall not be entitled to live freely and
     openly to the same extent as other citizens, but shall lawfully be
     subjected to abuse, harassment and threats of violence from anti-gay
     groups, public officials, and private individuals.

All citizens deserve to be treated equally - with equal respect, dignity and
freedom from arbitrary discrimination. Lesbians and gay men deserve the same
basic rights - to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - as other
Americans. No one should be made to suffer based on sexual orientation.

We call on all who believe in liberty and justice for all to help right this
Bill of Wrongs.