From: NGLTF@aol.com Date: Wed, 4 Oct 1995 08:42:17 -0400 Subject: UNDO 2 Day of Action Nationwide ************************************************* National Gay and Lesbian Task Force NEWS RELEASE Contact: Beth Barrett (202) 332-6483 ext. 3215 bbarrett@ngltf.org 2320 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 ************************************************* FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10/3/95 NATION-WIDE ACTION ON EVE OF LANDMARK GAY RIGHTS CASE NGLTF Organizers Coordinate National Effort, Melinda Paras to Speak in Colorado and Kerry Lobel to Address Supreme Court Rally in Washington Washington, DC -- October 3, 1995 -- At least 33 locales will host events on Monday, October 9, the eve of the U.S. Supreme Court argument on Colorado's anti-gay Amendment 2, which was struck down by the state Supreme Court as unconstitutional. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) is supporting the efforts of Equality Colorado, Ground Zero and other Colorado-based groups to declare the day "Undo 2 Day of Action." As NGLTF's Executive Director joins local activists for events in Colorado, NGLTF field organizers in Washington, DC are hard at work finalizing details with activists from across the country and preparing to address the local rally scheduled for the steps of the Supreme Court. NGLTF Coordinates National Day of Action To draw attention to the national implications of Romer v. Evans, the Amendment 2 case, NGLTF field organizers are working with activists nationwide, encouraging organizations and individuals around the country to hold events on October 9. Organizers are also urged to consider coordinated actions on the day a ruling is handed down, sometime between January and the end of the court session in June 1996. "Because our freedom is not won or lost at the Supreme Court, we are calling on people of conscience to hold actions on October 9 in conjunction with efforts in Colorado," said Paras. To date, at least 26 cities outside of Colorado will join with seven cities in Colorado to host actions on October 9. Activists are using the Supreme Court argument as an opportunity to hold vigils, teach-ins, rallies, town meetings, press conferences, and even a "sing out" in Tucson to educate the media and the public about Amendment 2. NGLTF has compiled an "Undo 2 Day of Action" kit to help organizers coordinate events. "We must use the Amendment 2 case as an opportunity for our movement," said Sue Anderson, executive director of Equality Colorado and NGLTF board co-chair. "It is an opportunity to talk about equal rights. It is an opportunity to educate about discrimination. It is an opportunity to educate about the violence directed against us. And it is an opportunity to tell the truth about our lives and about our family and sexual identities. This is an opportunity that we cannot miss." "Undo 2 Day of Action" events are scheduled in Phoenix and Tucson, AZ, San Diego and San Francisco, CA, Tampa Bay, FL, Atlanta, GA, Coeur d'Alene, ID, Chicago, IL, Louisville, KY, Cambridge, MA, Detroit, MI, Kansas City and St. Louis, MO, Las Vegas, NV, New York, NY, Las Vegas, NV, Cincinnati, OH, Eugene and Portland, OR, Philadelphia, PA, Providence, RI, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, TX, Richmond, VA and Washington, DC. An additional seven locations in Colorado will host events including: Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Walsenberg, Grand Junction and Vail. Two more events are still being planned in Alaska and Louisiana. Said NGLTF Field Organizer, Karen Bullock-Jordan, "This is the Task Force at our best. Our work is to bring people from across the country together to produce meaningful actions and a unified voice for change." See accompanying media advisory for local event contact information. Paras to Address Coloradans Melinda Paras, NGLTF Executive Director, will join with a statewide coalition of Colorado groups in events in Colorado on and around the day of the Supreme Court argument. Paras will speak to local communities about the dangerous nature of Amendment 2, which if upheld, would effectively strip gay, lesbian and bisexual Coloradans of any current or future protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Paras will address rallies at the University of Denver, University of Colorado at Boulder as well as several town meetings and other events throughout