From: Babngltf@aol.com Date: Fri, 7 Apr 1995 12:25:36 -0400 Subject: NGLTF April Activist Alert ************************************************* NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE ACTIVIST ALERT April 1995 2320 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 332-6483 FAX (202) 332-0207 TTY (202) 332-6219 EMAIL ngltf@aol.com ************************************************* CONGRESS COMES HOME U.S. Representatives and Senators are scheduled to return to their home districts for a spring working recess this month making April an excellent time to schedule local meetings with members of Congress. When arranging a congressional appointment, consider inviting individuals from diverse backgrounds to join you. A broader coalition will strengthen your message. The following are suggested topics you might choose to discuss during your meeting: AIDS Funding: At this writing Senate votes on AIDS funding cuts for fiscal year 1995 and reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act are still pending. Senate cosponsors are still needed for reauthorization of the CARE Act. Ask that Congress increase, reauthorize, and reappropriate AIDS funding for research, prevention and services. Anti-Gay Legislation: Already introduced are anti-gay bills from Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Rep. Bob Dornan (R-CA 46th) with future attacks, particularly on gay and lesbian youth, anticipated. Tell your congressperson the real stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth and adults. Ask that s/he vote against attacks on our community. Employment Non-Discrimination: ENDA, a bill to prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees, will soon be reintroduced. Ask your congressperson to become a cosponsor. Welfare Reform: Senators still have an opportunity to pass meaningful welfare reform that does not punish women and their children and avoids the punitive measures passed in the House. Arts Funding: Efforts to slash funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are well under way in both chambers. Explain how these cuts will hurt your community. Censorship: Sen. James Exon (D-NE) attached an amendment to the Senate telecommunications bill which would mandate unconstitutional restrictions on the content of private mail or conversation sent through electronic or computer networks. Request that Congress first study electronic communication laws before suggesting legislation. Affirmative Action: Many members of Congress, falsely asserting that affirmative action is a quota system irrespective of merit, are working to curtail or eliminate affirmative action policies. Express your support for affirmative action programs. ACTION: Schedule meetings with your senators and representative during the April recess. Check the blue 'government' pages of your local phone book for contact information in your area. *** ALASKA MARRIAGE BATTLE Two bills recently introduced in the Alaska State Legislature could slow the efforts of local activists working for domestic partnership and marriage for same-sex couples in Alaska. HB226 would prohibit domestic partnership benefits for state and university employees. HB227 would bar legal recognition of same-sex marriages. If passed, Alaska would become the second state to pass legislation banning marriage for same-sex couples. Currently, no U.S. state recognizes marriage for same-sex couples. ACTION: Write or call Alaska Governor Tony Knowles. Tell him that you oppose these bills as anti-family, discriminatory and unnecessary. Ask Gov. Knowles to veto the bills as written if either is passed by the legislature. Write: Governor Knowles, State Capitol, PO Box 110001, Juneau, AK, 99811. Call: (907) 465-3500 Fax: (907) 465-3980 Email: tony_knowles%gov@state.ak.us *** RADIO ACTIVISM On Sunday, May 7, from 8 PM to 10 PM EST, the National Lesbian & Gay Radio Town Meeting will broadcast live via satellite across the country. The call-in format broadcast will feature national leaders and grassroots activists discussing the rise of the anti-gay right wing and successful strategies for countering radical right initiatives in local communities. In a separate issue, "This Way Out" radio, a non-profit radio service providing award-winning weekly gay and lesbian programming, is currently heard on more than 85 stations internationally. The weekly show needs your support in order to expand its broadcasting potential. ACTION: Contact your local radio stations, particularly the Pacifica Network and local public radio. Urge them to broadcast the groundbreaking two-hour town meeting and the weekly radio show. Then be sure to tune in. Radio stations may contact Bert Wylen, producer of the town meeting, (215) 772-9010 for broadcast information. Radio stations and the public can contact "This Way Out" radio for more information on the weekly broadcast. Call (213) 874-0874 or email tworadio@aol.com. *** MAINE WON'T DISCRIMINATE Maine will face its first anti-gay state ballot measure on election day this year. According to Maine Won't Discriminate, a group formed to combat the initiative, the language of the bill cloaks its anti-gay message in indirect language but if passed, would repeal many laws including an anti-discrimination ordinance in Portland that protects gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals from employment and housing discrimination. ACTION: If you are planning a summer trip to Maine, contact the Maine Won't Discriminate headquarters for information on volunteering at one of the many local chapters across the state. Call (207) 761-1788. *** YOUTH ORGANIZING NGLTF is pleased to announce its first ever Youth Leadership Training Institute. