Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 19:00:43 -0400 From: glaad@glaad.org (GLAAD) Subject: GLAADLINES 6.2.97 GLAADLINES FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 2, 1997 News, Tips and Breaking Stories about the Gay & Lesbian Community contact: Don Romesburg (415) 861-2244 romesburg@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org NEW POLL SHOWS STRONG SUPPORT FOR TELEVISION INCLUSION: A new survey by public-opinion research firm Roper Starch Worldwide has found that Americans broadly support television programming that deals with "sensitive issues and social problems," and feels that advertisers should support network television programs that address such issues. In the survey, 87% agree it is appropriate for network programs to deal with sensitive topics, and 86% feel advertisers should support them. "In light of ABC's recent ratings victory with Ellen, this survey shows that the American public is far more supportive of realistic portrayal of all Americans than radical religious groups would have people believe," said Liz Tracey, GLAAD associate communications director. "Hopefully this survey will serve as a sign to the networks and their sponsors that fair, accurate and inclusive representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on television are both good business and welcome by the viewing public." For more information contact Liz Tracey (GLAAD) at (212) 807-1700. IOWA IGNORES BLATANT ANTI-GAY DISCRIMINATION: Five months ago, Roger Crow, the administrator at St. Katharine's Living Center in Davenport, Iowa, fired several employees because of their sexual orientation, but state and federal authorities have done nothing to challenge him. In an interview with the local Quad City Times, Crow said that, "When I first came here, there was probably at least three faggots working here and at least three dykes....It was like, 'These people are gone.'...[Gay people] are not a part of society as far as I'm concerned." The Iowa Civil Rights Commission says it cannot act on the complaint, since the state legislature has rejected adding sexual orientation to existing anti-discrimination law, and the Inspector General for the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services said no action had been taken in part because the department's Iowa office has been closed since 1995. "What we see is all these different governmental agencies passing the buck. This is not news to gay people in Iowa," said John Schmacker, president of the Des Moines Gay and Lesbian Resource Center. "This is an issue for the whole state, because the very law lesbians and gay men need to have to be protected from job discrimination based on their sexual orientation has been rejected by our legislature two times in last five years." For more information contact John Schmacker (Des Moines Gay and Lesbian Resource Center) at (515) 282-7925. NORTH CAROLINA POLITICIANS CONTINUE ASSAULT ON ARTS: County Commissioners in both Guilford and Mecklenburg Counties (North Carolina) have recently criticized public funding for the arts after two separate venues showed gay-related works. In Greensboro Commissioner Steve Arnold told protesters at a production of La Cage Aux Folles that he planned to introduce a resolution to eliminate arts funding in the county budget. In Mecklenburg County, where the Mint Museum of Art recently hosted the award-winning documentary It's Elementary, Commissioner Bill James said that even though the viewing was privately funded, he didn't think the museum should show films dealing with lesbians and gay men and would consider cutting funding for the museum in next year's budget. Two months ago the Mecklenburg commissioners passed a ban on funding to art agencies that represent gay-themed work, despite strong community opposition to the measure. "The new wave of attacks on the arts is thinly veiled homophobia that puts all American's freedom of expression at risk," said Alan Klein, GLAAD communications director. For more information contact Liz Tracey (GLAAD Associate Communications Director) at (212) 807-1700. PRIDE EVENTS CONTINUE NATIONWIDE: In the upcoming week, Pride festivals and parades will happen in 18 cities around the country, including Kansas City, Missouri, Washington, D.C. and Bozeman, Montana. In Kansas City, "The Heart of America Pride" will be held June 8 and include entertainment, outreach and celebration. A highlight of the June 8 Washington, D.C. Pride parade will feature members of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN) riding a yellow school bus with family and friends. In Bozeman, the June 6-8 Pride! Weekend and parade will happen despite attempts by a local radical religious group to deny the event organizers a permit. Pride! member Stacey Haugland noted that the unanimous approval for the permit by city commissioners "demonstrates Bozeman is a more welcoming community than the protesters would lead us to believe." For more information contact Heart of America Pride at (816) 756-5116; GLSTN/DC at (301) 365-6004; and Sandra Hale (Executive Director, Pride!) at (406) 442-9322. PROM SEASON BRINGS OUT GAY YOUTH: Several proms for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth and their friends are happening around the country during this "prom season," including "Bomb the Prom: An Explosion of Queer Pride," in New York City. The June 7 event, sponsored by the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender Youth of New York and Youth Enrichment Services (YES), will include live entertainment for hundreds of youth people to dance in a safe, drug- and alcohol-free environment. For more information contact YES at (212) 620-7310. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is the nation's lesbian & gay news bureau and the only national lesbian & gay multimedia watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe contact Don Romesburg at (415) 861-2244 or at romesburg@glaad.org. "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.