Date: Wed, 23 Jul 97 19:13:36 EST From: "NGLTF" Subject: NGLTF Meets with Clinton NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE PRESS RELEASE Contact: Mark F. Johnson, Media Director mfjohnson@ngltf.org 202/332-6483 x3314 pager 1-800/757-6476 2320 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 http://www.ngltf.org .............................................................. NGLTF MEETS WITH PRESIDENT CLINTON Washington, DC---July 23, 1997-- Kerry Lobel, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director and representatives of eleven other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations met with President Clinton on Tuesday July 22, 1997 at the White House. Participants at the meeting, organized by Richard Socarides, White House liaison to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, covered a wide range of issues including gays in the military, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, HIV/AIDS, and family issues including marriage, adoption and custody. Other topics discussed at the meeting were hate crimes, the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), state organizing, presidential appointments, sodomy, and the intersections of race and sexual orientation. The group also talked about the President's record on LGBT issues during his first term and discussed their expectations for the current term. According to Lobel, "we found the President to be open and knowledgeable on issues affecting the LGBT community. This is a President who at heart seems to have a deep commitment to moving every American forward. At those places where we disagree with the President, and there are many, we know for certain now that he acts, not out of ignorance, but out of his political analysis for advancing his agenda." Lobel added that the President spoke at length about how the cultural map of America must shift if LGBT people are to gain civil rights. "We look to the President to speak out loudly and often on issues affecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. But we must be realistic. The President will not move unless activists at the local and state level move him and the administration forward." Other participants at the meeting were Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teachers Network; Tim Gill, founder of the Gill Foundation; Gloria Nieto, executive director of the People of Color AIDS foundation of New Mexico; Brian Bond, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund; Lorri Jean, executive director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center; Martin Ornelas-Quintero, executive director of the National Lation/a Lesbian and Gay Organization; Jeff Soref, Co-Chair of the Empire State Pride Agenda; Dale McCormick, Treasurer of the State of Maine; Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund; Nancy McDonald, national president of the board of directors of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG); Verna Eggleston, executive director of the Hetrick-Martin Institute; and Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign. -30- The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has worked to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people at the local, state and national level since its inception in 1973. As part of a broader social justice movement for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF is creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully participate in society. _________________________________________ This message was issued by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Media Department. If you have any questions regarding this post, please direct them to one of the contacts at the top of this message If you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, please send an email with "UNSUBSCRIBE PRESSLIST" in the subject and body of your email message to .