From: NGLTF@aol.com Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1996 19:16:24 -0500 Subject: NGLTF ANTI-MARRIAGE UPDATE ************************************ PRESS RELEASE National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 2320 17th St. NW; Washington, DC 20009 Contact: Robert Bray (415) 552-6448 rbray@ngltf.org or Tracey Conaty (202) 332-6483 tconaty@ngltf.org ************************************ NGLTF ANTI-MARRIAGE UPDATE IDAHO BECOMES THIRD STATE BANNING SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE AND COLORADO BILL MOVES TO THE GOVERNOR Washington, D.C., March 20, 1996...The radical right, armed with anti-marriage legislation, continued to attack the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), 16 states, currently face legislation intended to ban same-gender marriage. Those states are AL, AK, CA, CO, FL, GA, HI, IL, IA, KY, MI, MO, OK, SC, TN, and WI. This week, Idaho became the country's third state, along with Utah and South Dakota, to explicitly ban the recognition of same-sex marriage. Currently, civil marriage between persons of the same gender is not permitted any where in the nation. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people were also greatly alarmed by the passage of an anti-marriage measure in both houses of the Colorado state legislature. The bill passed the House by one vote on February 28 and the Senate by a 20 - 14 margin on March 11. The bill reached Governor Romer's desk on Monday, March 18. He has ten days to veto it, sign it, or let it become law without his signature. Maryland and Wisconsin were added to the list of states that had anti-marriage legislation introduced but withdrawn or blocked (MD, ME, MS, NM, RI, VA, WA, WV, and WY), bringing the total to nine. NGLTF, working in partnership with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund's Marriage Project and other members of the National Freedom to Marry Coalition (NFTMC), is assisting local activists throughout the country in fighting off these anti-gay attacks. NGLTF, in conjunction with Colorado activists and NFTMC, is urging concerned citizens, both within and outside Colorado, to contact Colorado Governor Roy Romer and urge him to veto this bill. Romer can be reached by phone at (303) 866-2471 or fax at (303) 866-2003. Activists interested in obtaining a copy of the map (free) or NGLTF's marriage organizing manual, To Have and To Hold ($10), should contact Tracey Conaty or Robert Bray at the numbers listed above. Those interested in obtaining talking points on same-gender marriage and other materials should contact Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund at (212) 995-8585. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is a progressive organization that has supported grassroots organizing and pioneered in national advocacy since 1973. Since its inception, NGLTF has been at the forefront of virtually every major initiative for lesbian and gay rights. In all its efforts, NGLTF helps to strengthen the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender movement at the state level while connecting these activities to a national vision for change. ###