Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1996 16:53:19 -0700 From: Jim Fagelson (by way of Jim Fagelson ) (by way of Jim Fagelson ) Subject: Parents Network June/July ** THE PARENT'S NETWORK ** Volume 2.2 Jun/Jul 1996 The PARENT'S NETWORK, a bimonthly service of the GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS COALITION INTERNATIONAL (GLPCI), highlights information of interest to lesbian mothers, gay fathers, their partners, children, future parents and persons who are supportive of gay and lesbian parenting. The Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition International, founded in the United States in 1979, is an international coalition of Gay Fathers, Lesbian Mothers, and Gay and Lesbian Parenting organizations in nine countries, with more than 100 chapters that advocate for the rights of gay men and lesbians to have, raise, nurture and love their biological or adoptive children. Dues range from $25 for an individual member, $10 per chapter member with a minimum of $50, to $100 for a cooperating organization. Our quarterly newsletter NETWORK is available by sending a request via E-mail to "glpcinat@ix.netcom.com" or by writing GLPCI, P.O. Box 50360, Washington, D.C. 20091. If you have received this in error, my apologies. If you know of people who would be interested in receiving the PARENT'S NETWORK, please have them send a subscription request to "glpcinat@ix.netcom.com" This issue of PARENT'S NETWORK is divided into the following categories: News from around the world News from the United States News on Same-Sex Marriage Resources for Lesbian, gay and Bisexual parents Interesting Web sites Quotes We appreciate your interest in GLPCI. Jim Fagelson Vice President ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IS THERE A GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS ORGANIZATION IN YOUR AREA? Lesbian mothers, gay fathers and bisexual parents are everywhere, and we need the support of other parents like ourselves. Our children need to know that they are not alone. If you don't have a parents' organization in your area, contact GLPCI. If you would like to host an organizational meeting in your area, let us know and we will help you get started. E-mail us at glpcinat@ix.netcom.com with your postal address and we will send you information on how to start a chapter. Let us hear from you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AUSTRALIA: (Wockner News Service) A gay man in Perth, Western Australia, who killed his lover received only a one-year sentence after invoking the so-called "battered wife," defense, reported the newspaper Brother Sister in April. The West Australia Supreme Court accepted that Robert Vaughan McEwan, 33, stabbed 47-year-old Thomas Hodgson 42 times as a result of Hodgson's abuse. It is believed to be the first such ruling in an Australian gay murder. AUSTRALIA: (Wockner News Service) In May gays in the Australian Capital Territory now have the same rights as heterosexuals when a partner dies, reported The Australian newspaper. "I believe this is the first law of its kind in Australia to give non-heterosexual partners a share of an intestate estate," said the territory's attorney general. "This government believes that any loving relationships should be recognized for the purposes of distribution after death, irrespective of the status or sexuality of the parties." The Capital Territory is similar to Washington, D.C. It consists of the city of Canberra and a large park. BRAZIL: (Wockner News Service) Gay registered-partnership legislation introduced by Federal Deputy Marta Suplicy in October 1995 is pending in Brazil's parliament. The bill is now being studied by the parliament's Social Security and Family Commission. It grants registered gay couples rights in such areas as inheritance, social security and immigration. CANADA: (Wockner News Service) In April, Glen Clark, premier (governor) of British Columbia indicated that he supported marriage by gays and lesbians when asked by the Vancouver gay newspaper Xtra! West. "I've never made any secret of it [my support], I'm surprised actually that the legislation is taking as long to catch up to that." CANADA: (Wockner News Service) Canada's House of Commons voted 153-76 May 9, 1996, to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation under the federal Human Rights Act. The Human Rights Act covers approximately 1 million employees of the federal government and federally regulated businesses such as banks, airlines, railways and broadcasters. Most Canadian provinces and territories already protect gays from discrimination. The four that do not are Alberta, Newfoundland, the Northwest Territories and Prince Edward Island. The gay protections were strongly endorsed by leaders of the Anglican Church and the United Church of Canada, the nation's largest denomination.Introducing the amendments, after years of delays, Justice Minister Allan Rock said he wanted "to ensure that gays and lesbians are afforded the same basic protection from discrimination as all other Canadians." CANADA: (Wockner News Service) Starting November 4, 1996, gay and