Date: Tue, 16 Jun 98 17:42:07 -0400 From: NGLTF Subject: Trent Lott Sinks Low Into Pocket of Extremist Rights ****************************************************** NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE PRESS RELEASE Contact: Tracey Conaty, Communications Director tconaty@ngltf.org 202/332-6483 x3303 800/757-6476 pager 2320 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 http://www.ngltf.org ****************************************************** LOTT SINKS LOW INTO THE POCKET OF THE EXTREMIST RIGHT The seriousness of this rhetoric cannot be overstated. Senator Lott is obviously deep in the pocket of the extremist right. -- Rebecca Isaacs, NGLTF political director WASHINGTON, DC---June 17, 1998---The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) responded sharply today to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's (R-MS) attack on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community. "To have the leader of the U.S. Senate engaging in this kind of scapegoating and hate mongering is a moral outrage. The seriousness of this rhetoric cannot be overstated," said Rebecca Isaacs, NGLTF political director. "Senator Lott is obviously deep in the pocket of the extremist right," added Isaacs. Yesterday, during taping for the cable TV program "The Armstrong Williams Show," Lott equated homosexuality with an illness, such as alcoholism or kleptomania. The Task Force further charged Lott with being out of step with most Americans. From Wrongs to Rights, a recently released Task Force report analyzing public opinion trends for the last twenty years, shows that most Americans support basic civil rights for gay men and lesbians and that disapproval of gay men and lesbians is steadily declining. "We are not mollified by Senator Lott couching his hate in the context of the Bible and claiming people should still `love the sinner.' This is hateful rhetoric, and we believe most Americans will see it for what it is," said Isaacs. -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. _____________________________________________________________________ Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force works to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people at the local, state and national level. 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 .