Subject: PFLAG Release 8/7/96
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 11:49:29 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 1996

CONTACT:
 Shelley Golden, [email-masked]
 Rob Banaszak, [email-masked]
 202/638-4200

PFLAG Members Testify at Senate Hearings,
Exhibit at Olympic Games, Receive Awards for Community Service

        Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays displayed its
commitment to support, education and advocacy in July -- PFLAG's President
brought a family perspective to the Senate Defense of Marriage Act
Hearings, PFLAG Project Open Mind exhibited anti hate information at the
Olympic Games and a local PFLAG affiliate member won a Stonewall award for
bridging straight and gay communities.

PFLAG President Opposes DOMA at Senate Hearings
        Mitzi Henderson, National President of PFLAG and mother of a gay
son, testified at the Senate Judiciary Committee "Defense of Marriage Act"
hearings Thursday, July 11, 1996. Illustrating her testimony with stories
from her own life, Henderson spoke strongly against this bill that would,
for the first time, create a federal definition of marriage as being
between a man and a woman only.
        "With this legislation you will add another challenge to my job as
a parent," Henderson said. "I am forced to worry about my gay son in a way
that I do not worry about my other children...  I fear for Jamie -- not
because of who he is, but because I know the price of intolerance."
        Nancy McDonald, Vice President of PFLAG, testified before a House
committee on May 15, making PFLAG the only organization to send
representatives to testify before both the House and Senate committee
hearings on DOMA.

Project Open Mind Sponsors "Welcome Booth" at Centennial Olympic Games
        In the midst of spirited competition and the international
attention of the Centennial Olympics, PFLAG sponsored a "welcome booth" at
the Trinity Methodist Church, within the main Olympic corridor. The booth,
expected to have been visited by more than 1.5 million people during the
Games,  is a part of PFLAG's "Project Open Mind" public education campaign
against hate speech and anti-gay violence. As people passed through the
booth, they had the opportunity to view emotionally compelling ads against
gay bashing.
        With this booth and other Project Open Mind events across the
country, PFLAG hopes to draw national and international attention to
anti-gay speech which creates a climate of hate and intolerance that can
lead to violence against lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

North Carolina PFLAG Member Wins $25,000 Award
        PFLAG member Phyllis (LaLa) Satrazemis, 72, of Raleigh, NC, is one
of the recipients of the Stonewall Award, a $25,000 award recognizing an
individual's contributions to the gay and lesbian community. The mother of
a gay son, LaLa has long educated and counseled other friends and family
members of lesbian and gay people. She was confronted directly with the
AIDS crisis when her son's companion of 16 years died of AIDS three years
ago.   Lala became an activist for anti-discrimination legislation and is a
speaker on AIDS issues. She is currently working to establish a home for
young people whose parents abandon them when they reveal their
homosexuality.
        "LaLa is a woman who has given so much to so many,"  said Mitzi
Henderson, PFLAG's president. "She is a delightful woman and so deserving
of this award."

        Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) promotes
the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons, their
families, and friends through: support: to cope with an adverse society;
education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end
discrimination and secure civil rights.   PFLAG provides opportunity for
dialogue about sexual orientation, and acts to create a society that is
healthy, and respectful of diversity.  Founded in 1981, PFLAG is now
organized in 410 communities in every state, with 60,000 household members.