From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 16:08:07 EDT

FIGHT THE RIGHT PROJECT
THE  RIGHT  RESPONSE:

The Equality Statement
Endorsement Project

6/14/94
***

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute
Fight The Right Project
2320 17th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202)332-6483, ext. 3358

Peri Jude Radecic, NGLTF Executive Director

NGLTF Fight The Right Field Offices and Organizers:

Scot Nakagawa, NGLTF       Sue Hyde, NGLTF
522 SW 5th Ave. Ste. 1023  1151 Massachusetts Ave.
Portland, OR 97204            Cambridge, MA 02138
(503)221-0115                 (617)492-6393
[email-masked]               [email-masked]

Robert Bray, NGLTF             Karen Bullock-Jordan, project associate, NGLTF
1360 Market St., Ste. 200   2320 17th St. NW
San Francisco, CA 94103   Washington, DC 20009
(415)552-6448                (202)332-6483, ext 3206
[email-masked]              [email-masked]

Susan Hibbard,                      Buzz Harris, project assistant, NGLTF
campaign consultant           1151 Massachusetts Ave.
Election Victories             Cambridge, MA  02138
594 Broadway, Room  403  (617)492-6393
New York, NY  10012         [email-masked]
(212)343-0255    
[email-masked]   

Project Summary

 The Equality Statement Endorsement Project has asked major political
organizations, civil rights groups, unions, elected officials, government
bodies, and others to sign onto a statement supporting our fundamental civil
rights and condemning the Far Right's efforts to eliminate or preempt civil
rights protections "by ballot initiative or any other means."  The project
began in early 1994 and will continue through the 1994 fall elections.  The
Fight the Right Project will continue to actively seek out more endorsers,
and we will issue periodic updates of this report as the list grows.

 Enclosed you will find:

  1) a copy of the project cover letter
  2) a copy of the Equality Statement
  3) the list of endorsers

 If you would like more information about the project, please contact Buzz
Harris at the NGLTF Fight the Right Project, (617) 492-6393 or
[email-masked].

x        

Mar. 15, 1994

Dear __________________:

 Gay, lesbian, and bisexual organizations in states around the country need
your help to fight anti-gay ballot initiatives.  In as many as 11 states,
lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people face the prospect of having their
fundamental civil rights taken from them by popular vote in November, 1994.
  I know you agree that the rights to jobs, homes and public accommodations
cannot be won or lost through popularity contests.  Such assaults on
fundamental rights of some people threatens the rights of all people.

 President Clinton, in a letter dated February 14, wrote, "I commend the
broad-based coalition of leaders from religious communities, labor unions,
environmental groups, gay and lesbian organizations, women's groups, senior
citizens, communities of color, Republicans and Democrats, and many other
groups who have united to oppose these ballot initiatives.  You have
demonstrated through your actions and your diverse membership that this is
not an issue of 'special rights' for any one group.  This is a battle to
protect the human rights of every individual."

 Please join the President and hundreds of gay and non-gay organizations that
oppose the right-wing's tactic of putting civil rights to a popular vote.  We
ask that you return the enclosed endorsement statement to us as quickly as
possible.  The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force will distribute the list of
endorsees to state and local groups that will use your endorsement to build
coalitions to fight the ballot initiatives.

 If you have questions or need more information, please feel free to contact
me.  Thank you for your time and attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Sue Hyde
Coordinator, Fight the Right Project
National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
x

EQUALITY FOR ALL AMERICANS:
A STATEMENT OF SUPPORT

 We/I, _______________________________________________, support 
        (name of organization)
equality for all Americans.  Every American's right to be free from
discrimination in jobs, housing, and public accommodations must be defended
and protected.  No person's fundamental civil rights should be denied by a
ballot initiative or any other means.

__________________________________________
Signature/Position 

__________________________________________
Date

 

(Note: Please return a copy of this statement on your own letterhead or on
this sheet to the NGLTF New England office as soon as possible.  NGLTF New
England 1151 Mass. Ave. Cambridge, MA  02138.  Thank you!)

Advocacy/Political Groups

ACLU National Office             Mr. William Rubenstein
ACLU of MA                          Mr. John Roberts
ACLU of Southern CA            Ms. Ramona Ripston
ACLU of WA                         Ms. Kathleen Taylor
ACT UP - Rhode Island   
Americans for Democratic Action     Ms. Amy Isaacs
Aspen, CO Gay & Lesbian Community    Mr. Robert White
BiNET USA                                  Ms. Debra Kolodery
Center for Democratic Renewal     Ms. Loretta Ross
Center for Women Policy Studies     Dr. Leslie Wolfe
Data Center                                  Mr. Fred Goff
Democratic National Committee     Mr. Rocco Claps
Forest Grove, OR Coalition for Human Dignity   Ms. Ilana Rembelinsky
Fundamentalists Anonymous            Mr. Richard Yao
Gay Games IV                                 Mr. Jay Hill
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders                       Ms. Mary Bonauto
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation- Atlanta  Mr. Carl Lange
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - DC       Mr. Peter Taifo
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - NY       Ms. Ellen Carton
Gay & Lesbian Community Center of CO                    Ms. Kat Morgan
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund                                    Ms. Kathleen
DeBold
Green Party USA                                     Mr. Johann Moore
Human Rights Campaign Fund                    Mr. Tim McFeeley
Institute for First Amendment Studies     Dr. Skipp Porteus
Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Ctr.  Ms. Debra Preusch
Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund     Ms. Suzanne Goldberg
Log Cabin Republicans                              Mr. Rich Tafel
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party   Mr. Rick Stafford
Montana Human Rights Network                 Ms. Christine Kaufmann
Nat. Institute Against Prejudice & Violence    Mr. Robert Purvis
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence   Ms. Rita Smith
National Coalition for Freedom of Expression    Mr. David Mendoza
National Gay & Lesbian Task Force                    Ms. Peri Jude Radecic
National League of Cities                                  Mr. Donald Borut
Ozarks Human Rights Coalition                             Mr. Mike Bromberg
Parents Friends & Families of Lesbians & Gays      Ms. Sandra Gillis
People For the American Way                          Mr. Arthur Kropp
Pioneer Valley, MA PFLAG chapter                   Jean & James Genasci
Planned Parenthood Federation of America      Ms. Jane Baldinger
Southern Poverty Law Ctr: Klanwatch Project    Mr. Danny Welch
Southerners for Economic Justice                     Ms. Cynthia Brown
The Funding Exchange                                    Ms. Cecilia Rodriguez
The Names Project                                       Mr. Anthony Turney
The Women's Project                                 Ms. Suzanne Pharr
Washington DC Statehood Party                 Mr. George Neighbors
Western North Carolina AIDS Project     Mr. Joe Connolly

