Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 12:47:45 -0400 (EDT) From: A Jay Eddy Subject: Please HELP distribute this WIDELY!!!!! (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 08:44:17 -0400 From:TBCOUNTS@aol.com Attached please find a letter that I wrote to Barbara Jackson, the ED of the Texas Republican Party. PLEASE HELP! I want her BURIED in fax paper (and phone calls) by midafternoon. Please distribute this messege widely and encourage others to write to her as well. I have also attached the press release for some background info on what is quickly becoming a media feeding frenzy here in Texas. VTY, Tirey *************************************************** 28 May 1996 Barbara Jackson, Executive Director Republican Party of Texas, Austin 211 East 7th Street Sent via Fax 512-480-0709 Austin, TX 78701 Dear Ms. Jackson: I was dismayed when I heard the news that a fellow Republican organization was being denied the opportunity to have a both at the State Convention in San Antonio. It seems that in a democracy all voices (including those that may have a dissenting opinion on a topic or two) have the right to be a part of the process. I fear that this shortsightedness on your part will further strengthen the stereotype that the Republican Party in Texas is a "good ole' boy's" club full of mean-spirited old men who have no interest in being fair or inclusive. On the other hand, if the Party changes its position and allows the Log Cabin Republican of Texas to have their booth as originally agreed, then the Party can tell the world (and the press that will no doubt be nipping at your heals over the next few weeks), "Although we fundamentally disagree with LCT-TX on a variety of issues, we do recognized their inalienable right to be part of the democratic process." I sincerely hope that you reconsider you position and avoid the media feeding frenzy that will no doubt ensue if you proceed on your current path of intolerance. Until then, I remain... Very Truly Yours, Tirey B. Counts Precinct Chairman, Precinct 16 State Delegate, 1996 Republican Party State Convention Leadership & Developement Committee Member, Senatorial District 13 *********************************PRESS RELEASE********************************** Contact: J.C. Michelak, Public Relations Director (713) 729-5397 (home) (713) 618-5386 (pager) Gay GOP Group Barred From Convention -------------- State GOP's Decision Comes Days After High Court's Ruling on Gays ---------- Decision to Exclude Republican Group is Unprecedented, Says Log Cabin ---------- (Austin, Texas, May 26) -- In an unprecedented move to stifle dissent within the party, the Texas GOP leaders have rejected a gay Republican group's request to have an exhibit booth at the state Republican convention, according to a letter from the state GOP organization released by the group, the Log Cabin Republicans of Texas. The state GOP has also refused a full-page advertisement for the convention program submitted by the Log Cabin Republicans. The party's decision comes just days after a landmark ruling by the United States Supreme Court that gays and lesbians could not be excluded from the political process simply because of their sexual orientation. "The party's decision to deny a Republican group a display booth at the state convention is an unprecedented act of exclusion," said Carpenter, noting that even pro-choice groups who disagree with the party's stand on abortion are permitted exhibit booths at the state convention. "We're not asking for 'special rights.' We're Republicans asking for the same opportunity to be heard that other Republicans have. The party must make room for those who disagree. That's what the democratic process is all about." Carpenter noted that exhibit booth applications have been routinely accepted from other political groups and commercial vendors with no relationship whatsoever to the party. He continued: "If this is the first shot in a renewed 'culture war' against gays and lesbians, it has badly misfired. It comes at the worst possible time for the party, in the middle of a presidential campaign in which our party is already seen as intolerant. And it comes just days after the Supreme Court handed down its historic opinion on the rights of gays and lesbians to participate in the political process. The party's action clearly indicates that it has no patience for those who disagree with it on the rights of gays and lesbians." Log Cabin applied for an exhibit booth at the state GOP convention on April 1, sending an application along with a check for $400 to cover the booth fee, said Carpenter. Days later, Carpenter confirmed acceptance of the booth application in a telephone call to Jonathan Gurwitz, exhibits chairman for the party. Subsequently, the state party cashed the check submitted along with the booth application. "As far as Log Cabin is concerned, we had a deal," said Carpenter, who is an attorney in Houston. "Now the party is backing out on its word." On May 15, Log Cabin also submitted a full-page advertisement for inclusion in the state convention program. Carpenter confirmed receipt and acceptance of the ad the next day with a party official. Despite the agreement, state GOP executive director Barbara Jackson sent a letter to the Log Cabin Republicans informing them that their requests for a booth and a full-page advertisement had been "rejected." When Carpenter replied that pro-choice groups were being permitted to have a convention booth, Jackson said that "abortion is legal in Texas but sodomy is not." "That is a ridiculous distinction. We're not going to be doing or even advocating illegal acts in the exhibit booth," retorted Carpenter. "We're just going to be exercising our right to speak out on the party's platform, which is not illegal the last time I checked the Constitution," Carpenter said. Several members of the Log Cabin Republicans expressed disappointment with the party's decision considering their history of working within the party and working to elect Republican candidates to office. In the March 12 primary, more than two dozen Log Cabin members and supporters were elected to GOP precinct chair positions around the state. Subsequently, more than thirty Log Cabin members were elected as delegates or alternates to the state convention. In early May, Log Cabin members were elected to positions on Republican committees in Houston. "I've put all this effort into working for the party and now they tell me I'm not welcome," said Tirey Counts, a Republican precinct chairman, state convention delegate, and Log Cabin member in Houston. "I believe the party's decision will not sit well with fair-minded Republicans across this state, including some party officials and delegates and alternates to the state convention," observed Carpenter, himself a Republican precinct chairman and state convention delegate. He added that Log Cabin would consider all appropriate responses to the party's decision, including possible legal action. Log Cabin is a nationwide organization of Republicans who believe the party should welcome gays and lesbians and should support the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It has more than 10,000 members with over fifty chapters in 30 states. In Texas, the group has chapters in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Carpenter announced that Log Cabin will call a press conference for Tuesday in Austin. **************AD REJECTED BY REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TEXAS************ Some People Think All Gays Think Alike. Think Again. We'd like to tell you a few things about the Log Cabin Republicans of Texas, an organization working to change the Republican Party's hostility to equal rights for gays and lesbians: We have no sinister "gay agenda." We seek a GOP that welcomes gays and lesbians on equal terms with other Republicans. We want the negative and stereotyped references to gays and lesbians taken out of the platform. We want equal rights, not "special rights." We pay our taxes and obey the law the same as you do. Yet we are not allowed to serve our country in the military; we can be denied housing or fired from our jobs at any time, regardless of merit; and we do not have the right to privacy that all other Texans enjoy. Our request is simple: no more discrimination in the law. We believe in the importance of families. We come from families. We are your sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters, your grandchildren. We do not threaten families, or "recruit" children. Homosexuality is a fact, not a choice. We want young gay men and women to feel they are loved and cherished by their families, not rejected. We believe in the importance of religious faith. The largest gay organization in the United States is a church. Faith plays a central role in the lives of many gays and lesbians. We welcome participation in the political process by people of religious faith. LET'S START TALKING AND STOP SHOUTING. For more information about the Log Cabin Republicans of Texas, visit our booth in the exhibit area or call (512) 467-9797.