Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 19:48:50 -0600 (CST) From: Kevyn Jacobs To: "Kansas Queer News [KQN]" Subject: DOLE DOES ABOUT FACE ON GAYS SENATE MAJORITY LEADER SAYS GAYS WANT "SPECIAL RIGHTS" Washington, DC (EGCM) Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, in a clear attempt to win favor with radical right-wing groups opposed to equal rights and fair treatment for lesbian and gay people, yesterday published a letter in the Washington Times repeating rhetoric used by extremist groups claiming that gay people want "special rights." The letter came after groups such as the Traditional Values coalition complained about comments Dole made indicating that he opposes discrimination against lesbian and gay people. Dole, after telling the New York Times Magazine that "there oughtn't to be discrimination" against gay people, wrote a letter to the Washington Times repeating the radical right's distortion that gays want "special rights." In fact, no federal law protects people from discrimination merely for being gay or lesbian. The Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF), supports a federal bill that would provide equal rights in the workplace by prohibiting anti-gay job discrimination. "Dole may be trying to have it both ways by appealing to the mainstream of fair-minded Americans, then turning around and echoing the rhetoric of the extremists," said HRCF Public Policy Director Daniel Zingale. Zingale wrote to Dole to clarity HRCF's position and emphasize the broad, bipartisan support behind equal rights for lesbian and gay Americans. "We simply ask for the basic right to do our jobs without tear of discrimination," Zingale said. National opinion polls and results from the 1994 elections showed that most voters reject the extreme anti-gay agenda of organizations like the Traditional Values Coalition and the Family Research Council, the two groups that criticized Dole's comments. Lou Sheldon, leader of the Traditional Values Coalition, has advocated confining HIV+ men, women and children in concentration camps. Voters who sent Republicans to Congress Nov. 8 also defeated anti-gay initiatives backed by these groups in Oregon, Idaho and West Palm Beach, Florida. A post-election poll of people who voted in the 1994 election found that 70% support equal rights for lesbian and gay people -- including 64% of Republicans, 71% of Independents and 77% of Democrats. The margin of error for the sample was #3.5%. "Mean-spirited rhetoric does not win over mainstream voters, whether Republican, Independent or Democrat," Zingale said. "The vast majority of voters support equal rights for lesbian and gay people. Radical right groups want to single out gay and lesbian people for special discrimination." Dole's contradictory statements came two weeks after House Speaker Newt Gingrich met with his lesbian sister, Candace, and said, "We are an American family, with all the complexity of an American family." The next day, Gingrich lashed out against lesbian and gay people using the inflammatory rhetoric of anti-gay zealots. Gingrich claimed that gays want protections "based on their sexual behavior" and that school programs designed to prevent AIDS, violence and suicide amount to "recruitment" of young people by "active homosexuals." "It is disturbing to see radical right-wing groups pulling the strings of the two most powerful men in congress," said HRCF spokesperson Douglas Hattaway. "It's also mystifying, since the vast majority of voting Americans reject this kind of divisive rhetoric." For more information contact: Daniel Zingale; Human Rights Campaign Fund; 1101 14th Street NW #2; Washington, DC 20005; 202-628-4160 Voice; 202-347-5323 Fax. The entire contents of The Electronic Gay Community Magazine are Copyright 1995 by The Land of Awes Computer Information System (telephone 316-269-0913 Voice, 316-269-4208 fax/modem) but may be reproduced by any means without permission from the publishers provided that this copyright notice remains with each article. Request the GCM.ARC or GCM.ZIP file for a copy of the magazine.