x
Businesses

Activa Productions                                      Dr. Joyce Warshow
Brad Graham Professional Communications    Mr. Brad Graham
Linda Berard Associates                               Ms. Linda Berard
Southern Missouri News Connection               Mr. Mike Bromberg

Elected Officials

President of the United States                           President Bill
Clinton
Austin, TX Human Rights Commission             Mr. Rich Bailey
Austin, TX Human Rights Commission             Ms. Sally McIntosh
Broward County, FL Board of Commissioners     Ms. Suzanne Gunzburger
City of Baltimore, MD                                     Mayor Kurt Schmoke
City of Berkeley, CA                                      Mayor Jeffrey
Leitner
City of Cambridge, MA                                  Mayor Kenneth Reeves
County of Santa Clara, CA                             Mr. George Newell
Los Angeles City Council                             Ms. Jackie Goldberg
New York City Council                                   Mr. Tom Duane
San Francisco Board of Supervisors                  Ms. Susan Leal
San Francisco Board of Supervisors                Ms. Carole Migden
Seattle City Council                                  Ms. Sherry Harris
US House of Representatives (AZ)     Rep. Sam Coppersmith
US House of Representatives (CO)     Rep. Patricia Schroeder
US House of Representatives (CO)     Rep. David Skaggs
US House of Representatives (FL)     Rep. Harry Johnston
US House of Representatives (MA)     Rep. Barney Frank
US House of Representatives (MA)     Rep. Gerry Studds
US House of Representatives (WA)     Rep. Mike Kreidler
US Senate (IL)                                 Senator Paul Simon
US Senate (RI)                                 Senator John Chafee

Governmental Organizations

Ann Arbor, MI Human Rights Commission       Mr. Victor Turner, Jr.
Austin, TX Human Rights Commission            Ms. Romona Brolers
Detroit, MI Human Rights Office                     Mr. John Castillo
Minneapolis, MN Commission on Civil Rights    Mr. Herman Milligan
Newton, MA Human Rights Commission             Ms. Jana Sax
Philadelphia, PA Human Relations Commission   Mr. Kevin Vaughan

Individuals

actor, comedian                              Ms. Whoopi Goldberg
author, Tales of the City                  Mr. Armistead Maupin
founder, Sweet Honey in the Rock     Dr. Bernice Johnson-Reagon
producer, director                          Mr. John Landis
producer, director                          Mr. Ed Saxon
screen writer                                 Ms. Nora Ephron

Labor

AFL-CIO                                                       Mr. Richard
Womack
AFSCME                                                        Mr. Van Allan
Sheets
Assoc. of College Unions International           Ms. Marsha Herman-Betzen
Coalition of Labor Union Women                     Ms. Gloria Johnson
Federation for Industrial Retention & Renewal  Mr. Jim Benn
United Auto Workers                                     Mr. Joe Davis

Professional Associations

Amer. Assoc. of Physicians for Human Rights    Dr. Benjamin Schatz
American Library Association                           Dr. Peggy Sullivan
American Medical Women's Association              Ms. Eileen McGratt
American Psychological Association                Mr. Clinton Anderson
American Public Health Association                  Ms. Katherine McCade
Florida Society of Addiction Medicine                 Dr. LeClair Bissell
National Lawyers Guild                                      Mr. Rick Best
PEN (international writers' association)             Mr. Stephen Friedman

Religious Groups

American Friends Service Committee                  Ms. Kara Newell
American Jewish Committee                               Mr. Sim Steinlight
American Jewish Congress                                 Mr. Robert Lifton
Central Conference of American Rabbis                    Rabbi Joseph Glaser
Dignity - USA                                                       Ms.
Marianne Duddy
Metropolitan Community Churches                          Rev. Troy Perry
National Conference of Christians & Jews            Mr. Karl Berolzheimer
National Council of Jewish Women                      Ms. Sammie Moshenberg
New Ways Ministry                                            Fr. Robert Nugent

Southern Christian Leadership Conference             Dr. Joseph Lowery
Union of American Hebrew Congregations              Rabbi David Saperstein
Unitarian Universalist Association                       Ms. Kathleen
Montgomery
United Church of Christ - Church in Society Office   Mr. Jay Lintner