Subject: Candace Gingrich to Appear Tonight on Friends!
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 11:02:31 -0500

_________________________________________________________________

NEWS from the
Human Rights Campaign

1101 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
email:  [email-masked]
WWW:    http://www.hrcusa.org
_________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 18, 1996

             CANDACE GINGRICH TO HEAD HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
                    1996 VOTER MOBILIZATION PROJECT 
                                    
                    HELP CANDACE WITH HER MISSION!  
                  FOR MORE DETAILS GO TO HRC'S WEBSITE
                         http://www.hrcusa.org.

Los Angeles -- The Human Rights Campaign announced here today
that Candace Gingrich, House Speaker Newt Gingrich's sister, will
spearhead the organization's voter mobilization project for the
1996 elections.  The announcement was made in conjunction with
several West Coast media appearances associated with Gingrich's
role in an episode of the hit NBC series "Friends," airing 8 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 18.

     "This election will determine the political direction of the
country into the next millennium," said Gingrich, who joined the
staff of the Human Rights Campaign last year. "If and only if we
organize for the challenges of the 1996 election can we turn the
country away from extremism and back toward the core American
values of fairness and equality."

     Last year, Gingrich toured 51 U.S. cities for the Human
Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project, which encourages
people to be open and honest about their sexual orientation.

     In announcing plans for the 1996 voter mobilization, Human
Rights Campaign Communications Director David M. Smith said that
Gingrich will tour the country again this year, urging people to
register to vote and stressing the importance of organizing to
get gay and other fair-minded people to the polls on Election
Day.

     "Only 39 percent of registered voters decided the 1994
elections, which resulted in a Congress that is largely
unfriendly to including gay people in basic protection from
discrimination," said Smith. "A key element of our 1996 work will 
be to raise awareness of issues important to lesbian, gay and
bisexual people in this campaign, and stress the importance of
getting involved with the campaigns of candidates who support
treating lesbian and gay people fairly."

     The voter mobilization project will include Gingrich's
speaking tour, a public education advertising campaign featuring
well-known lesbian and gay personalities and traditional
buttons and bumper stickers, which will debut in April 1996.

     In addition to the national voter mobilization project, the
Human Rights Campaign announced that it will be involved in more
than 150 congressional races -- both Democratic and Republican --
in more than 40 states, providing financial as well as technical
assistance.  HRC will also mount a special campaign in North
Carolina, as "retiring Jesse Helms will be a major priority in
1996," according to HRC Political Director Daniel Zingale. "At
every opportunity, Helms continues to use his Senate seat to
politically attack the lives lesbian and gay people."

     In conjunction with its Campaign  96 activities, HRC will
also sponsor a political convention on Aug. 16, 17, and 18 in
Chicago, between the Republican and Democratic National
Conventions.  HRC's convention will assist and train voters who
want to become active  in the political campaigns of fair-minded
candidates.

     "So much is at stake this election year," said Elizabeth
Birch, HRC's executive director.  "We will strategize, mobilize
and speak out. We will help mainstream America understand the
issues, and we'll work on critical campaigns to make sure
fair-minded candidates defeat those who discriminate. We must
ensure that America's vote delivers a fair-minded White House
and Congress in 1996."

     The Human Rights Campaign, the largest national lesbian and
gay political organization, with members throughout the country,
effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support, and
educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can
be open, honest, and safe at home, at work, and in the community.
                                                                     
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