Subject: IWG SPLC Intelligence Report letter
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 22:19:01 -0500 (EST)

December 15, 1998

Mark Potok
Southern Poverty Law Center
PO Box 548
Montgomery, AL 36104-0548

Dear Mr. Potok:

	Thank you very much for the excellent item on
anti-gay hate crimes.  We are very happy to see the
Center, which is so well known for its work against all
forms of hate crime, recognizing and importance of this
issue and communicating it to your readers.  However we
did have one small linguistic quibble: the statement,
"gays and lesbians are six times more likely to be the
victim of violent hate crime than Jews or Hispanics,
and twice as likely as blacks," could reinforce the
unfortunate and inaccurate perception that there are no
Jewish, Hispanic, or African-American sexual
minorities.
	Thank you again for a generally outstanding and
informative publication.

Sincerely,
Barbara Purdom     Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators

The above letter went out on IWG letterhead listing 16 congregations and
organizations and 60 clergy from 15 religious traditions. 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.

-- 

Interfaith Working Group                Religious organizations, congregations
[email-masked]                      and clergy supporting gay rights,
http://www.libertynet.org/iwg/          reproductive freedom, and the 
voice: 215-235-3050  fax: 232-0829      separation of church and state.