Subject: IWG Tennesean Letter
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
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
[email-masked]                      and clergy supporting gay rights,
http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/         reproductive freedom, and the 
215-235-3050                            separation of church and state.