From: HRCFCOMM@aol.com Date: Thu, 8 Jun 1995 13:24:28 -0400 Subject: CLINTON ADMINISTRATION REFUSES TO WEIGH IN ON COLORADO AMENDMENT 2 ***************************************************************** PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND The Nation's Largest Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Political Group ***************************************************************** 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. ***************************************************************** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1995 CLINTON ADMINISTRATION REFUSES TO WEIGH IN WITH SUPREME COURT AGAINST COLORADO'S ANTI-GAY AMENDMENT TWO WASHINGTON -- The Clinton Administration has refused to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Colorado's anti-gay Amendment 2 as the high court prepares to decide on the constitutionality of the discriminatory measure. The Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF) and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation's leading civil rights coalition, had requested that the Administration file a friend-of-the-court brief calling on the Supreme Court to overturn Amendment 2. "This was a bad legal and political decision," said HRCF Executive Director Elizabeth Birch. "Staying silent in this case gives aid and comfort to extremists who wouldn't support the President under any circumstances, and gravely disappoints fair- minded Americans. Most people support equal rights for lesbian and gay people and oppose the kind of discrimination embodied in Amendment 2." Amendment 2 is the only statewide anti-gay measure passed by voters. Last year, voters in Idaho and Oregon defeated anti-gay initiatives in the midst of the Republican sweep. The 1992 Colorado measure would overturn local laws prohibiting discrimination and prevent state and local governments from passing similar laws in the future. Colorado's Supreme Court last year struck down Amendment 2 as unconstitutional, declaring that the measure denied supporters of equal rights for lesbian and gay people the basic right to participate in the democratic process. "The issue before the court is one of fundamental fairness, and whether any group of Americans should be denied access to the democratic process," Birch said. "The federal government has a clear interest in standing up for these fundamental principles. We are extremely disappointed in this decision, but in the end the Supreme Court will decide on the merits of the case." HRCF was the largest single financial contributor to the legal challenge against Amendment 2. The nation's largest lesbian and gay political organization, HRCF works to end discrimination, secure equal rights, and protect the health and safety of all Americans. - 30 - 1101 14th Street, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 phone:(202)628-4160 fax:(202) 347-5323