>From:   aa3398@freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu (Kevyn D. Jacobs)
>Date:   Sat, 13 Aug 1994 23:25:52 -0400
>Sender: equalityks@qiclab.scn.rain.com

"LET KASSEBAUM HEAR YOUR VOICE" CAMPAIGN
STARTS IN MANHATTAN

(By Christopher E. Renner, Flint Hills Alliance)

Combining pleasure with politics, the the Flint Hills Alliance held a
summer pool party on July 21. FHA has grown and the summer is being used to
build community among the members.  Aside from the pleasures of good eats
and great water sports, members were asked to make a small contribution to
let  Senator Kassebaum hear our displeased voices. Twenty-one people signed 
prepared letters addressing Senator Kassebaum's recent refusal to sign the
Human Rights Campaign Fund's non-discrimination in employment appeal and
her attemt to exclude non-discriminatory language from President Clinton's
health care reform package. Most members expressed surprise at the fact
that Senator Dole had signed HRCF's appeal.  If history would be any guide,
Dole should have refused and Kassebaum should have signed.  In discussing
the issue, some express reserve about Dole's signature.  "Considering he
wants to be President, maybe he wants to play a safe game while in reality
not doing anything to remove the existing discrimination," one FHA member
said. All things considered, I am inclined to agree. Kassebaum has shown a
moderate record, often splitting with her fellow Republican, voting for
AIDS funding ands in favor of issues close to us.  At the same time I can
imagine what kind of pressure she has been put under by people like our
friend Fred in Topeka. When Meg Satterthwaite, Co-Chair Amnesty
International Members for Lesbian and Gay Concerns-USA, spoke at the
LesBiGay pride week in Lawrence this past April, she showed me the fax that
Fred had sent her. If similarly vile faxes and letters are being sent to
Kassebaum, I can understand her recent vacillation from a moderate
position. This also underscores why gay, lesbian and bisexual Kansans need
to write her and let our voice be heard. This campaign is very dependent on
people making time to be counted.  If you haven't, take a minute and write
Sen.Kassebaum at: United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-1602, and let
her know you do not approve of her recent record.  We are responsible for
demanding our basic human rights, no one else is going to do it for us!

============PAGE 2=============

LETTER WRITING APPEAL CALLED TO BRING PRESSURE ON KASSEBAUM

(By Christopher E. Renner, Flint Hills Alliance & 
 Co-Chair, Amnesty International Members for Lesbian & Gay Concerns - Italy)

Kansas gays, lesbians & bisexuals have a lot to lose, if Senator Kassebaum
caves in to the pressures of the Radical Right. Her recent refusal to sign
the Human Rights Campaign Fund's appeal to not discriminate in empoyment
practices in hiring of Senate office staff and her recent attempt to remove
non-discriminatory language from President Clinton's health care reform
package, are strong indications she is doing just that.

In the long history of communication I have had with Senator Kassebaum, I
have always found her open to hearing opposing views to her own.  I believe
she responded favorably to voting funds for AIDS research, often differing
with her colleague, Senator Dole.  I find her recent activities not in
keeping with the character of the woman I met in 1987, nor the tone of her
written communication up to last year.  Something has changed, and it is
not for the good.

MAKE OUR VOICES BE HEARD!  If anything should be clear after the recent
Stonewall 25 celebration, it is the need for gays, lesbians and bisexuals
in that vast space called the American Heartland to make themselves heard. 
For too long our choices have been limited to keeping our mouths shut or
moving to the more favorable conditions found in the large cities and on
the East or West coast.  We do not have to come out in mass, even if  I
believe that this would be a good thing, but we do have to keep the heat on
our Senators and Representatives when issues of vital importance to our
very existence are being taken into consideration.  Senator Kassebaum's
recent actions need our direct rebuff.

A simple action is to put pen to paper.  Polite letters count, especially
on people issues.   I encorage gay, lesbian & bisexual people living in the
great State of Kansas and those registered to vote in Kansas living
elsewhere, like myself, to send a polite letter to Senator Kassebaum. Make
Senator Kassebaum realize that you are watching her actions and that you
disapprove!