Date: Thu, 16 Mar 1995 10:54:05 -0500 From: David B. O'Donnell Subject: (UK) Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association Press Release [ Send all responses to johndunedin@DRINK.DEMON.CO.UK only. Any responses to the list or list-owners will be returned to you. ] GAY AND LESBIAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION PRESS RELEASE STATEMENT CONCERNING 'OUTING', THE BISHOP OF LONDON, AND OUTRAGE The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) endorses the strategy of 'outing' *provided* it involves closeted lesbians and gays who directly or indirectly show hostility to lesbian and gay rights. aThe Bishop of London, Dr David Hope, has amply demonstrated such hostility by (1) supporting a resolution carried at the Church of England's General Synod in 1987 condemning gay sex and calling on gays to repent (2) declining to condemn a London Church of England minister's project to "cure" or "heal" lesbians and gays (3) condoning the Church of England Children's Society's ban on lesbian and gay adoption and fostering, and (4) opposing an equal age of consent for gay men. GALHA deplores the virulent press attack on Outrage, and its spokesperson Peter Tatchell, and further deplores the equally virulent attack from members of the Stonewall Group and TORCHE. Stonewall and TORCHE would do better to openly challenge and condemn the widespread homophobia from religious sources, which causes so much guilt and misery, than oppose the direct action tactics of another lesbian and gay rights organisation. ENDS 15th of March 1995 Issued by George Broadhead, Secretary Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association National Office 34 Spring Lane Kenilworth Warwickshire CV8 2HB Phone/Fax: +44 1926 58450 GALHA is affiliated to the International Humanist and Ethical Union and the International Lesbian and Gay Association. NOTE FOR EDITORS: Founded in 1979, GALHA is one of the longest-established national lesbian and gay rights organisations and enjoys the support of the worldwide Humanist movement. Some of its prominent Humanist supporters are: President: Maureen Duffy. Vice-Presidents: Prof Sir Hermann Bondi, Brigid Brophy, Dr James Hemming, Sir Michael Levey, George Melly, Claire Rayner, Dr H Stopes-Roe, Barbara Smoker, Prof Rob Tielman, Angela Willans.