NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE
PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Robert Bray 
         Robin Kane
         (202) 332-6483
         Ron.DeVrou@f70.n109.z1.fidonet.org

NGLTF MEMBERS: BACKED TSONGAS; 
ARE HIGHLY INVOLVED IN ELECTORAL POLITICS 


Washington, D.C., April 30, 1992...A majority of National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force (NGLTF) members responding to a recent Presidential Initiative Survey
would have thrown their support to Democratic presidential candidate Paul
Tsongas, had he remained in the race.  Conducted in February by NGLTF for its
membership and released today, the survey results also show that respondents
dive into the work of electoral politics, with most contributing funds and about
a quarter volunteering time to various political campaigns.

	When asked whom they would vote for "if the election were held today," survey
respondents overwhelmingly chose Sen. Paul Tsongas.  The former senator from
Massachusetts, who suspended his campaign last month, garnered votes from 43
percent of the respondents.  His closest competitor, Arkansas Governor Bill
Clinton, earned 15 percent.  Former California Governor Jerry Brown received 10
percent; both Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and New York State Governor Mario Cuomo
earned five percent; Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey received 3.5 percent; President
George Bush won three percent; conservative columnist Pat Buchanan earned one
percent; and other candidates received about 2.5 percent.  Ten percent of the
respondents did not answer this question and two percent said they were
undecided.

	The survey reveals a very politically active NGLTF membership.  Virtually all
respondents (96 percent) are registered voters and 93 percent said they had
voted in the last presidential election.  A majority of respondents had also
contributed money to political campaigns, with 68 percent contributing to a
Presidential campaign and 67 percent making contributions to Congressional and
state/local political campaigns.  Meanwhile, 29 percent said they had
volunteered their time to a local political campaign; 25 percent to a
Presidential campaign; 23 percent to a state political campaign; and 20 percent
to a Congressional campaign.

	Respondents overwhelmingly pointed to federal legislation banning
discrimination based on sexual orientation as the top gay and lesbian issue in
this election year.  The survey asked respondents to choose their top three
priorities from among a list of 13 gay and AIDS-related issues.  A federal
anti-discrimination law was a top issue for 72 percent of those responding. 
Other top issues included national health care reform -- 38 percent; increased
funding for AIDS research -- 32 percent; elimination of sodomy laws -- 31
percent; federal action to extend benefits currently enjoyed by heterosexual
families to gay and lesbian families -- 30 percent; an executive order banning
employment discrimination in the military -- 21 percent.

	The state of the economy is forefront in the mind of respondents to the survey.
 That issue edged out gay and lesbian rights when the survey asked, "How
important are gay and lesbian and AIDS policy issues in comparison to other
major public policy issues?"  NGLTF offered nine specific issue areas to rank,
with a tenth option of "other domestic policy priorities."  While 61 percent
ranked gay/lesbian rights as their top priority, 65 percent chose the state of
the economy.  Other priorities included: reform of the U.S. health care system
-- 52 percent; AIDS policies -- 36 percent; employment and job security -- 27
percent.

	Most respondents said that a candidate's "public support for explicit party
platforms supporting gay/lesbian rights" would make them more likely to vote for
that candidate.  Respondents were offered four possible answers to the question
"Which actions would make you more likely to vote for a candidate?" and were
asked to choose two.  Seventy-two percent of the respondents chose the party
platform issue; 44 percent selected "inclusion of support for gay/lesbian rights
on all campaign literature (not just literature targeted to gay/lesbian
community;" 40 percent pointed to "public support for strong party platforms
endorsing increased federal AIDS funding;" and 32 percent picked "hiring openly
gay/lesbian staff people at the top level of the campaign."

	When asked to identify their party affiliation, 67 percent of the respondents
said they are Democrats, 22 percent are independent, 6 percent are Republican,
and three percent have other party affiliations.

	The NGLTF Policy Institute mailed the survey to 15,765 NGLTF members in
February.  About six percent (954) of the recipients completed and returned the
survey to NGLTF. 

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