Date: Wed, 11 Jan 1995 17:29:01 -0500 From: HRCFCOMM@aol.com ***************************************************************** PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND The Nation's Largest Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Political Group ***************************************************************** To contact the HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND, please call us at (202)628-4160, fax us at (202) 347-5323 or write to us at PO Box 1396 Washington, DC 20013. WE CANNOT RESPOND TO E-MAIL. ***************************************************************** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11, 1995 ANTI-GAY INITIATIVE DEFEATED IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA Vote Mirrors National Trend of Rejecting Extremist Agenda WASHINGTON -- In a defeat to anti-gay extremists that mirrors a growing national trend, voters in West Palm Beach, Florida, last night rejected an anti-gay initiative pushed by the Christian Coalition and American Family Association. The vote was 56-44 to defeat the initiative, which would have denied lesbian and gay people basic protection under the city's non-discrimination law. The 22 percent turnout in yesterday's special election more than doubled the turnout of the last two city elections. "The voters who changed the face of Congress have once again rejected discrimination and supported the fundamental value of equal rights," said Stacie Spector, director of Americans Against Discrimination, a program of the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF) that assists communities targeted by radical right political groups. "People came out to vote in record numbers and said no to discrimination. This sends yet another message to anti-gay extremists that their divisive agenda is way outside the mainstream." Voters rejected similar measures Nov. 8 in Idaho and Oregon, where the Christian Coalition and other national political groups had pressured voters to approve discriminatory amendments. The Christian Coalition financed a negative advertising campaign in West Palm Beach, airing television advertisements that distorted the fundamental issue: Local non-discrimination laws are necessary to protect people from losing their jobs or homes to anti-gay discrimination, because no federal or state of Florida law prohibits this kind of discrimination. The American Family Association has sponsored a similar anti-gay measure in Tampa, which will appear on city ballots March 10. "The radical right groups wanted a wave to sweep through Florida, but it stopped in West Palm Beach," said Timothy Cavanaugh, assistant director of Americans Against Discrimination, who spent several weeks in West Palm Beach assisting the local Citizens for Fairness campaign in defeating the initiative. HRCF also appealed to its 2,750 members across Florida to support the local campaign. "Citizens for Fairness did an excellent job of organizing the community and educating the public about the problem of anti-gay discrimination. The people of West Palm Beach clearly believe that no one who wants to do their job and contribute to the community should be singled out for discrimination." The West Palm Beach vote reflects a growing, bipartisan consensus across the country. In a national post-election poll of people who voted in the November election, 70 percent said gay people should not face unfair discrimination, particularly in the workplace -- with 64 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of Independents and 77 percent of Democrats supporting the idea. The poll, conducted by the independent firm of Mellman Lazarus Lake, Inc., had a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent. In Oregon, where the Christian Coalition mailed 650,000 "voter guides" directing people to approve a discriminatory ballot measure Nov. 8, voters rejected the initiative. In conservative Idaho, where voters sent a full GOP slate to Congress, a similar anti-gay measure went down in defeat. "In the midst of November's Republican sweep, voters sent a clear message that their vision of change included equal rights for lesbian and gay Americans," said Spector. "These polls and election results show a continuing trend among voters of all political stripes in support of equal rights for lesbian and gay Americans." - 30 - 1101 14th Street, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 phone:(202)628-4160 fax:(202) 347-5323