*A C T I O N   A L E R T *

        The Human Rights Campaign Fund urges you to call your member of the
U.S. House of Representatives ON MONDAY, 9/13/93.  Say that you want her/him to
SUPPORT the Meehan/Fazio/Morella/Sheys/Johnston/Lewis Amendment to the
Department of Defense Authorization Bill.  Passing this amendment is the only
way to keep the House from passing the military's anti-gay ban into law.  CALL
your representative at (202) 225-3121.  TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO CALL TOO.


        If you have any questions, please contact the Public Policy Department
of the Human Rights Campaign Fund at (202) 628-4160.

        If you have the ability to distribute this action alert, please
feel free to do so.  Thank you for all your help.  It really makes a
difference.



                Talking Points for Meehan/Fazio Amendment



     "Don't Ask" Abandoned    The Nunn/Skelton ban has no binding
     provision that recruits not be asked about sexual
     orientation.  It does say the question may be reinstated.

     Equal Enforcement Omitted For example, the Nunn/Skelton ban
     also omits the President's proposed equal treatment under
     military anti-sodomy laws, undermining the only real changes
     from the previous ban.

     Sexual Harassment Ignored  The Nunn/Skelton ban does nothing
     to protect women in the armed services from sexual
     harassment.  Although money would continue to be wasted
     investigating and discharging lesbian and gay service
     members for private speech and private, consensual conduct,
     it does not address sexual harassment cases, such as the
     Tailhook scandal.

     Millions of Taxpayers Dollars Wasted  The Nunn/Skelton ban
     disregards all Congressional and Pentagon studies, allowing
     millions of taxpayers dollars to have been wasted.  The Rand
     Corporation report, released Thursday, August 26, claims
     that gay men and lesbians are compatible with military
     service.

          DOD Micromanaged  The Nunn/Skelton ban is excessive
     legislating of DOD personnel policy.  As President Clinton
     said on July 19, "We should not get in the business of
     legislating every personnel policy."

     Stop/Loss Policy Maintained  During the Persian Gulf war,
     gay servicemembers under investigation or awaiting discharge
     were retained and sent to the battlefield only to face
     discharge upon conclusion of the hostilities.  This policy
     would be retained in the Nunn/Skelton ban.


Vote against codification

                      Vote for the Meehan/Fazio Amendment.

                        VOTE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION.



HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND:


Talking Points on RAND Report and Sexual Harassment



The Human Rights Campaign Fund would like to thank the Members of Congress who
pressured the Department of Defense to finally release the Rand study.  The
American people paid 1.3 million dollars to have this professional study of the
current policy of banning lesbian and gay Americans from serving in the U.S.
Armed Forces and the suppression of it's recommendations has been nothing short
of an obstruction of democracy.

The Rand report amplifies our concern that the issue of sexual harassment has
been examined too little in the debate over lesbians  and gays in the military.
Rand agrees that the policy on lesbians and gays in the military should be
built around strict and equal rules governing sexual harassment.  The release
of the report is crucial in that at this moment the Armed Services Committee
DOD Authorization bill includes language to write into law a policy that
completely omits rules concerning sexual harassment.

We had believed the study was not made available simply because it asserts that
the ban should be lifted.  Upon review of the report, it appears that it was
also due to the fact that those who support this ban don't want to be forced to
deal with the real problem of sexual harassment.

A vote in Congress for the Armed Services Committee language is not only a vote
to allow discrimination against competent service men and women, but a vote to
omit the protection of women from future Tailhooks.  While 83 women were
assaulted in four days at Tailhook alone, only three service men have been
charged with assault.

We urge Members of the House to vote for Representative Meehan's amendment,
which would strike any ban language from the DOD Authorization bill and defer
the responsibility of military personnel policies back to the President and the
Pentagon.  Members of the Senate are also encouraged to vote against
codification of any ban language in the DOD Authorization bill.

Please call the Public Policy Department of the Human Rights Campaign Fund for
more information at (202) 628-4160 on how you can help pressure Congress 
on the Meehan Amendment.