From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 94 14:34:30 EDT

This is EXTREMELY URGENT!  If you don't know, Jesse Helms succeeded in
attaching a "no promo homo" amendment to a recently passed federal education
funding bill.  The amendment would deny federal funding to any public schools
if they "promote" or encourage homosexuality in any way.  This could endanger
the Massachusetts Safer Schools Program along with any other school-based
programs in the US that provide support, counseling, gay/straight alliance
student groups, or any other form of support to gay, lesbian, and bisexual
youth.

Please post this information far and wide, and CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
ASAP.  Thanks!

Buzz Harris
Fight the Right Project Asst.
NGLTF - New England Ofc.

---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj:    ESEA Action Alert!!
Date:    94-08-04 16:40:36 EDT
From:    Babngltf
To:      BXH NGLTF

Helms Attacks Gay and Lesbian Youth
Action Needed Now

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force urges all supporters of gay, lesbian
and bisexual youth to take immediate action against an amendment recently
passed in the US Senate.  During debate on August 1 on the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Bob Smith (R-NH)
succeeded in passing an amendment that the Washington Post called a "cheap
gay-bashing vote."  However, an opportunity now exists to strike the
Smith/Helms amendment from the final version of the 
law.

If made into law, the Smith/Helms amendment would put gay youth in jeopardy.
 It would have a devastating effect on the lives of gay and lesbian youth.
 Gay youth seeking counsel at school would be turned away under this measure.
 This attack on gay and lesbian youth must not go unanswered.  Your Senators
must be held accountable for their votes on this issue.  The Smith/Helms
amendment must never reach the President's desk.

What Happened

The following is a synopsis of what took place in the Senate August 1 - 2.

1     Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) introduced an amendment to the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that would ban federal funds to be used in
schools that "carry out a program or activity that has either the purpose or
effect of encouraging or supporting homosexuality as a positive alternative
lifestyle."  The amendment would cover the distribution of instructional
materials, counseling and referral of students to outside organizations.

2     Again using the Senate Floor as a stage for political gay-bashing,
Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) spoke in favor of the Smith amendment and
succeeded in adding a "second degree amendment" that prevents any further
amendment to the Smith amendment.   The Smith/Helms amendment passed in a
63-36 vote.

3     Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) then offered a conflicting amendment that
would prohibit the use of federal funds to promote sexual activity, whether
homosexual or heterosexual  This free standing amendment passed 99-0.

4.     The following day, on August 2, in an effort to counterstrike another
threatened Helms attack, a second Kennedy amendment passed.  This one would
prohibit federal funds for condom distribution in schools.  The amendment
passed 91-9.

5     Finally, the Senate voted to combine all three amendments under the
Smith amendment despite the conflicts between each of its three sections.

Why it Happened

The unusual proceedings on the Senate floor were the result of a political
strategy intended to counteract the anti-gay propaganda of Helms and his
supporters.  By introducing the two Kennedy amendments and then combining all
three into a single conflicting amendment, political strategists hope to
create grounds to strike much of the Smith/Helms anti-gay rhetoric in a
future joint Senate/House committee.

Because the House of Representatives already passed a measure similar, but
not identical, to the Smith/Helms amendment, the fate of all the amendments
must be decided in a Senate/House joint conference committee later this fall.
 The conference committee will work to reconcile differences between the
House and Senate versions of the ESEA.  The conference committee co-chairmen
will be Sen. Kennedy and Rep. Bill Ford (D-MI).  The Senate will be
represented by all members of the Senate Committee on Labor and Human
Resources.  Representatives will be appointed from the House Committee on
Education and Labor.  With a 99-0 vote in favor of the Kennedy language, and
a 63-36 vote in favor of Smith/Helms, Sen. Kennedy has strong standing to
remove the Smith/Helms language during the conference committee.

