From: Interfaith Working Group Subject: IWG Tennesean Letter Date: Fri, 17 Oct 1997 23:20:33 -0400 (EDT) The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 10 congregations and religious organizations and 48 clergy from 14 faiths and 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. October 17, 1997 The Tennessean 1100 Broadway Nashville, TN 37203 Dear Editors: M. Hayes' letter of October 12 raises the question of when gays and lesbians have ever endured the "pain, travesty and hardships" of African-Americans and Jews. The most obvious answer, of course, is when they happen to be African-American or Jewish, but beyond that, many individuals have been persecuted solely for their sexual orientation. As a historically-closeted minority, gays and lesbians have largely been exempt from large scale extermination and subjugation efforts such as slavery and pogroms, but sexual minorities were among the first to be sent to camps by the Nazis. Throughout history, gay men and women have been burned, beheaded, or stoned to death by religious authorities; imprisoned, hounded in the schools; thrown out on the street by their own families; assaulted or murdered by strangers; ostracized by their communities of faith; separated from their children by court order; or fired from their jobs simply because someone found out that they are attracted to people of the same gender. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators -- Interfaith Working Group Religious organizations, congregations iwg@libertynet.org and clergy supporting gay rights, http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/ reproductive freedom, and the 215-235-3050 separation of church and state.