Date: Wed, 23 Jul 97 17:30:41 EDT From: "communications" Subject: HRC Release: Anti-Gay Groups Step Up Attack on Disney ________________________________________________________ NEWS from the Human Rights Campaign 1101 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 email: hrc@hrc.org WWW: http://www.hrc.org ________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, July 23, 1997 ANTI-GAY GROUPS STEP UP ATTACK ON DISNEY'S FAIR-MINDED POLICIES Extremists 'Promoting Discrimination in the Trappings of Faith,' HRC Says WASHINGTON -- A coalition of anti-gay political groups today stepped up their attack on the Walt Disney Company because the family entertainment giant continues refusing their demands to discriminate against gay people. "These groups are promoting discrimination in the trappings of faith," said David M. Smith, communications director and senior strategist for the Human Rights Campaign. "Fortunately, both Disney and most Americans understand that faith, family and fairness go together, and that it is wrong to punish a company simply for treating people fairly." Spokespeople from the anti-gay Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council said that they and representatives from other groups had been scheduled to meet with an official from Disney this morning. At a news conference after the meeting was supposed to have occurred, they blasted the company, claiming that a subordinate had been sent to the meeting in place of the official that had originally been scheduled. Concerned Women for America released a paper at the news conference in which it attempted to draw a parallel between Disney and Hitler. Today's stepped-up attack on Disney came in the wake of last month's vote by the Southern Baptist Convention to boycott the company. On June 18 at its annual meeting in Dallas, the Southern Baptist Convention called for a nationwide anti-gay boycott of Disney and all its subsidiaries. Among the factors contributing to that decision were Disney's willingness to allow gay people to visit its theme parks, its policy of extending equal benefits to the domestic partners of its gay and lesbian employees, and its decision to allow the star of its ABC sitcom Ellen to become the first lead character on network television to honestly acknowledge being gay. In response to the Southern Baptist Convention's vote to boycott Disney, HRC launched a drive encouraging members and supporters to purchase Disney gift certificates and donate them to children in hospitals across the country. With the help of a special $5,000 contribution, HRC kicked off the effort June 26 by donating hundreds of Disney stuffed animal toys to children in four Washington-area hospitals. "Our members wanted to do something positive to help families with children in need, while at the same time showing our support for Disney's fair-minded policies," said Smith, noting that HRC is continuing to encourage such donations to hospitals throughout the nation. A recent Newsweek poll suggests that most Americans disagree with the Southern Baptist Convention's decision, with fewer than one in five people saying that their families would go along with the boycott. The telephone poll of 753 adults was conducted June 19-20 by Princeton Research Associates and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. Smith also pointed to another recent poll showing that 70 percent of Christians believe gay and lesbian people should be protected from discrimination in the workplace, compared to 23 percent who don't. Sixty percent of evangelicals share this belief, while 34 percent do not. Those polling results come from a national survey of 1,007 voters conducted Nov. 5-8, 1996, for the Human Rights Campaign by Greenberg Research Inc. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent. 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 -