What NGLTF Has Done

The National Gay and Lesbian Task is working in coalition with several
progressive organizations on the best strategy to defeat anti-gay amendments
to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  NGLTF anticipated the Helms
anti-gay crusade in the spring after a mitigated victory in the House of
Representatives on the same issue.  NGLTF prepared the community for a second
attack in the Senate through the media and NGLTF publications.  On Capitol
Hill, NGLTF worked to find a senator willing to draft and introduce
counterattack legislation.  NGLTF will now concentrate on strategies to
combat the Smith/Helms amendment in the conference committee.  NGLTF remains
hopeful that the anti-gay Smith/Helms component of the amendment will be
struck down in committee, but your help is needed.  Teachers and lesbian and
gay youth need your active support now!

What You Can Do

63 Senators betrayed gay, lesbian and bisexual youth!  Our community is
outraged!  Contact your senators!  Write or call Senator Kennedy,
Representative Ford and the other members of the conference committee!  Visit
your members of Congress during the August recess.  Write letters to the
editor.  Join with teachers, students and school board members in expressing
your concern.  Make your senators accountable for their anti-gay votes!
 Don't let Smith/Helms become law!

Contact your Senators

     If your senators opposed the amendment, thank them for their support and
ask for their pledge to strike the amendment in conference committee.
     If your senators supported the amendment, express your concern and ask
that they work to strike the amendment in conference committee.

Suggested Talking Points:

     Each school district, with the input of teachers, counselors, and
parents, must have the right to support its students according to local
community standards.

     Youth questioning their sexual orientation are desperate for resources
and assistance.  Several studies suggest that gay and lesbian youth are more
likely to attempt suicide -- we must not bar 

     The Smith/Helms amendment must be struck in conference committee.  The
lives of gay, lesbian and bisexual youth depend on it.

     The use of valuable congressional floor time for political gay-bashing
by Helms, Smith and others must not be tolerated.  Tell your senators to stop
voting for Helms!

Contact NGLTF

     Send letters of support from school districts or teachers to NGLTF for
use in lobbying.

Smith/Helms Amendment Voting Record

The 63-36 roll call by which the Senate voted to deny federal funds to public
schools that teach acceptance of homosexuality.  A "yes" vote indicates
support for the Smith/Helms amendment.  * indicates a "no vote"

State            Senator            Vote                        Senator
           Vote
AL            Heflin (D)            Yes                        Shelby (D)
         Yes            
MT            Baucus (D)           Yes                       Burns (R)
          Yes
AK            Murkowski (R)    Yes                        Stevens (R)
       Yes            
NE            Exon (D)              Yes                        Kerrey (D)
          Yes
AZ            Deconcini (D)       Yes                        McCain (R),
           Yes            
NV            Bryan (D)            Yes                        Reid (D)
           Yes
AR            Bumpers (D)        Yes                        Pryor (D)
           Yes            
NH            Gregg (R)            Yes                        Smith (R)
           Yes
CA            Boxer (D)            No                        Feinstein (D)
           No            
NJ            Bradley (D)            No                        Lautenberg (D)
           No
CO            Brown (R)            Yes                        Campbell (D)
           No                        NM            Bingaman (D)            No
                       Domenici (R)            Yes
CT            Dodd (D)            No                        Lieberman (D)
           Yes            
NY            D'Amato (R)            Yes                        Moynihan (D)
           No
DE            Biden (D)            Yes                        Roth (R)
           Yes            
NC            Faircloth (R)            Yes                        Helms (R)
           Yes
FL            Graham (D)            No                        Mack (R)
           Yes            
ND            Conrad (D)            Yes                        Dorgan (D)
           Yes
GA            Coverdell (R)            Yes                        Nunn (D)
           Yes                        OH            Glenn (D)            No
                       Metzenbaum (D)            No
HI            Akaka (D)            No                        lnouye (D)
           No            
OK            Boren (D)            No                        Nickles (R)
           Yes
ID            Craig (R)            Yes                        Kempthorne (R)
           Yes                        OR            Hatfield (R)
           Yes                        Packwood (R)            No
IL            Moseley Braun (D)            No                        Simon
(D)            No                        PA            Specter (R)
           Yes                        Wofford (D)            No
IN            Coats (R)            Yes                        Lugar (R)
           Yes            
RI            Chafee (R)            No                        Pell (D)
           No
IA            Grassley (R)            Yes                        Harkin (D)
           No            
SC            Hollings (D)            Yes                        Thurmond (R)
           Yes
KS            Dole (R)            Yes                        Kassebaum (R)
           Yes                        SD            Daschle(D)            No
                       Pressler (R)            Yes
KY            Ford (D)            Yes                        McConnell (R)
           Yes                        TN            Mathews (D)
           Yes                        Sasser (D)            Yes
LA            Breuax (D)            Yes                        Johnston (D)
           Yes                        TX            Gramm (R)            Yes
                       Hutchison (R)            Yes
ME            Cohen (R)            Yes                        Mitchell (D)
           No            
UT            Bennet (R)            Yes                        Hatch (R)
           Yes
MD            Mikulski (D)            No                        Sarbanes (D)
           No                        VT            Jeffords (R)            No
                       Leahy (D)            No
MA            Kennedy (D)            No                        Kerry (D)
           No            
VA            Robb (D)            No                        Warner (R)
           Yes
MI            Levin (D)            No                        Riegle (D)
           No
WA            Gorton (R)            Yes                        Murray (D)
           No
MN            Durenberger (R)            Yes
                        Wellstone (D)            No
WV            Byrd (D)            Yes                        Rockefeller (D)
           No
MS            Cochran (R)            Yes                        Lott (R)
           Yes
WI            Feingold (D)            No                        Kohl (D)
           Yes
MO            Bond (R)            Yes                        Danforth (R)
           Yes 
WY            Simpson (R)            Yes                        Wallop (R)
           *
CONTACTS

