Subject: Nat'l Gender Lobbying Day
From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 14:01:41 -0400

The following press release is being distributed by the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) on behalf of the organization named in the
release.  For further information, please contact the original author, and
not NGLTF.
Thank you.
**************************

*** MEDIA ADVISORY *** 
Contact: Riki Anne Wilchins, [email-masked], (212)645-1753 

First National Gender Lobbying Day Takes Off! 
 
Washington, DC - On October 2nd and 3rd, 75 transexual, transgender and
genderqueer activists from across the US will gather on Capitol Hill to
participate in the first National Gender Lobbying Day.  This historic
occasion marks the first time the gender community has raised its political
voice in national politics.  Concerned citizens and constituents from more
than 20 states will meet over two days with their Senators and Congressmen,
lobbying on issues critical to the gender community such as employment
discrimination, civil rights, access to medical care, and soaring levels of
bias-related violence against the transgendered. 

 Said organizer Riki Anne Wilchins of the direct action group The Transexual
Menace, "It's high time 'genderqueers' came out of the closets, out of the
shadows, and out of the margins. Too many of us have lost our jobs, our
homes, and even our lives simply because of who and what we are.  We work. We
vote. We pay taxes.  And we will no longer be silenced or shamed into
political immobility.  With Lobbying Day, we announce to the world that we
are out for good." 

 NGL Day was born when a half-dozen gender activists gathered on Capitol Hill
6 months ago to test the waters for a long-term lobbying effort.  During 3
days of high-intensity work, they succeeded in meeting with the offices of
many House and Senate leaders, including Sen. Jim Jeffords (VT), Sen. Daniel
Patrick Moynihan (NY),  Sen Ted Kennedy (MA), Sen. Jay Rockefeller (WV),
 Sen. Carol Mosley-Braun (IL), Sen. Paul Wellstone (MN),  Sen. Rod Grams
(MN), Rep. Barney Frank (MA),  Rep. Ken Bentson (TX),  Rep. Gerry Studds
(MA), Rep. Charles Rangel (NY), Rep. Mark Foley (FL), Rep. Jerry Nadler (NY),
Rep. Gene Green (TX), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TX), Rep. Bruce Vento (MN),
Rep. Bill Luther (MN), Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX), and Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee
(TX), among others.  

 Despite their initial successes, the lobbyists found themselves faced with
two large hurdles:  First, most congressional people had never even met a
transgender or transexual person, never thought of them as constituents, and
never considered their rights or concerns.  In short, as citizens and voters,
they were completely invisible.  And second, there were simply too few in
number to cover Capitol Hill.  Out of both concerns, the first National
Gender Lobbying Day was called. 
 
 Lobbying Day attendees will gather for a press conference on the east steps
of the Capitol at 9:00 am Monday morning, and again at 12:00 noon.  Speakers
will include national organizers Riki Anne Wilchins of  the direct action
group Transexual Menace, attorney Phyllis Frye of the Transgender Law
Conference, Karen Kerin of the lobbying group It's Time America, and Deputy
Sheriff Tonye Hawk, founding member TOPS: Transgender Officers Protect and
Serve, the new, national organization for transgendered peace officers and
fire fighters. 

[END]