From: [email-masked] Mon Apr 18 08:35:46 1994

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PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE

               THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND

The nation's largest lesbian, gay and bisexual political group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   CONTACT:  Gregory King
                                        (202) 628-4160 work
                                        (202) 547-4310 home

               HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND BEGINS NATIONAL
                  "DOCUMENTING DISCRIMINATION" PROJECT

     WASHINGTON, DC  (April 14, 1994)  In a major effort to
mobilize support for non-discrimination legislation, the Human
Rights Campaign Fund today announced plans to document cases of
discrimination based on sexual orientation.  The organization
will ask gay and lesbian individuals to participate in a program
called "Documenting Discrimination," an attempt to collect
information on anti-gay discrimination nationally.  The Campaign
Fund plans to present the individual stories of discrimination to
Congress when it considers legislation to protect lesbian and gay
Americans from discrimination.

     "We are asking everyone who has ever been discriminated
against to come forward and tell their story," said Tim McFeeley,
executive director of the Campaign Fund.  "We will distribute
documentation forms for people to fill out at lesbian and gay
pride events this summer, and will be mailing them to
organizations throughout the country."

     McFeeley said the project was launched to overcome two major
misconceptions confronting advocates of equal rights for gay
people.  "First, most Americans don't know that discrimination
against gay people is a serious problem.  Second, they mistakenly
believe we are already protected by current laws."  In fact,
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is legal in 42
of the 50 states.

     The Campaign Fund will work with other national
organizations to collect the information on discrimination.
Already, joint efforts are underway with the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force and with legal and civil rights groups.  "We
see this as a major effort that will require the participation of
individuals throughout the country.  If you or your friends have
a story to tell, we need to hear it," McFeeley said.

     Daniel Zingale, the Campaign Fund's Public Policy Director,
agreed.  "We need to collect the stories of people like Cheryl
Summerville, an outstanding employee who was fired from her job
at a Cracker Barrel restaurant.  She was left with no legal
recourse and no way to pay her mortgage, just because her
employer did not like the fact that she was a lesbian."

     Summerville's story is one of only a handful of
discrimination cases that have garnered media attention.  The
Campaign Fund hopes that other incidents can also attract
national attention.

     Zingale added that "Americans believe it's wrong to fire
someone for something not relevant to their job.  When Americans
see the evidence that gay people face this kind of unjust
discrimination, they will understand that what we are seeking is
equal rights.  We need to put a face on the actual cases of
legalized discrimination."

     People of all sexual orientations who wish to participate in
the documentation effort are encouraged to contact the Campaign
Fund's Public Policy Department at (202) 628-4160.

                                   - 30 -

         1012 14th Street, NW  Suite 607  Washington, DC  20005

               phone:(202)628-4160      fax:(202) 347-5323

---
RON BUCKMIRE, 11 Colvin Circle, Troy, NY 12180-3735. ``BOYCOTT CINCINATTI!''
"Seemingly, if one wished to promote family values, action would be taken that
is pro-family rather than anti some other group." H. Jeffrey Bayless, District
Court Judge, in _Evans_v_Romer, Colorado's Amendment 2 constitutionality case