Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 07:17:11 -0400 (EDT) From: A Jay Eddy Subject: Alert...SENATE TO HOLD HEARING ON ENDA (fwd)-circulate (fwd) Florida Log Cabin Progressive Republicans (954) LCR-1995 "Awareness Through Education-Responsibility Through Involvement" ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 16:52:42 -0400 (EDT) From: Log Cabin Republicans To: ajayeddy@bc.seflin.org Subject: SENATE TO HOLD HEARING ON ENDA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kevin Ivers October 21, 1997 (202) 347-5306 X12 SENATE TO HOLD HEARING ON ENDA Major Step Forward for Key Log Cabin Priority (WASHINGTON) Senator James Jeffords (R-VT), chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, will preside over the first hearing before the 105th Congress on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) Thursday morning. The hearing will feature a diverse assortment of witnesses, including business representatives, religious and legal experts, and people who have faced anti-gay discrimination. "Senator Jeffords and the staff of the Labor Committee are working diligently to produce a very balanced and informative hearing," said Richard Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans. Among the key witnesses testifying in support of ENDA is Kendall Hamilton, an openly-gay man who was denied a promotion and forced to quit as a waiter at a Red Lobster restaurant in Oklahoma City in 1995, and was told that he "would never be a manager at Red Lobster" because of his sexual orientation. Hamilton's story was brought to the knowledge of the Committee through a Log Cabin member in Texas. Another key witness will be Tom Grote, chief operating officer for Donatos Pizza, an Ohio-based pizza chain. Tom is a member of the Log Cabin Club of Columbus, and will speak on behalf of his company as a representative of small businesses. Dr. Hebert Valentine, Executive Presbyter of the Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, will testify on a panel of religious experts. Valentine, who was moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA in 1994 when the church endorsed ENDA, was contacted by the Committee at the suggestion of the national office of Log Cabin Republicans. Tafel praised the staff of Senator Jeffords and Senator Kennedy for their tenacious work. "The Committee staff is working long hours and have consulted a number of diverse sources in preparing this hearing. They are carrying out their mandate with great skill and absolute fairness to both sides of this issue." "There has been a great partnership among community organizations in making this hearing possible," Tafel said. "In particular, Winnie Stachelberg and Nancy Buermeyer of the Human Rights Campaign worked very hard behind the scenes and were responsible for bringing two very essential witnesses -- Ray Smith of Bell Atlantic and David Horowitz, and attorney from Phoenix, Arizona -- to the knowledge of the Committee. This was another example of national groups working together productively, working with Republicans and Democrats, and yielding positive results. For the critics who say that the national groups are not working together enough, this will prove them wrong." Log Cabin Republicans is the nation's largest gay and lesbian Republican organization, with 50+ chapters nationwide. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is one of LCR's top priorities for the 105th Congress. *********** MORE IN COOPERATION.... FYI ********** >From logcabin@cais.com Wed Oct 22 06:23:06 1997 Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 12:16:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Log Cabin Republicans TO: ajayeddy@bc.seflin.org Subject: ENDA HEARING ALERT TO: Log Cabin Leaders FR: Kevin Ivers, LCR Director of Public Affairs RE: ENDA HEARING WITNESSES Senator James Jeffords (R-VT), chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, will preside over the first hearing before the 105th Congress on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) Thursday morning. The hearing will feature a diverse assortment of witnesses, including business representatives, religious and legal experts, and people who have faced anti-gay discrimination. I wanted to make sure you were informed about what we have accomplished as an organization. Senator Jeffords and the staff of the Labor Committee are working diligently to produce a very balanced and informative hearing. Among the key witnesses testifying in support of ENDA is Kendall Hamilton, an openly-gay man who was denied a promotion and forced to quit as a waiter at a Red Lobster restaurant in Oklahoma City in 1995, and was told that he "would never be a manager at Red Lobster" because of his sexual orientation. Hamilton's story was brought to the knowledge of the Committee through a Log Cabin member in Texas. Chris, thanks so much for your help on that one! Another key witness will be Tom Grote, chief operating officer for Donatos Pizza, an Ohio-based pizza chain. Tom is a Lincoln Club member and a member of the Log Cabin Club of Columbus, and will speak on behalf of his company as the voice of small businesses at the hearing. We are very proud of Tom for being such an important part of this hearing. Dr. Hebert Valentine, Executive Presbyter of the Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, will testify on a panel of religious experts. Valentine, who was moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA in 1994 when the church endorsed ENDA, was contacted by the Committee at the suggestion of the national office of Log Cabin Republicans. We felt it was important to have all sides of the Christian perspective represented, as the Traditional Values Coalition will be testifying. Mark Powden, the Committee chief of staff, Leslie Silverman, legal counsel for the Committee, and Melody Barnes, counsel for Senator Kennedy and the Judiciary Committee, are working long hours and have consulted a number of diverse sources in preparing this hearing. They are carrying out their mandate with great skill and absolute fairness to both sides of this issue. You should take a moment to send them a note, thanking them for their work -- Senate Labor Committee, 428 Dirkesen Senate Office Bldg WDC 20510. It is also important to note that the Human Rights Campaign was very helpful behind the scenes as well in putting this hearing together. Winnie Stachelberg and Nancy Buermeyer worked very hard and they were instrumental in bringing the CEO of Bell Atlantic to the attention of the Committee as a witness, as well as David Horowitz, an attorney in Phoenix, Arizona, who faced discrimination. Steve May, Regional Director in Arizona, put me in touch with David during the research phase and we were also very interested in his story and his presentation. We are proud that Arizona will be represented at the hearing. We will continue to keep you informed as the hearing progresses! Thanks for all your assistance -- so many of you were responsible for making this happen. In particular, I want to thank Steve May, Scott Evertz, Dale Carpenter, Steve Labinski, David Austin, Dan Burdish and everyone who participated in the research necessary to provide the kind of assistance to Senator Jeffords and his staff that we have. For an organization our size, with our limited resources, we have accomplished so much for this hearing, and we should be proud of that. Log Cabin Republicans Voice: 202/347-5306 E-mail: logcabin@cais.com FAX: 202/347-5224 Home page: http://www.lcr.org