From: Hrccomm@aol.com
Date: Mon, 3 Jun 1996 12:04:57 -0400
Subject: Candace Gingrich Responds To Newt's 'Posturing' on Same-Sex Marriage

________________________________________________________

NEWS from the
Human Rights Campaign

1101 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
email:  communications@hrcusa.org
WWW:    http://www.hrcusa.org
________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 3, 1996
                                
                              NEWT GINGRICH  'POSTURING'
                    ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, SISTER SAYS 

       Such Marriages are Years Away, Candace Gingrich Notes

             (Send Newt a message through HRC's fast and easy
                   Online Action Center:  http://www.hrcusa.org)

WASHINGTON -- Candace Gingrich, lesbian sister of House Speaker Newt
Gingrich, said today she is dismayed that her brother said he would not
attend her wedding, and called his statement political posturing.

     "My brother's remark is premature, much like the introduction of the
so-called  Defense of Marriage Act' in Congress," said Candace Gingrich, a
spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national lesbian and
gay political organization. "I have not even begun considering having a
ceremony and making that kind of commitment in my life, so for him to make a
snap decision is just wrong. But when that day comes, I will invite him and I
hope that he will reconsider and attend."

     Newt Gingrich, appearing Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he would
not attend his sister's wedding because "I wouldn't regard it as a marriage."
He said he believed marriage "is between a man and a woman."

      "There is no state in the union where I can get married, so for him to
make a statement like that is just political posturing," Candace Gingrich
said.

     She pointed out that only one state, Hawaii, is considering legalizing
same-sex marriage, but that decision is at least two years away. In the
meantime, the House is acting with astonishing speed on the "Defense of
Marriage Act," which would allow states to ignore same-sex marriages
performed in other states. An identical bill has been introduced in the
Senate.

     Candace Gingrich said she hopes that her brother "would value my
relationship in the same way that I value his relationship with his wife,
Marianne, and that we value the relationship between my mother and father."

     The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay
political organization, with members throughout the country. It 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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