lesbian couples in British Columbia will have the same adoption rights as heterosexuals, reported Xtra! West. The relevant amendments to the Adoption Act passed the provincial parliament last year but were not proclaimed until April 18, 1996. "This bill ... is now law," said Social Services Minister Joy MacPhail. ENGLAND (Wockner News Service) A gay person living in British public housing with his or her lover soon will be able to keep the apartment if the lover dies, London's Daily Telegraph reported April 25. Britain's housing minister has instructed local authorities to offer long-term gay couples joint tenancy liked married couples receive. FRANCE: (Wockner News Service) France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Sweden it cannot offer gay-marriage ceremonies at its embassy in Paris even though the building is legally Swedish territory. Sweden is one of three countries where gays can marry under registered-partnership laws that grant all the rights of regular marriage except access to church weddings, adoption and artificial-conception services. France based its decision on Article 5 of the Vienna Convention which permits countries to prohibit certain consular functions at embassies, according to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Many Swedes travel to Paris in the springtime to get married at the embassy. Since Sweden legalized gay marriage on Jan. 1, 1995, more than 400 same-sex couples have been married -- 75% of them male. GERMANY: (Wockner News Service) In April, the Lutheran Church of Hamburg, Germany, has blessed a gay couple for the first time. "All people are in need of a blessing," said Bishop Maria Jepsen after she met with the preacher who conducted the service. HONG KONG: (Wockner News Service) Hong Kong's Legislative Council is considering banning discrimination against gays and lesbians. A recent Council report, "Equal Opportunities: A Study on Discrimination on the Ground of Sexual Orientation," found that stigmatization of homosexuality is widespread and that discrimination exists in such areas as employment, housing and public services. The report concluded, however, that the rights of one group must be balanced against the rights of other groups. According to gay activists, this hints that the Council may be leaning toward education rather than legislation to improve gays' lot. HUNGARY: (Wockner News Service) A year ago, Hungary's Constitutional Court unexpectedly ordered the government to legalize common-law gay marriage by March 1996 -- and now parliament is set to do it, reports correspondent Sandor Borsos, a reporter with the Budapest gay magazine Masok. Common-law and formally married couples have the same rights in Hungary, and any couple that lives together permanently and has sex is considered married under common law. "It is arbitrary and contrary to human dignity ... that the law withholds recognition from couples living in an economic and emotional union simply because they are same-sex," the court ruled. The government recently gave its OK to legislation that will make the change and parliament's coalition parties have the necessary majority to pass the bill, Borsos said. ICELAND: (Wockner News Service) Following in the footsteps of its Scandinavian neighbors, Iceland will legalize marriage-like registered partnership for gays and lesbians by July 1, 1996, reports Samtokin '78, the island's main gay organization. As in Denmark, Greenland, Norway and Sweden, the partnerships will carry all the rights and responsibilities of marriage except access to church weddings, adoption, and in-vitro fertilization. Unlike in the other nations, Icelandic gay couples will be permitted joint custody of each other's biological children. Parliament also is expected to pass a measure banning defamation based on sexual orientation. NETHERLANDS: (Wockner News Service) By a vote of 81-60, the Dutch House of Representatives passed a resolution April 16 urging the government to legalize gay marriage. The government was asked to submit draft legislation to parliament by August 1, 1997. "There is no objective justification for the ban on marriage of couples of the same sex," the resolution stated. A second motion, which passed 83-58, endorsed equal adoption rights for homosexuals and single people, and instructed the government to look into the matter. NETHERLANDS: (Wockner News Service) Two Dutch lesbian couples lost adoption cases May 1, 1996. In one case, a woman sought to extend parental rights over her three children to her lover (second-parent adoption). In the other case, two women wanted to adopt each other's biological child. An Amsterdam court rejected the requests in order to await the outcome of the government's deliberations on legalization of gay adoption. On April 16, the House of Representatives endorsed equal adoption rights for homosexuals and instructed the government to look into the matter. NEW ZEALAND: (Wockner News Service) The three New Zealand lesbian couples demanding marriage licenses had their days in court April 24 and 26 and are awaiting a judge's decision. The Auckland High Court is expected to