Date: Mon, 24 Feb 97 10:09:07 EST From: "communications" Subject: Atlanta Bombing: HRC News Release ________________________________________________________ NEWS from the Human Rights Campaign 1101 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 email: hrc@hrcusa.org WWW: http://www.hrcusa.org ________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, February 24, 1997 HRC ASKS CLINTON, CONSERVATIVE RELIGIOUS LEADERS, TO CONDEMN BOMBING OF LESBIAN NIGHTCLUB Gay Leaders Denounce Bombings as Bias-Motivated WASHINGTON -- The Human Rights Campaign has asked President Clinton and leaders of conservative religious political groups to speak out against the bombing of a lesbian nightclub in Atlanta--a crime that appears to be motivated by bias. "We must unite as a nation against these despicable and cowardly acts of terror against our citizens," HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch said Sunday. "Fair-minded Americans and our nation's leaders should speak out loudly and forcefully against these heinous crimes. Yet today, in response to an act of terror apparently targeting gay people, we continue to hear nothing from conservative political groups, whose rhetoric has been blamed for creating a climate in which these crimes continue. And we call upon President Clinton to exercise moral leadership and use the bully pulpit of the White House to condemn these acts." Birch also praised the federal and local law enforcement response to the bombing Friday night of The Otherside Lounge, a lesbian nightclub in Atlanta. Five people were injured, including one who was hospitalized. Federal investigators in Georgia speculated that Friday's explosion could be the work of a serial bomber also responsible for the bombing of a family planning clinic five weeks ago. They were less certain that these crimes were linked to the Olympic Centennial Park bombing last July. Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell called the nightclub bombing a hate crime and ordered extra police protection at other gay nightspots in the city. "The quick and serious response from Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell and federal and local law enforcement officials to the bombing is to be highly commended," said Birch. "Sadly, because gay men and lesbians and family planning institutions share common antagonists, it is imperative that the investigation continue to explore the possibility of bias motivation." Birch's comments were echoed Sunday by HRC spokeswoman Candace Gingrich who, by coincidence, was in Atlanta attending an un-related conference. "Where are the voices of condemnation? Where is our president's voice? Where is the voice of the Christian Coalition?" she asked at a rally called by community activists in Atlanta. She also demanded that her brother, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., speak out as he did after the clinic bombing. Later Sunday, Newt Gingrich issued a statement condemning the bombings as "inexcusable acts of terrorism that should outrage all Americans and cannot be tolerated." On Saturday, Birch, HRC Legislative Director Winnie Stachelberg and Kerry Lobel, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, held a news conference in Washington, calling on the Justice Department to investigate the lesbian nightclub bombing as a bias-motivated crime. The Justice Department is not mandated by federal law to investigate bias-motivated crimes based on sexual orientation in the same manner it is toward race, religion or national origin. "Clearly, crimes of this nature underscore the need to include sexual orientation in federal hate crime statutes," Stachelberg said. The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. - 30 -