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender young leaders ages 16 to 24 are encouraged to apply for the week-long intensive which will take place August 13-20 in Northern California. Applications are due by June 14. ACTION: Write or fax NGLTF for Youth Leadership Training applications. Applications are also available on-line in the NGLTF area of America On-Line's G/L Community forum. Or email: rxtngltf@aol.com. The Progressive Student Leadership Exchange sponsors a summer program for young adults (ages 15-26) to spend part of the summer volunteering for progressive causes across the country. This year, volunteers will work in Oregon, California, and Maine. Applications are due by late May. ACTION: For more information on the Progressive Student Leadership Exchange call Gary Schiff, program coordinator, (612) 724-5942 or email schi0072@maroon.tc.umn.edu. *** NATIONAL RESOURCES The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force provides direct assistance and resources for thousands of activists across the country. The accompanying NGLTF Fact Sheet has been provided to update you on our programs and resources. --- If you have an item you think should be included in ACTIVIST ALERT, please mail or fax it to , Activist Alert, NGLTF Policy Institute, 2320 17th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009; fax (202) 332-0207; e-mail ngltf@aol.com. All entries should be national in scope or should allow for activists from around the country to respond. --- National Gay & Lesbian Task Force FACT SHEET The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) is the oldest national gay and lesbian civil rights advocacy organization. In its more than twenty years, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has served as a front-line activist organization on every major initiative for lesbian and gay freedom. The Task Force works to create a society where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people can live free from violence, bigotry, and discrimination. NGLTF was founded in 1973 in New York City and is now headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Task Force has 24 full-time staff members and a 25-person board of directors. NGLTF is the national resource center for grassroots lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activists fighting anti-gay attacks by the Far Right, organizing to end job discrimination, working for repeal of sodomy laws, fighting for family rights, championing proactive health care solutions, working to end violence, rallying against discrimination on campus, working to build resources for young people, and much more. In the midst of the growing power of the Radical Right both in Congress and throughout the country, NGLTF has reorganized to become a more powerful voice for change. We believe that a new era demands a new vision. The Task Force's new vision distributes our work into three areas: Field Organizing, the Policy Institute and Public Policy. Field Organizing The Field Department strengthens the activities of the movement at the state and local level while connecting these activities to a national vision for change. The Media Department provides technical assistance to local organizers on working with and influencing the media. Field Organizers maintain consistent communication with local organizers throughout the country and provide crisis assistance and troubleshooting, provide quick response to requests for information, and distribute publications. Contact the NGLTF Field Office by phone, fax, tty, mail or e-mail (listed at top of this publication). The Policy Institute NGLTF is in the process of fully activating our educational affiliate, the Policy Institute, into a forum for the most vibrant analysts and organizers in our movement to produce information and materials to be used by activists all over the country and the movement at large. The Policy Institute will convene summits, gatherings, and strategy sessions to draw together activists, academics, and analysts to articulate vision for the movement and to help connect the work of local organizers to a long-range, strategic agenda for change. Public Policy The Public Policy Department works on the federal level to advocate for lesbian and gay civil and human rights, to participate in national coalitions to further the movement, and to monitor legislation and policy affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people. The Public Policy Department works closely with the Field Department to mobilize local organizers to respond to action at the federal level in three ways: the NGLTF monthly Activist Alert mailing, telephone mobilization, and e-mail mobilization. The Media Department works to bring public attention to issues affecting lesbian, gay, and and bisexual people, and to advance the lesbian and gay movement through the media. NGLTF puts special emphasis on local stories that have national impact. Special Events during 1995 8th Annual Creating Change Conference * As the National Skills-Building Conference for the movement, Creating Change brings together lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered leaders and provides them with an opportunity to learn new skills, network, and develop a deeper understanding of important issues. The 1995 Creating Change Conference will be held November 8-12 in Detroit, Michigan. Movement Building Institutes * NGLTF will travel to 10 of our country's hot spots, directly building the base of the movement while preparing communities to fight against attacks from the Radical Right. The Institutes help organizations build their capacity to be in the fight for the long term by providing training on fundraising, media, research and data collection, and coalition building. Youth Leadership Training Institute * NGLTF will bring together 20 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered youth in August. The Institute will provide essential skills-building and community-organizing training to activists from every region of the country in order to provide them the opportunity to seize the tools they need to lead and to create change. Membership The Task Force has over 35,000 members nationwide. Membership dues are $35 for individual, $60 for household, $20 for limited income and $125 for cooperating organizations. More than 100 groups and organizations participate in the NGLTF Cooperating Organization program and receive detailed monthly packets of information containing news about what NGLTF is doing, what is happening in our movement, and what other organizations are doing. Please call Membership Services at (202)332-6483, ext. 3211 if you have any questions. Members who give a cumulative gift of $1000 or more during a year become members of the NGLTF Policy institute Leadership Council. Please call (202)332-6483, ext. 3314 to find out more about the benefits of being a member of the Leadership Council.