rule that the women were discriminated against on the basis of their sex and sexual orientation. The government is expected to launch an immediate appeal. New Zealand has a national law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the 1955 marriage act does not say spouses must be of opposite sexes. The government's lawyer argued that marriage is mainly for child-rearing and that any change in the rules should come from parliament not a court. The lesbians' attorney countered that the marriage act only prohibits marriages that would "damage the gene pool." SOUTH AFRICA: (Wockner News Service) As of May 8, 1996, South Africa's new constitution officially bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. Poland is the only other country where constitutional protections are seriously under consideration. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS FROM THE UNITED STATES CALIFORNIA: On May 20 the West Hollywood City Council formally adopted an ordinance expanding the city's Domestic Partnership Program. The city will recognize domestic partnerships performed by jurisdictions with domestic partnership ordinances comparable to its own. West Hollywood is also the first city to offer domestic partnership registration via the Internet at: http://www.ci.west-hollywood.ca.us/city hall/ CONNECTICUT: On the heels of the US Supreme Court decision striking down Colorado's Amendment 2, comes word that a Connecticut court has approved a second parent adoption for a Lesbian couple in the South East area of the state. The women, a couple for over 10 years, are now able to adopt their daughter, who was concieved through alternative insemination. Previously a probate judge had denied the non biological mother to adopt. IOWA: The Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association has given their "Foster Parents of the Year" award to Gair Bridges and Ron Travis, a gay couple, prompting criticism from people who believe homosexuals should not qualify to be foster or adoptive parents. The couple has provided foster parents to 13 children since 1989, including one they adopted two years ago. The award shows that the state Department of Human Services does not consider sexual orientation before it places children in foster homes. Travis and Bridges have been together for 26 years. Marvin Fernau Jr., President of the association, said Bridges and Travis were nominated by their 17-year-old foster son and selected by a committee. Bridges and Travis have taken in foster children from ages 2 to 18 years old, all of whom have been diagnosed with behavioral problems such as attention deficit disorder. MISSOURI: A major court decision released May 9, gave joint custody of a child to the non-biological mother who had jointly raised the child while in a lesbian relationship. Upon their break up and the biological parent had had primary care of the child. The lesbian co-parent now gets equal physical custody and a say in major decisions effecting the child. NEW HAMPSHIRE: In the April 29, edition of Time Magazine, Rev. Lou Sheldon, head of the California-based Traditional Values Coalition, boasted that he had convinced the Merrimack, NH School Board to pass Policy 6540, the most severely restrictive anti-gay policy in the country. It is identical to the failed Smith-Helms amendment to the Education Funding Act of 1994, which Sheldon claims to have written and sent to Senators Bob Smith (R-NH) and Jesse Helms (R-NC). Sheldon confirmed and extended his statements in an interview with the Nashua Telegraph for the Associated Press on April 25, 1996. NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Merrimack School Board voted May 6, to lift a ban on classroom discussions of homosexuality (Policy 6540), then replaced it with a another ban on activities that promote sexual activity and orientation. ``We did not have a problem in the Merrimack School District before the policy,'' said School Board Chairman Kenneth Coleman, who had opposed the district's homosexuality policy as divisive and unfair. The board voted 3-2 to rescind the policy that prohibited schools from portraying homosexuality in a positive light. The board's conservative members, Virginia Twardosky and Shelly Uscinski, opposed the move. The board then split similarly on a new policy that forbids schools from supporting activities that further sexual activity or orientation. Coleman, vice chairman Brenda Grady and member Rosemarie Rung voted to support it, Twardosky and Uscinski voted against it. PENNSYLVANIA: HB 2105 (Pennsylvania Parental Rights Act) will be up for a vote in the Pennsylvania House in June. HB 2105 is favored by the hard right. Control is shifted not to the local community but to individual parents. Rohrer boasts that HB 2105 is the first of its kind and focuses strictly on the issue of parental control." On the national level, Rep. Steve Largent, R-Okla., recently named vice chairman of Of the People, and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, are sponsoring legislation, the Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act (HR1496) which "affirms the legal rights of