CAPITOL HILL
Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard for phone numbers of your Members of
Congress at: 202-224-3121.
Or Write:     The Honorable ___________, U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC  20515
          The Honorable ___________, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC   20510

Definite Conference Committee Members from the Senate
Christopher Dodd (CT), Tom Harkin (IA), Paul Simon (IL), Dan Coats (IN),
Nancy Kassebaum (K), Edward Kennedy (MA), Barbara Mikulski (MD), Dave
Durenberger (MN), Paul Wellstone (MN), Jud Gregg (NH), Jeff Bingaman (NM),
Howard Metzenbaum (OH), Harris Wofford (PA), Claiborne Pell (RI), Strom
Thurmond (SC), Orrin Hatch (UT), Jim Jeffords (VT), 

Possible Conference Committee Members from the House of Representatives
Eni Faleomavaega (AS), Karan English (AZ), Xavier Becerra (CA), Randy
Cunningham (CA), Matthew Martinez (CA), Howard McKeon (CA), George Miller
(CA), Lynn Woolsey (CA), Dan Miller (FL), Patsy Mink (HI), Harris Fawell
(IL), Tim Roemer (IN), Scotty Baesler (KY), William Ford (MI), Peter Hoekstra
(MI), Dale Kildee (MI), William Clay (MO), Pat Williams (MT), Bill Barrett
(NE), Robert Andrews (NJ), Donald Payne (NJ), Marge Roukema (NJ), Eliot Engle
(NY), Susan Molinari (NY), Major Owens (NY), Cass Ballenger (NC), John
Boehner (OH), Thomas Sawyer (OH), Ted Stickland (OH), William Goodling (PA),
Ron Klink (PA), Austin Murphy (PA), Carlos Romero-Barcelo (PR), Jack Reed
(RI), Richard Armey (TX), Gene Green (TX), Rober Scott (VA), Ron de Lugo
(VI), Jolene Unsoeld (WA), Steve Gunderson (WI), Thomas Petri (WI), 

EDUCATORS. . .To form a coalition with local teachers and school board
members contact: your local teachers' association and your local school
district office

NGLTF. . . For more information, contact Tanya Domi, Legislative Director,
ext. 3308 or Beth Barrett, Legislative Assistant, ext. 3215.