Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 18:41:43 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines July 13, 1998 GLAADLINES-July 13, 1998 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community contact: Don Romesburg (415) 861-2244 romesburg@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org 1) GLAAD CALLS "EX-GAY" AD CAMPAIGN "DECEPTIVE AND MISLEADING" 2) RIGHTS GROUP LINKS RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISTS TO ANTI-GAY ATTACKS 3) ILLINOIS GROUP STEAMED OVER FISHY RED LOBSTER OPPOSITION TO EQUAL RIGHTS 4) FIRST LESBIAN/GAY YOUTH HEALTH GUIDE TO GET GALA LAUNCH 1) GLAAD CALLS "EX-GAY" AD CAMPAIGN "DECEPTIVE AND MISLEADING": A coalition comprised mostly of religious political extremist groups, headed by the Family Research Council (FRC), placed a full-page advertisement in this morning's New York Times, promoting the supposed conversion of lesbians and gay men to become heterosexual. Leading with the heading: "Toward hope and healing for homosexuals," the advertisement features a large photograph of a woman which is captioned, "Anne Paulk ~ wife, mother, former lesbian." GLAAD Communications Director Jennifer Einhorn said, "We are struck by the overriding egregious and misleading tone of this advertisement, which suggests that lesbians and gay men are not and cannot be people of faith. It is a shameful disservice to lesbian and gay clergy, not to mention the thousands of lesbians and gay men who are instrumental to their places of worship." According to an FRC press release, similar advertisements will appear in tomorrow's Washington Post and in the sports section of Wednesday's USA Today. For more information contact Jennifer Einhorn (GLAAD Director of Communications) at (212) 807-1700 ext. 14. 2) RIGHTS GROUP LINKS RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISTS TO ANTI-GAY ATTACKS: A new People For the American Way (PFAW) report links fundamentalist political extremists to almost 40% of 170 events described in "Hostile Climate," which chronicles 1997 incidents targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Incidents catalogued include anti-gay hate speech and hate-inspired violence, job discrimination, harassment and beatings of high school students and attempts to pass anti-gay laws. One example of last year's hate speech cited in the report was from Frank Simon, who said, "There are hundreds of children in America who are dying of AIDS because they were sexually abused by homosexuals." The report also shows that just four states-California, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Washington-accounted for more than 25% of the incidents. PFAW President Carole Shields said, "The religious right has poisoned the public dialogue about lesbian and gay rights and, as a result, our public discussion of these issues is often stuck in the dark ages. The religious right is playing a destructive game of blaming the victims of anti-gay and -lesbian discrimination." The report groups discriminatory incidents among six categories: employment, arts and entertainment, marriage and family, education, religion and general intolerance. For more information or to receive a copy of the report, contact Nancy Coleman (PFAW) at (202) 467-4999. 3) ILLINOIS GROUP STEAMED OVER FISHY RED LOBSTER OPPOSITION TO EQUAL RIGHTS: The Illinois Federation for Human Rights (IFHR) is mounting a "public awareness and educational campaign" to counter an attempt by Red Lobster's corporate parent to have Cook County's human rights law-which includes protections based on sexual orientation- discarded as unconstitutional. Darden Restaurants filed the request after the county's Human Rights Commission ruled that Red Lobster had violated the ordinance when it fired a gay man in 1993 because of his sexual orientation. IFHR Director Rick Garcia said, "It is bad enough that Red Lobster was found guilty of anti-gay discrimination but to try to overturn the human rights ordinance is beneath contempt. That a national restaurant chain would try to overturn civil rights legislation is as unconscionable as it is disgusting." For more information contact Rick Garcia (IFHR) at (773) 244-3371. 4) FIRST LESBIAN/GAY YOUTH HEALTH GUIDE TO GET GALA LAUNCH: Twenty-five organizations, including the National Education Association Health Information Network and the Whitman-Walker Clinic, will celebrate the publication of Lesbian & Gay Youth: Care and Counseling at a July 20 event in Washington, D.C. Social worker and counselor Caitlin Ryan and physician Donna Futterman, the authors of the first comprehensive guide to health and mental health care for lesbian and gay youth, will be on hand to discuss their findings and autograph copies. Among the other event sponsors are: GLAAD, Child Welfare League of America, National Association of People with AIDS, National Black Gay & Lesbian Leadership Forum and the National Minority AIDS Council. For more information contact Denise Watkins (Whitman-Walker public affairs specialist) at (202) 797-3569. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is the nation's lesbian & gay multimedia advocacy 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. 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