parents in rearing their children, especially in the areas of education, medical treatment, discipline, and religious training". The "Parental Rights and Responsibilities" Act, part of the Christian Coalition's Contract with the American Family, states that no federal, state or local government "shall interfere with or usurp the right of a parent to direct the upbringing of the child of the parent." Issues surrounding education, health and mental health, discipline, and religious teaching are only some of the areas in which suits could be brought against a government entity or government employee. UTAH: Utah's new anti-gay school clubs law encountered additional resistance when Gary Remafedi, a University of Minnesota pediatrics professor whose research was cited to buttress the law, claims legislators grossly distorted his findings. Contrary to the intent language, Remafedi says stigmatized gay teens could benefit from the kinds of school clubs Utah legislators have outlawed. Attorney General Hilton had attributed to Remafedi such claims as: It is dangerous for teens to admit their homosexuality because gay teens are more likely to attempt suicide. Remafedi's clarification will help discredit -- in court -- Utah's response to the 1984 Equal Access Act. Intent language behind the state law is designed to prove that school districts are protecting the well-being of students and faculty by banning clubs that might ``lead to damage or harm.'' Hilton implies that clubs harm students by encouraging them to acknowledge or accept their homosexuality. WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Supreme Court on May 20, 1996, ruled that Amendment 2, the Colorado amendment passed in 1992, that makes it illegal to enact any law protecting lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from discrimination in the state, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. In the face of the ruling, gay civil rights activists expect radical conservatives, who have spearheaded the move toward passing local anti-gay legislation nationwide, to pursue a new course of action that will meet the test set by the high court. The Court said that there are at last two reasons why this kind of anti-gay discrimination flunks the constitutional requirement of equal protection: (1) the Court said the amendment's breadth shows it is motivated solely by anti-gay prejudice, discomfort, dislike, and "animus" -- and cannot show even a "rational relationship to legitimate state interests." (2) the Court said that the sheer breadth of the amendment ("it identifies persons by a single trait, and then denies them protection across the board") make it impossible for the usual "link between classificaton and objective"; in other words, denying gay people (or relationships) equal protection across the board fails to meet a legitimate government purpose. "We must conclude that Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals not to further a proper legislative end but to make them unequal to everyone else," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court. ``This Colorado cannot do. A state cannot so deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws.'' Joining Kennedy's majority opinion were Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer. Justice Antonin Scalia was joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justice Clarence Thomas in their dissent. WASHINGTON, D.C.: On the new challenges front, The Defense of Marriage Act (H.R. 3396) was introduced May 7, 1996, in the House and on May 8, 1996, in the Senate. Acting at the request of religious-political extremist groups, Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) with seven cosponsors: Largent (R-OK), Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Myrick (R-NC), Volkmer (D-MO), Skelton (D-MO), Byrant (R-TN), and Emerson (R-MO) introduced a bill that would insert the federal government into decisions about marriage, an area traditionally left to the states and to individual couples. Senators Don Nickles (R-OK), and Robert Dole (R-KS), co-sponsored the Senate version (S.1740). The bill's sponsors seek to codify discrimination against lesbian and gay couples and rewrite a federal law first adopted in 1789, in order to permit states to single out lawfully-married gay couples. "Marriage," it says, "means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife." Same-sex unions could not be marriages, according to this act. Nowhere in the Constitution is there authority for Congress to define or qualify what a marriage is. The Constitution does not mention marriage. It delegates no powers in this area. Marriage does not fall under the Commerce Clause. Marriage is traditionally a state function. Article IV, section 1, of the Constitution ensures that "full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State." The intent of this article was to unify a nation of separate states and to help hold that union together. It simply means that each state must honor and respect the laws of other states. WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Clinton on May 13, stated that he is