the state. Paras will be available for interviews at many of the Colorado events listed on the accompanying media advisory or by phone. Contact Beth Barrett, (202) 332-6483, ext 3215 for details or to arrange a phone interview. NGLTF Supports Washington, DC "Appeal to Justice" Vigil In addition to their focus on events in Colorado and around the nation, NGLTF activists will assist with the "Appeal to Justice" Vigil in front of the Supreme Court on Monday, October 9 in Washington, DC. Kerry Lobel, NGLTF Deputy Director, and long-time activist will address the crowd which will assemble at 5:45 pm. The "Appeal to Justice" Vigil is being coordinated by the Road to Tolerance Action Coalition. Additional confirmed speakers include Mandy Carter, National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum and Rev. Harry Stock, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. Both groups are co-sponsoring the event. Lobel stressed the importance of civil action to raise awareness of this case, recalling the Bowers v. Hardwick Supreme Court case in 1986, which upheld the state's right to outlaw sexual acts between consenting adults. "Sodomy" laws are still on the books in 22 states and are often used by anti-gay extremists as justification for limiting civil rights for gay men, lesbians and bisexuals. "At his retirement in 1990, Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell -- the deciding vote to uphold Georgia's sodomy law -- admitted that he had 'probably made a mistake' in his decision because at the time he didn't think that the Bowers v. Hardwick case was 'very important,'" said Lobel. "We can't make the same mistake twice. We must make it clear to the nine justices of the Supreme Court that next Tuesday's case is of immeasurable importance to the civil rights of all Americans." Contact Jarmila Dokladalova for further information of the Washington, DC vigil - (202) 667-0693. Activists with access to electronic mail or fax machines may still access the "Undo 2 Day of Action" organizing kit. Contact the Undo 2 Hotline at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3310 or e-mail ngltf@ngltf.org. --more-- **VIGILS, RALLIES** **PRESS CONFERENCES, TOWN MEETINGS** NATION-WIDE ACTION ON EVE OF LANDMARK GAY RIGHTS CASE WHAT: Vigils, rallies, press conferences, teach-ins and more to raise awareness of the dangerous nature of Amendment 2 pending the US Supreme Court argument. WHO: Local Activists from 33 locales across the nation AK - Laura Burleson (907) 479-7348 AZ - Phoenix, Dianne Post (602) 258-7985 and Tucson - Tucson Lesbian & Gay Alliance (520) 751-4652 CA - San Diego, Russel David Roybal rdr@asmail-sdsu.edu and San Francisco - GLAAD-SFBA (415) 861-2244 CO - Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Grand Junction, Pueblo, Vail and Walsenberg, Equality Colorado (303) 839-5540 or Ground Zero (719) 635-6086 DC - Road To Tolerance Action Committee (202) 667-0693 FL - Tampa Bay, Human Rights Task Force, (813) 443-6016 hrtffl@aol.com GA - Atlanta, Antonia (404) 584-9224 ID - Coeur d'Alene, People Like Us (208) 667-4523 IL - Chicago, Illinois Federation for Human Rights (312) 477-7173 KY - Louisville, Fairness Campaign (502) 893-0788 LA - Louisiana Electorate of Gays & Lesbians (504) 525-7117 MA - Cambridge, Brad Hoylman (617) 576-9188 MI - Detroit, Triangle Foundation (313) 537-3323 MO - Kansas City, Human Rights Project (816) 753-1672 and St. Louis, Privacy Rights Education Project (314) 862-4900 NV - Las Vegas, c/o NGLTF (202) 332-6483 x3303 NY - New York City, Project Reach (212) 966-4227 NC - Raleigh, NC Pride Pac (919) 829-0343 OH - Cincinnati, Stonewall Cincinnati (513) 541-8778 OR - Portland, Leslie Griep (503) 280-0733 and Eugene, Citizens Against Discrimination, PFLAG Eugene (503) 688-1601 PA - Philadelphia, Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force (215) 772-2000 RI - Providence, Young Queers in RI, RI Alliance for Lesbian & Gay Civil Rights (401) 521-GAYS TX - Austin, lesbian & Gay Rights Lobby of Texas (512) 474-5475, Dallas, Dallas Gay & Lesbian Alliance (214) 528-4233 and San Antonio, Lesbian and Gay Media Project (210) 228-0201 VA - Richmond Virginians for Justice (804) 643-4816 WHEN: MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1995 5:45 pm (Washington, DC only) WHERE: ACROSS THE NATION (see above contacts for more info.) US Supreme Court, 1st & E. Capitol (Washington, DC only)