Date: Tue, 02 Jul 96 18:41:05 EST From: "Phil Attey" Subject: No Statewide Anti-Gay Ballot Initiatives To Appear In Nov. ______________________________________________________________________ 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 Tuesday, July 2, 1996 NO STATEWIDE ANTI-GAY BALLOT INITIATIVES TO APPEAR IN NOVEMBER HRC Proclaims Well-Deserved Death of Extremist Political Tactic WASHINGTON -- For the first time since 1992, no statewide anti-gay initiative will appear on the election ballot in any state, the Human Rights Campaign announced Tuesday after extremists in Idaho failed to qualify in that state. "This marks a political sea change, and the well-deserved death of an extremist tactic," said Cathy Woolard, HRC's national field manager. "We can now focus our resources pro-actively on electing fair-minded members of Congress and defeating our opponents." Statewide anti-gay ballot initiatives -- which would have overturned existing and prohibited future civil rights protection for lesbian and gay people -- have appeared on election ballots twice in Oregon, and once in Colorado, Idaho and Maine since 1992. Each statewide initiative has been defeated at the ballot box with the exception of Colorado's Amendment 2, which passed in 1992. In May, however, the U.S. Supreme Court found Amendment 2 unconstitutional because it denied gay men and lesbians equal protection under the law. After that important decision, the Supreme Court also asked a lower court in Ohio to re-examine an anti-gay ballot initiative passed in Cincinnati. "After losing at ballot boxes and now at the Supreme Court, anti-gay groups are shifting their focus to other venues, including state legislatures where they continue their political attacks against lesbian and gay lives," said Woolard. "Sadly, we must continue to defend ourselves as these groups try to deny us the liberties that most Americans can take for granted." HRC credited the diligent work of the Decline to Sign Campaign for helping to rebuff the Idaho ballot initiative. On Monday, the anti-gay Idaho Citizens Alliance announced that it was abandoning its drive, having submitted fewer than 6,000 of the 41,000 valid signatures it needed to qualify for the ballot by July 5. Earlier this year, the Oregon Citizens Alliance quit a similar anti-gay ballot initiative campaign in that state, citing the Supreme Court's decision as the reason. 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. - 30 -