against same-sex marriages, but added that he would have to look carefully at the legislation that's under consideration in the Congress. The President stated that he believes this is a time when we need to do things to strengthen the American family, and that is why he current favors the concept stated within the "Defense of Marriage Act". In a press briefing the next day, Mr. McCurry, Press Secretary, elaborated that they are still going to look at that legislation. "Let me just point out on that the legislation involves a court ruling in Hawaii. The court has referred back to lower courts for further adjudication the question of how you would recognize same-sex unions. The President just believes that's wrong. He doesn't believe in same-sex marriage." He added that " it's hard to see why they need this legislation at this point because there's no compelling argument right now that that -- there's no statute pending in Hawaii, so it's something that's going to clearly be adjudicated in lower courts. There's a sense here that what is driving the public debate on this issue is an attempt by some in Congress to force this as a wedge issue. And the President, frankly, wishes that we would do a little more to bring Americans together and not hold out any community for punitive action." --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGES Currently three countries -- Denmark/Greenland, Norway and Sweden -- let gays marry via registered-partnership laws that withhold only the rights to church weddings, adoption and invitro fertilization. Iceland is expected to follow shortly with the same restrictions. Holland's parliament recently urged the government to legalize full gay marriage. Hungary has allowed same-sex couples to be recognized as married uder their common law statue. The U.S. State of Hawaii is expected to legalize authentic gay marriage in the next year or so. And scores of cities in the U.S. and Europe register gay couples as domestic partners, however, those registrations confer few legal rights. PENDING ANTI-MARRIAGE BILLS (1996): CA, DE, IL, MI, MO, NY, PA, (7) ANTI-MARRIAGE BILLS DEFEATED, WITHDRAWN, OR KILLED (1996): AL, CO, FL, HI, IA, KY, ME, MD, MN, MS, NM, RI, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY (17) ANTI-MARRIAGE BILLS ADOPTED; LITIGATION TO FOLLOW UNLESS REPEALED: AK, AZ, GA, ID, KS, OK, SC, SD, TN, UT(in 1995) (10) If you would like to go on record supporting the Freedom to Marry, sign the following resolution endorced by GLPCI and drafted by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and send it to the address below: BECAUSE marriage is a basic human right and an individual personal choice, RESOLVED, the State should not interfere with same-gender couples who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of civil marriage. Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund 666 Broadway, 12th Floor New York, NY 10012 212-995-8585 (voice) 212-995-2306 (fax) ewlldef@aol.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RESOURCES FOR THE LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL PARENTS COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) will be coordinating the San Francisco Bay Area tour of the photo-text exhibit "Love Makes a Family" from June 5-November 30, 1996. For information on bringing this exhibit to a Bay Area location near you, contact Denise Connett at COLAGE, 415-861-5437. VIDEO: A video is available to teach elementary school children about homophobia and how anti-gay remarks hurt the other children in their school. "Both of My Moms' Names Are Judy" is a 10-minute video produced by the Lesbian and Gay Parents Association of San Francisco and GLPCI as part of an in-service training program for elementary school educators and administrators. It presents a diverse group of children (ages 7-11) who have lesbian and gay parents. In candid interviews, they talk about who is in their family, how it feels to be teased about their parents, how classroom silence about homosexuality affects them, and what they would like to see changed. The video and a complete set of training materials can be ordered from the GLPCI Video, P.O. Box 43206, Montclair, NJ 070431, 201-783-6204 (voice or fax). The cost of the video and training manual is $25.00 for an individual and $50.00 for an institution. VIDEO: "It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School" A New Film by Debra Chasnoff and Helen Cohen. "School boards across the country have been banning discussion of lesbian and gay people in the classroom based on misinformation from anti-gay activists," said San Francisco Board of Education President Steve Phillips. "This film puts a human face on classroom discussions that are crucial to preparing our children for the diverse communities of the 1990s." GLPCI consulted during the filming of the video. "It's Elementary" was shot in six public and private schools around the country. "It's Elementary" is Debra Chasnoff's first film since "Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and our Environment", for which she won a 1992 Academy Award. The documentary explores what happens