Date: Mon, 13 Jun 94 18:23:00 -0400 Eastern From: phil.attey@glib.org PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND The nation's largest lesbian, gay and bisexual political group BIPARTISAN MAJORITY OF U.S. SENATORS BAN JOB DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN THEIR OFFICES 24 Republicans and 47 Democrats Agree: No Anti-Gay Job Bias on Staff WASHINGTON -- 71 U.S. Senators, including majorities within both political parties, have offered written confirmation that they do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in the employment practices of their Senate offices. The list of Senators with confirmed nondiscrimination policies was released today at a Capitol Hill news conference by the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF), the nation's largest lesbian and gay equal rights organization. A majority of Senators, including 24 Republicans and 47 Democrats, signed a statement or otherwise documented that "the sexual orientation of an individual is not a consideration in the hiring, promoting, or terminating of an employee" in their Congressional offices. Among those who signed the statement were Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-Maine), Senators from 42 of the 50 states, and a majority of Senate Republicans. No federal law currently protects Americans from job discrimination based on sexual orientation. Only eight states and the District of Columbia prohibit job discrimination against gay people, and no law prohibits such discrimination in the staffing of Congressional offices. "Lesbian and gay Americans experience job discrimination every day, and no federal law protects them. We are encouraged that these Senators have voluntarily decided to set an example of fairness in their offices," said HRCF Executive Director Tim McFeeley. "These 71 Senators rarely agree on anything, and they certainly don't all share the same beliefs about gay people. But despite their sincere differences, they are united in the belief that all of their employees should be treated fairly, based on job-related merit, not sexual orientation." National polls show that, while a large majority of Americans favors equal job rights for gay people, they remain unaware that federal law does not protect people from job discrimination based on sexual orientation. "Most Americans oppose job discrimination against gay people, but they don't know that gay people do not have equal rights under current law. Many Americans mistakenly believe that we are seeking some sort of 'special rights.' We are not. We oppose special rights. We seek only equal rights under the law -- nothing more, nothing less. Americans believe that it's wrong to fire workers for reasons not relevant to their job-related abilities," McFeeley said. HRCF sought the statements from all members of both houses of Congress after three Oklahoma Congressmen declared last October that they would refuse to hire qualified job applicants whom they knew to be gay. A list of non-discriminating Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, a majority now totalling 234, was released in February. Only eight states and the District of Columbia currently prohibit job discrimination against gay people: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin. - 30 - 1012 14th Street, NW Suite 607 Washington, DC 20005 phone:(202)628-4160 fax:(202) 347-5323