ACTIVIST ALERT May 1993 ARIZONA IS NEXT IN LINE Arizonans for Traditional Values just announced it will launch a Colorado-style anti-gay initiative on July 1. The organization claims to have 7,000 volunteers ready to gather signatures and advance the statewide measure for a 1994 vote. The Arizona Human Rights Fund, a political action committee offshoot the Lesbian and Gay Public Aware- ness Project, is mobilizing to defeat the initiative. Arizona will join seven other states where ballot measures have already been filed and signatures are being gathered. Those states are Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Michigan, California, Florida and Maine. The group needs resources volunteers and more. Contact Arizona Human Rights Fund at P.O. Box 26, Phoenix, AZ 85001-0026: (602) 530-1660. The contact there Is Peter Crozier. PREPARING FOR BATTLE The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) will host the second in a series of meetings to defeat the Right Wing. The Fight the Right Mid-West Summit will be held September 4 and 5 in Cincinnati. The event is tentatively scheduled to be held at the Hyatt Regency. The two-day training for activists facing Colorado-style ballot initiatives will include an overview of the Religious Right and information about building coalitions, media advocacy, grassroots organizing and campaign organizing. The local sponsor of the summit is Stonewall Cincinnati. The city may be facing a repeal referendum this November, and the state of Ohio may face a statewide initiative next year. Call Perl Jude Radecic, NGLTF deputy director of public policy, for detalls about the summit at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3302. Registration is limited to 300. Scholarships are available from NGLTF. Activist Alert Alert - Due to the transitions in the NGLTF public information department, the Activist Alert may be suspended until September. DIAL AN ORGANIZER As activists return to their hometowns from the March on Washington, many will be energized to initiate new projects and legislation at home. Sue Hyde, a former NGLTF staffer, is serving as a consultant fielding calls regarding local organizing and tracking local legislation. If you have questions about organizing In your community, problems you can't solve, need advice, or are trying to pass local legislation, call Sue Hyde at the NGLTF organizer's hotline: (202) 332-6483, ext. 3357. TOOLS FOR CHANGE The NGLTF Fight the Right campaign just published a 120-page Action Kit including information on Religious Rights groups, homosexuality and religion, organizing with people of color, rural organizing, legal pointers, voter contact, media advocacy, field strategy, bigot busting, allied organizations, and more. For a copy of the Fight the Right Action Kit, send $10 to NGLTF Publications Department, 1734 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009. Meanwhile, the Gay and Lesbian Emergency Media Campaign (GLEMC) in New York City is finishing production of an educational video to be used by gay and lesbian activists fighting the Right. The one-hour video, entitled "Sacred Lies, Civil Truths", includes information about the Religious Right, the No On 9 campaign in Oregon last year and various documentary clips about gay and lesbian youth, families, violence and religious communities. The video can be used as a tool to counter anti-gay propaganda such as the widely distributed "Gay Agenda." For Information and copies of the video, contact GLEMC, 39 W. 14th St., #402, New York, NY 10011: (212) 229-2863, D.C. NEEDS YOU Washington, D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly signed a sodomy reform bill this month after activists successfully guided the legislation through the local city council. Twenty-three states and D.C. currently have laws banning certain sexual acts between consenting adults. Because D.C. is not a state and has limited home rule, legislation enacted by the D.C. City Council undergoes a period of Congressional review during which Congress can block implementation of the legislation. The D.C. Criminal Code Right to Privacy Amendment Act, as the sodomy repeal law is officially known, will now be sent to Capitol Hill to begin a review period of 60 legislative days. D.C. City Council repealed the city's sodomy law in 1981, only to have the repeal bill defeated on the Hill after an orchestrated campaign by the Moral Majority. D.C. does not have any Senators or a full-voting Representative, so constituents from outside the District actually have more clout than D.C. residents. Activists must contact their Senators and Representatives at once, Urge them not to interfere with leglislatlon passed by the elected officials of D.C. and, if your members are conservative, ask them to support a bill that limits government interference in the personal lives of citizens. Write and call: U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510; (202) 224-3121 and U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515; (202) 225-3121. If you have an item you think should be included in ACTIVIST ALERT please mail or fax it to Robin Kane, Activist Alert editor, NGLTF Policy Institute, 1734 14th St., NW, Washinkton, DC 20009-4309; fax (202) 332-0207. Entries should be national in scope or should allow for activists from around the country to respond. HOW'S YOUR LOCAL COVERAGE? Unlike the 1987 March on Washington, the 1993 March was covered extensively by the media. But were you satisfied with the coverage your local media gave to the March? Is your state or community facing an anti-gay referenda or repeal measure? Do you need help dealing with local media issues? Robert Bray, current NGLTF Public Information director, will step down from that position at the end of May to take on a new role: NGLTF Media Strategist and Grassroots Organizer. He will travel around the nation to conduct media trainings for local activists beginning July 5. For more Information about Fight the Right media trainings, Including how to schedule a training contact Robert Bray at (202) 332-6483, ext. 3305. NEW DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE When activists were in D.C. for the March on Washington, NGLTF coordinated two historic health-related events on Capitol Hill. Advocates conducted briefings on lesbian health care for Senate and House members and fifteen health care professionals held a one-hour meeting with Donna Shalala, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), on gay and lesbian health care. NGLTF helped activists involved with both events produce recommendations for federal government policy changes on the issues of lesbian and gay health. The Lesbian Health Issues and Recommendations document includes information on access to health care, greater health risks, cancer, HIV, violence, aging, substance abuse and more. It highlights five general recommendations for HHS and dozens of specific recommenda- tions for the various government agencies and departments that oversee health issues. A document highlighting the Gay and Lesbian Health Key Recommendations presented by more than a dozen health professionals and given to Sec. Shalala includes information on youth, lesbians, people of color, substance abuse/mental health, aging, sexually transmitted diseases, health clinics, health care reform, AIDS/HIV and more. Health care activists and others can obtain copies of each document from NGLTF. The Lesbian Health Issues and Recommendations document Is $3 while the Key Recommendations document on gay and lesbian health issues is free. For copies contact NGLTF Publications Department, 1734 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009. MARCH VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS Didn't get to the Wedding? Waited so long to march that you missed the main stage? Or just want to see it all again? A group called Project 1993 is producing a one-hour video of the 1993 March on Washington, featuring all the major events of the March, filmed by eight video crews during the historic weekend. For a copy of the video, send $24.50 plus $2.50 for postage, to Project 1993, 2020 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20006. A portion of the proceeds from sale of the video benefits NGLTF, NGLTF membership is $35 for individuals, $60 per household, $100 for organizations, $20 for limited income, The first $35 of your gift will be allocated to NGLTF's lobbying programs, and is not tax-deductible. The balance of your gift supports the organizing, educational and media activities of NGLTF Policy Institute and is fully tax-deductible. Make payable to NGLTF Policy Institute, 1734 14th ST, N.W., Washington, DC 20009-4309.