Subject: PFLAG Release
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 10:57:08 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 1996
Contact: Rob Banaszak, Communications Director
  Karyn Robinson, Communications Assistant
  202-638-4200
  EMAIL [email-masked]

PARENTS, FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF LESBIANS AND GAYS (PFLAG) ORGANIZES AROUND
ISSUES FACING 
GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

January and February have been active months for members of Parents, Families
and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), who have organized around many
current issues of importance to their lesbian, gay and bisexual children,
family members and friends.

PFLAG's Project Open Mind
PFLAG Houston hosted a Hate Crimes Community Meeting on Saturday, February
 3rd and press conference on Monday, February 5th.  More than 75 people
attended the Community Meeting and heard from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson
Lee, City Councilman Felix Fraga and representatives for State Sen. Rodney
Ellis, and Councilman Judson Robinson.  Other speakers included
representatives from PFLAG, the Houston Police Dept., the Police Patrolman's
Union, the Council of Asian American Organizations, the Anti-Defamation
League, Houston Area Teen Coalition of Homosexuals (HATCH), Gay , Lesbian and
Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN),  and the Montrose Counseling Center.

Cong. Sheila Jackson Lee and State Rep. Garnet Coleman spoke at the press
conference.  A statement from Mitzi Henderson was read by national PFLAG
representative, Jeffrey Garrett.  Both events strongly demonstrated PFLAG
Houston's success in linking hate speech to hate crimes and in building
additional support for hate crimes legislation among elected officials at the
local, state and national levels.

The meeting and press conference were organized in response to the gay
bashing murder of Fred Mangione, who was brutally stabbed to death in a
Houston suburb.  Mangione's alleged killers were members of the German Peace
Corps, a neo-Nazi organization.  In issuing public condolences to the family,
friends and life partner of Mangione, Mitzi Henderson stated, " We cannot
remain silent as hatred invades our public and our private lives.  We must
hold our public figures accountable for what they say about our children, our
fellow Americans, our fellow human beings.  We must hold each other
accountable for what we say and do about our gay neighbors, friends and
colleagues."

Freedom to Marry
To combat the hasty introduction of anti-gay marriage legislation in more
than 20 states, PFLAG members have participated in numerous public education
and advocacy projects.  Paul Beeman, president of PFLAG Olympia (Washington),
 retired Methodist pastor and father of two gay children,  testified before a
state House subcommittee January 31 addressing House Bill 2262, which would
invalidate same-gender marriages performed in other states.    He said in his
testimony, "This bill would become a majority action to 'fence off' [my
children] and [their partners] from certain benefits of citizenship enjoyed
by others, a process which is, by definition, discrimination."  PFLAG Oahu's
president Carolyn Golojuch testified before a Hawaii Senate Judiciary
Committee , and PFLAG San Diego President Benita Berkman had an op ed piece
published in the January 24 edition San Diego Tribune.  Numerous other PFLAG
chapters are responding to the anti-gay sentiment the same-gender marriage
issue has evoked.

PFLAG Houston has spearheaded "Moms and Dads Go To Washington."   For this
project the chapter has organized PFLAG representatives from more than 30
states to meet with Members of Congress in Washington, D.C. March 19 and 20
to discuss the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA).     The lobbying
training and kick-off reception, scheduled for the morning of March 19,  will
be held at the White House.

In addition to the lobbying visits, a press conference has been scheduled for
March 19, as well as a Candlelight Vigil on the Northern steps of the Capital
at 7 p.m. March 19.

Youth and Education
PFLAG Salt Lake City was active in the fight to ban a Gay/Straight Alliance
at East High School in Salt Lake City.   Under Utah's Equal Access Act, the
School Board could either vote to allow all clubs to meet in classroom space,
or ban all clubs from meeting on school grounds.  At a public hearing held
February 20 about the two options, PFLAG members Bill Hamilton-Holway and
Russ Taylor testified before the school board, providing insight and
information about the unsafe learning environment often faced by lesbian, gay
and bisexual students, and  encouraging the board to permit all clubs to
meet, including the Gay/Straight Alliance.   That same evening, the Board
voted 4-3 to ban all clubs at the school.

PFLAG Salt Lake City leaders Hank and Alice Carlson were instrumental in
keeping PFLAG's voice heard during the battle, participating at the public
rally on Utah's Capital Hill and in marches and  community awareness events.

The Coalition of Colorado PFLAG chapters is sending a mailing to educators in
all Colorado secondary schools.  The mailing will contain information that
provides a basic understanding for educators about issues facing lesbian, gay
and bisexual students, and will encourage those educators to provide safe and
inclusive environments for all students.  Included in the packet will be the
American Psychological Association's Answers to Your Questions About Sexual
Orientation and Homosexuality, as well as a list of local PFLAG contacts.

The mailing is not a teaching tool, rather an informational resource for
educators to gain understanding about lesbian, gay and bisexual youths who
may be in crisis, and about the importance of safe learning environments for
all students.

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 to
secure civil rights.  PFLAG provides an opportunity for dialogue about sexual
orientation, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of
human diversity.  Serving more than 55,000 members, PFLAG affiliates are
located in more than 389 communities across the United States, and in 11
other countries.

###