From: HRCFCOMM@aol.com
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 1995 19:01:44 -0400
Subject: Elizabeth Birch Delivers "Open Letter" address at Christian Coalition Conference

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PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE

               THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND                    

 The Nation's Largest Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights Organization
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To contact the HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND, please call us at     
(202)628-4160, fax us at (202) 347-5323 or write to us at PO Box 
1396  Washington, DC  20013.  
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, September 8, 1995
                                    
      HEAD OF NATIONAL GAY POLITICAL GROUP DELIVERS "OPEN LETTER"
                ADDRESS AT CHRISTIAN COALITION CONFERENCE
                                    
 -- Elizabeth Birch Calls for New Ethic of Respect and Decency --

     Washington -- Some members of Pat Robertson's Christian
Coalition today joined with progressive clergy and other
supporters of lesbian and gay equal rights to hear a speech by
Human Rights Campaign Fund Executive Director Elizabeth Birch
during the group's annual "Road to Victory" conference at the
Washington Hilton.   More than 300 people crowded into a ballroom
to hear the head of the largest national lesbian and gay
organization deliver an address in the form of an "open letter"
to Christian Coalition members.  The speech was held next to a
Gramm for President luncheon, and just down the hall from the
conference's main ballroom where most of the 1996 GOP
presidential hopefuls were addressing the two-day gathering.

In the 20-minute address during the lunch break of the
conference, Birch called for a new ethic in the public dialog. 
"We may work for different outcomes..., but we can engage in an
ethic of basic respect and decency."

Birch s speech was delivered despite being rebuffed by a
Coalition spokesman after formally requesting to speak at the
Conference.  I have had the opportunity to meet thousands of
individuals from all walks of life who have grave concerns about
misconceptions put forth by representatives of the Christian
Coalition when addressing the hopes, dreams and aspirations of
lesbian and gay Americans and their families,  Birch wrote in a
July 5 letter to Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph
Reed.  I believe that it is time to address our differences face
to face,  she wrote.

When the formal request was turned down, Birch decided to reserve
a room in the same hotel that would host the conference, to
deliver her message directly to Christian Coalition members.
"Although your podium was not available to me, I am grateful for
those who have come today and will give me the 'benefit of the
doubt' and be willing to consider what I have to say."

The Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF), the nation's largest
lesbian and gay political organization, works to end
discrimination, secure equal rights, and protect the health and
safety of all Americans.  With a national staff, and volunteers
and members throughout the country, HRCF lobbies the federal
government on lesbian, gay, and AIDS issues; educates the general
public; participates in election campaigns; organizes volunteers;
and provides expertise and training at the state and local level.


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