Subject: ENDA REINTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 1995 17:02:09 -0400

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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   
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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 
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1995

          MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, GAY FAMILY MEMBERS AND VICTIMS OF
       ANTI-GAY DISCRIMINATION MEET AT U.S. CAPITOL IN SUPPORT OF
                     EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT

             ENDA Introduced in Republican-Controlled Congress
                       With Record Bipartisan Support:

                   148 Original Cosponsors Launch Bill to
                          Prohibit Job Discrimination

     WASHINGTON -- Gay and lesbian relatives of Members of
Congress joined victims of anti-gay job discrimination and
Congressional sponsors of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
(ENDA) at a Capitol press conference today reintroducing the
landmark legislation.  ENDA would prohibit job discrimination
based on sexual orientation.  Currently, no federal law protects
people from being fired, refused work or otherwise discriminated
against merely for being lesbian or gay.  

     "Hard-working people across this nation are fired, refused
work and treated unfairly simply because they are gay -- and have
no federal law to turn to for justice," said Elizabeth Birch,
executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF), the
nation's largest lesbian and gay political organization.  HRCF
organized today's event along with the lead Congressional
sponsors of the bill.  "We look forward to a day when all
Americans are judged in the workplace not by who they are, but by
how well they do their jobs.  ENDA would simply ensure that no
one loses their job for a reason wholly unrelated to their skills
or job performance."

     Joining Birch at today's press conference in the Capitol
were gay and lesbian family members of U.S. Senators and
Representatives, including:  John Bennett, nephew of  Sen. Robert
Bennett (R-Utah); Chastity Bono, daughter of  Rep. Sonny Bono
(R-Calif.); Sandy DeWine, cousin of  Sen. Michael DeWine
(R-Ohio); Candace Gingrich, sister of House Speaker Newt Gingrich
(R-Ga.) and Julie Pell, daughter of Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.).

     "Anti-gay discrimination can touch any family in America,"
Birch said.  "As gay and lesbian people come out in their own way
and educate their families, friends and coworkers, our movement
for equality makes enormous strides forward."

     The lead sponsors of ENDA in the 104th Congress are:   Sen.
James Jeffords (R-Vt.), Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Rep. Connie
Morella (R-Md.), Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Rep. Gerry Studds
(D-Mass.) and Rep. Peter Torkildsen (R-Mass.).  Richard Womack,
acting executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights, the nation's leading civil rights coalition, pledged the
group's support for ENDA in remarks at today's press conference.

     Gay and lesbian people who have been fired, harassed,
demoted and otherwise discriminated against in the workplace
participated in today's event.  Speaking about their personal
experiences with discrimination were Ernest Dillon, a postal
worker from Detroit; Michael Engler, a stock broker from
Baltimore; Angela  Romero, a police officer from Denver; and
Jesse Shaw, a former social worker from Jackson, Miss.   HRCF
today released a new publication highlighting their stories and
similar cases from across the nation.

      "Gay and lesbian Americans simply want to do their jobs,
pay their taxes and contribute to their communities without
living in fear of discrimination," Birch said.  "When Americans
understand that the discrimination gay people face is both
widespread and legal, they support the fundamental values
embodied in ENDA."

     At the time of the press conference, ENDA had already won
more original cosponsors in the 104th Congress than it had when
it was introduced last year.  So far, the bill has 148 in the
104th Congress, compared to 138 when it was first introduced in
June 1994.

     A post-election poll of people who voted in the November
1994 election found that more than 70 percent supported equal
rights in the workplace for lesbian and gay Americans.  The
number included 64 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of
Independents and 77 percent of Democrats.  The poll of 800
voters, conducted by Lake Research, Inc., had a margin of error
of +\- 3.5 percent.

     "ENDA's support remains strong in Congress, and polls show
that majorities of voters of every political stripe favor equal
rights in the workplace for lesbian and gay Americans," Birch
said.  "America is way ahead of Congress on the fair treatment of
lesbian and gay citizens.  It's time that Congress caught up."

     The Human Rights Campaign Fund, 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 HIV/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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          phone:(202)628-4160      fax:(202) 347-5323