The following excerpts were taken from the Times-Picayune, Thursday, March 12,
1992 and are reprinted here without express consent of the author or the
Times-Picayune Publishing Company.
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Gay Discrimination Banned by Edwards -- by Susan Finch, staff writer

     In a move praised by gay rights activists as a first among Southern
states, Governor Edwin Edwards without fanfare has barred state agencies
from disriminating in jobs or services on the basis of sexual orientation.
     The executive order -- signed by Edwards last month -- also prohibits
such discrimination by the state in awarding contracts and by state
contractors in any employment matter.  
     Edwards had the decree drawn up at the request of New Orleans lawyer
John Rawls.  Rawls said he discussed the matter first with other gay and
lesbian activists and people involved in AIDS work.
     Rawls said he only learned this week that the governor had issued the 
order.
     Rawls said that in making his request, he handed Edwards similar decrees
issued by several other states, among them Colorado, Ohio, and New Mexico,
the state the Louisiana decree tracks most closely.
     "So far as I know, we are the only Southern state that has issued such
an order, " said Rawls, praising Edwards' action.  He said Florida's
governor has refused to include gays and lesbians in a broad civil rights
bill.
     A spokesman for the HRCF said that the Louisiana decree is the only one
in the South and is among the most far-reaching issued by any state.
     The order, Rawls said, guarantees Louisiana's gay men and women "that
they will not be treated as second class citizens in their dealings with
state government."
     "I think it's a powerful psychological boost," he said.  "It will give
qualified lesbians and gays the confidence to apply for a state job, knowing
that the only issue will be their qualifications," Rawls said.
      Though the order is a first for state government, Rawls said that under
both New Orleans Mayors Morial and Barthelemy, discrimination based on
sexual orientation has been prohibited in city hiring and the provision of
city services.  In December, the City Council passed an ordinance barring
discrimination against gay and lesbians ... in employment and housing.
     Rawls and an attorney for the Louisiana School Boards Association
agreed that Edwards' order does not apply to local public school systems
or other political subdivisions of the state.
    ...
    Attorney and civil rights activists Susan Clade said the most far-
reaching part of the new order will be the section on contacts with the
state.
    Lawyers, accountants, architects, construction contractors and others
whose firms do business with the state will be affected by the order, Clade
said.  She said it will "have an extremely far-reaching effect as long as
it is enforced."
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    Wow!  Two positive changes within 4 months, and in Louisiana, yet!  I
hope that the recent advances here will provide the impetus and a role-model
for other states and local governments to enact similar ordinances and
decrees.

David  < DXHPS@UNO.EDU >