Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 19:46:24 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Purdom Subject: schroeder letter The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 2 congregations, 4 religious organizations and 18 clergy from 9 denominations. If you are in the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in other areas. Visit the web page at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/religion/orgs/iwg/. This went out as part of the internet day of protest, and we already got back the cutsiest personally signed response I've ever seen in my life from a congressperson (especially one for whom we're not even constituents) that unfortunately didn't address the issue we raised, but was signed "Fight On". We also heard from Senator Santorum today, who said he will consider ENDA when it gets out of committee, with a reminder that he had signed a pledge of non-discrimination for his staff. December 12, 1995 Rep. Patricia Schroeder Fax: 1-202-225-5842 Dear Representative Schroeder: It was with great sadness that we heard of your decision to retire, and with complete disbelief that we learned that you had voted in committee to ban "indecent" materials from the internet. Since you recently spoke to a gathering organized by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and called attention to the dangerous nature of the Radical Religious Right, it is disconcerting that you are agreeing with them on this issue. They are pushing hard to keep vital information out of the hands of children in the name of protecting them from pornography; but what they are really doing is protecting children--and adults--from acquiring knowledge. This Sunday's Parade Magazine featured an interview with a group of teenagers in which one said that cities in Colorado had laws that gave "special" treatment to gays. He didn't know what the laws actually were, but somebody had told him that they were bad. When America Online outlawed the use of the word "breast" by its users, it effectively eliminated all communication between survivors and researchers of breast cancer. It is that kind of ignorance that makes people easy to control, and it is that kind of ignorance that the internet can defeat. Please do not be remembered as a legislator who helped the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family keep children and cancer survivors in the dark. When the House votes on legislation to censor the internet, just vote no. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators