From: NGLTF@aol.com Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 15:14:35 -0400 Subject: NGLTF Commends Clinton ************************************************* National Gay and Lesbian Task Force PRESS STATEMENT Contact: Beth Barrett (202) 332-6483 ext. 3215 bbarrett@ngltf.org 2320 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 ************************************************* NGLTF COMMENDS PRESIDENTIAL ENDA ENDORSEMENT Washington, DC -- October 20, 1995 -- Yesterday, President Clinton distributed a letter announcing his support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill in Congress that would ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. The occasion marked the first time a president had directly supported a gay and lesbian civil rights bill while in office. The following statement is attributable to Helen Gonzales, NGLTF Public Policy Director. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force commends President Clinton for his recent endorsement of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would outlaw employment discrimination based on sexual orientation against America's workers. The President's support of ENDA places him firmly with the majority of Americans who support equal rights for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the workplace. Many non-gay Americans are unaware of this painful fact: no matter how well members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities perform our jobs, we can be fired simply for being who we are. Nine states and a handful of municipalities have already recognized this injustice, passing laws or issuing executive orders to right this wrong. But without local action, only a federal law such as ENDA can remedy this injustice. Even when local activists succeed in their efforts to ban discrimination against gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in their local communities, they must often contend with well organized and financed right wing attacks against them. NGLTF has traveled over 150,000 miles to some 30 states and 50 cities to assist local organizers in the fight against anti-gay ballot initiatives which would repeal such legislation. Thus, it is notable that the President has made this pledge of support at a pivotal moment in gay and lesbian history. Only a week after the US Supreme Court heard arguments concerning Colorado's Amendment 2 and a few weeks before the citizens of Maine determine the fate of an anti-gay ballot initiative in that state, it is our hope that the President's message of equality and fairness will ring across the country. We encourage President Clinton to utilize all resources available to his Office to move ENDA forward. NGLTF challenges the President to continue to speak out loudly and clearly against any and all discrimination - on the floor of Congress, in local and state ballot measures, and where-ever injustice is found. --end--