Subject: HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE TO STAGE HEARING FOR ANTI-GAY ZEALOT
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 14:41:26 -0400

*****************************************************************
PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE            PRESS RELEASE

               THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND                    

 The Nation's Largest Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights Organization
*****************************************************************
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, August 31, 1995

         HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE TO STAGE HEARING FOR ANTI-GAY ZEALOT
                                    
    -- Lobbyist Who Advocates Concentration Camps for People With
       AIDS Is Promised Taxpayer-Funded Platform for Prejudice --

     Washington -- A radical right extremist who has called for
men, women and children with AIDS to be confined in concentration
camps has been promised a congressional hearing to air his
prejudices against gay and lesbian Americans, according to
information obtained by the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF). 
Lou Sheldon, lobbyist for the right-wing Traditional Values
Coalition, bragged in a recent fundraising letter that House
Speaker Newt Gingrich had delivered on a promise to hold a
taxpayer-funded hearing sought by Sheldon to single out gay and
lesbian youth for discrimination in schools.  After inquiries by
HRCF, staff of U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chair of the
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Economic
and Educational Opportunities Committee, confirmed that a hearing
would be staged for Sheldon on Tuesday, Sept. 12.  Democratic
committee staff had not been notified of the hearing as of
yesterday.

"I was so excited when I received the call informing me of the
hearing dates," Sheldon wrote in a letter seeking $25,000 in
donations to hire a public relations firm to promote the hearing.
In the letter, Sheldon took credit for "doing research" and
"calling across the country tracking information leads" on behalf
of the committee.  He also revealed his plans to use the hearing
to distort the purpose of local school programs developed by some
communities to prevent violence, discrimination, AIDS and
suicide.

"Sheldon's obsession is to dehumanize gay and lesbian young
people and promote discrimination.  Sadly, he is being provided
with a taxpayer-funded platform for his prejudice," said HRCF
Executive Director Elizabeth Birch.  "Parents and educators
should decide how best to address these issues in their local
communities, not the federal government.  Sheldon is pushing for
an unprecedented intrusion by the federal government into local
control of our public schools."

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Nov. 26,
1989, Sheldon called for men, women and children with HIV/AIDS to
be confined in concentration camps that he called "cities of
refuge."  In 1986 and 1988, he backed discriminatory anti-gay
initiatives sponsored by right-wing extremist Lyndon LaRouche. 
He failed to convince voters in California and other states to
pass ballot initiatives that would single out gay and lesbian
people for discrimination.

"The American people have repeatedly rejected Sheldon's extremist
agenda, but now he is being given free reign to promote
discrimination at taxpayer expense," Birch said.  "He is
shamelessly distorting the purpose of programs designed to keep
young people safe and healthy.  Congress should resist the
temptation to stage sideshows for right-wing lobbyists and get on
with the business of governing."

The subcommittee has no jurisdiction over the content of
curriculum and programs offered by local schools.  Traditionally,
local communities and state education boards set guidelines for
curriculum, counseling and instructional materials.  Some
communities have adopted modest programs to address an epidemic
of violence and discrimination against lesbian and gay youth in
schools.  Just yesterday, a coalition of government agencies and
community organizations in Seattle released a report detailing 27
bias-motivated attacks in area schools that ranged from name-
calling to rape and other violent assaults against young people
perceived to be gay.

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.

                             - 30 -

     1101 14th Street, NW  Suite 200  Washington, DC  20005      
          phone:(202)628-4160      fax:(202) 347-5323