when teachers find creative, appropriate ways to confront anti-gay prejudice and counter gay invisibility in their classrooms. EXHIBIT: "Love Makes a Family: Living in Lesbian and Gay Families," includes 20 photographs by Gigi Kaeser of Amherst with text based on interviews conducted by Pam Brown of Amherst and Peggy Gillespie of Belchertown. (Six copies of the exhibit are currently traveling around to universities, churches, synagogues, public libraries, community centers and schools around the United States). Contact FamPhoto@aol.com for more information. PUBLICATIONS: The American Psychological Association has published a booklet entitled "Lesbian and Gay Parenting: A Resource for Psychologists." It is available free of charge. Call (202) 336-6050 or E-mail publicinterest@apa.org to receive a copy. BISEXUALITY: The Psychology and Politics of an Invisible Minority edited by BETH A. FIRESTEIN, Counseling Center, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale Presenting a state-of-the art glimpse of what is known and what remains to be known about bisexuality, editor Beth A. Firestein gathers together an impressive group of researchers, activists, educators, theorists, and clinicians to offer insight into this understudied sexual orientation. Bisexuality makes accurate, high-quality information about the subject available to professionals and students in lesbian/gay studies, gender studies, sociology, family studies, and human sexuality. The volume also brings current clinical perspectives together in a user-friendly volume for practitioners in social work and clinical/counseling psychology. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERESTING WEB SITES GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS COALITION INTERNATIONAL: The web site offers numerous resources including: statistics on gay and lesbian parents, a bibliography of resources, extensive information on the organization, information on Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) and links too over a dozen international gay and lesbian web sites around the world. The GLPCI Home Page can be found at the following address: http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/orgs/glpci/home.htm GLPCI can be contacted at: GLPCI, P.O. Box 50360, Washington, D.C., 20091 Phone: (201) 783-6204 E-mail: glpcinat@ix.netcom.com PFLAG is officially launching its area on the World Wide Web June 7, 1996. PFLAG's address on the Web is http://www.pflag.org. PFLAG's home page offers complete chapter information for any state in the country as well as information about international affiliates. A new resource for children coping with grief or life-threatening disease is available at Granny Goose: http://www.grannyg.bc.ca/ckidbook/grief.html It contains the titles, authors and capsule summaries of books helping children understand and come to terms with the death of a loved one, serious illness, or other major life traumas. SCHOOLS LIST: To subscribe send mail to: majordomo@mtcc.com with the words (minus the quotation marks) "subscribe schools" Bisexual/Straight Spouse Support mailing lists: To subscribe send mail to: majordomo@texsys.com The first (not subject) line of the message should be "subscribe spouse-support". INFORMATION RESOURCES: congress@hr.house.gov Members and committees househlp@hr.house.gov Additional info available comments@hr.house.gov Comment about House E MAIL. gopher.house.gov House of Rep. Gopher Server http://www.house.gov House World Wide Web Site http://thomas.loc.gov Library of Congress Web Site http://www.fedworld.gov Government databases http://www.whitehouse.gov White House Web Site president@whitehouse.gov President Bill Clinton's EMAIL vice.president@whitehouse.gov Vice President Al Gore's EMAIL georgia6@hr.house.gov Speaker Newt Gingrich's EMAIL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTES "Vicious actions are not hurtful because they are forbidden, but forbidden because they are hurtful, the nature of man alone considered." (Benjamin Franklin) "There will be no satanic churches, no more free distribution of pornography, no more abortion on demand, no more talk of rights for homosexuals. When the Christian majority takes control, pluralism will be seen as evil and the state will not allow anybody the right to practice evil." (Gary Potter, Catholics for Christian Political Action) "What I am recommending you do today is take action AGAINST the radical homosexual leadership which FALSELY promotes homosexual activity as being moral, normal and healthy. That is a lie! For the sake of our children and society, we must OPPOSE the spread of homosexual activity! Just as we must oppose murder, stealing and adultery!.... Since homosexuals cannot reproduce, the only way for them to "breed" is to RECRUIT! And who are their targets for recruitment? CHILDREN!.... That's why they push homosexuality on network TV! That's why they push homosexuality in our schools! That's why they force the government to "protect" them!.... THEY WANT TO FORCE THEIR PERVERSE LIFESTYLE ON OUR CHILDREN!" (Donald E. Wildmon, American Family Association "Action! Page," April 1996)