The following is the copy of speech and press released delivered
at the Idaho State Capitol on Feb. 16 in Boise, Idaho:

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Concerned about proposed laws that will endanger the freedom and dignity
of all persons in the Idaho community, and that will create a climate
of mistrust, fear and hatred among families, friends and neighbors
throughout our great state, today we formally announce the creation
of "Idaho for Human Dignity" -- a non-profit Idaho corporation dedicated
to opposing extremist groups such as the Oregon Citizens Alliance's
Idaho branch.

Idaho for Human Dignity is a grass-roots organization, created by and 
for Idaho citizens.  We will oppose any public policies that would deny
basic civil rights to persons who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, or
that would tend to defame, hold up to ridicle, or shame citizens on the
basis of their sexual orientation.

Idaho for Human Dignity will counter anti-gay public policy initiatives,
and will oppose bigotry, violence and discrimination.  Participation
in Idaho for Human Dignity is open to all who wish to oppose organized
discriminatory activities.

We challenge the efforts of those whom our governor has called
"carpetbaggers."  They have come from outside our state to interfere
with the lives of all Idaho citizens, not just those who are gay
and lesbian.  

Their goals are similar here as they were in Oregon -- to scapegoat
gays and lesbians in an effort to build a political machin to further
their extremist conservative agenda, especially in the areas such as
womens rights, environmental determinism and education.

What will be the nature of the Oregon Citizen Alliance's Idaho
initiative?

Many in the media have struggled to find the proper term to describe
their proposed initiative -- Anti-special rights?  Anti-gay?
Anti-civil rights?  Today we offer our suggestion:  anti-American.

Before you condemn us rash, hear us out.

The primary purpose of the Alliance's potential initiative will be to
limit the future rights of gay, lesbian and bisexual citizens in
Idaho.  Regardless of the specific wording of the initiative, their
perverse, undemocratic use of the initiative process will:

*  Eliminate equal protection for gays and lesbians as a class
   of people under the law.  The initiative will penalize the 
   status of being lesbian, gay or bisexual -- not behavior.

*  Deny to Idaho citizens a republican form of government as
   guaranteed by the US Constitution.

*  Limit the rights of Idahoans to petition their government to 
   redress grievances; and

*  Limit freedom of expression guaranteed by both the US and
   Idaho Constitutions.

Afterall, the Idaho Citizens Alliance's (ICA) real objection is
not to the behavior of lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens --
because unless ICA founder Kelly Walton and his collaborators are
peeping in the bedrooms of gays and lesbians, they have not
observed our behavior.

Rather, their objection is to the basic civil rights of gays and
lesbians to express themselves freely in public.  There is no
other word for who they are, and what they seek to accomplish.
The are anti-American.

The result of these various assults on basic civil rights will be
a denial of the primary proposition that our country is dedicated
to:  that all Americans are created equal.  No matter how much
they try to obscure their true purpose with the cynical slogan
of "no special rights," or with slick, lawyer-like language,
Kelly Walton and his collaborators simply seek to deny the rights
of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to one group of citizens based
soley on their sexual orientation.

Let us make one thing clear.  Using the rhetoric that worked well 
for them in Oregon and Colorado, Kelly Walton and his band charge
that lesbian, gay and bisexual people want "special rights" of
"minority status," such as "Affirmative Action" or "Quotas."

This is simply a lie.  The only right that gays, lesbians and bisexuals
seek is that of equal protection under the law.

We who live in Idaho do not have to look too far back in our
state's history to remember a time when the state's constitution
singled out one specific group of citizens for bigotry and
discrimination.  Denying the rights to vote and hold public office to
members of the Mormon faith was fundamentally anti-American.

What the Idaho Citizens Alliance seeks to accomplish with their
anti-gay initiative is no less anti-American.

The kick-off event for Idaho for Human Dignity will be a benefit,
hosted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance at Boise State University.
The speech will be by noted human rights activist Suzanne
Pharr on Wednesday, February 17 in the BSU Student Union.

Pharr was instrumental in the fight in Oregon and against the
Oregon Citizens Alliance and their infamous "Measure Nine."  Pharr's
lecture, entitled "The (racist, sexist, homophobic) Agenda of
the Religious Right," will place the ICA's proposed
initiative in perspective as part of a broader, anti-American
assualt on democracy and civil rights.

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Idaho for Human Dignity can be reached at PO Box 797,
Boise, Idaho 83701.

============

Kelly Walton and his "ICA" have not yet filed their ballot
measure as of 2/16/93.


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