Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 11:07:43 -0500 (EST) From: David Casti Submitted by: Babngltf@aol.com ************************************************* NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE ACTIVIST ALERT January 1994 2320 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 332-6483 FAX (202) 332-0207 TTY (202) 332-6219 EMAIL ngltf@aol.com ************************************************* ALL EYES ON THE 104TH Promising to revolutionize American government, Republicans opened the doors of the Capitol Building to a new House of Representatives and Senate both dominated by the Republican party for the first time in 40 years. Stepping up to the rostrum for the first time on the morning of January 3rd, new Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich touted his Contract With America. Previous statements by Gingrich, including that "it is madness to pretend that families are anything other than heterosexual couples," make it clear that his Contract with America is intended to support only some Americans. Gay, lesbian and bisexual people have learned to read between the lines of proposed Contract policies like "The Family Reinforcement Act." and might consider renaming the Republican Contract a "Contract On America." What concerns most progressive activists is not the takeover of the House and Senate by the Republican party per se, but rather the dominance of an ultra-conservative faction of Senators and Representatives. According to a recent report by the Christian Coalition, a full 44 of the 62 new Republican members of the House conformed to its "pro-family, pro-life" agenda. Also alarming are the number of familiar faces now chairing powerful committees who have a long- standing tradition of opposing gay-positive legislation. Chief among them is Jesse Helms, the homophobic North Carolina senator, who will now head the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Activists can expect to spend the bulk of their energies throughout the 104th Congress fighting off anti-gay legislation and funding cuts. Many previously defeated Radical Right initiatives may find a second wind in the 104th session. Anti-gay amendments may appear in legislation on topics ranging from government personnel policies to milk subsidies. Funding may be challenged for the Ryan White CARE Act and other AIDS research and service appropriations, the National Endowment of the Arts for its funding of gay positive art, and for schools teaching tolerance and acceptance of all students, including gay and lesbian youth. Unfortunately, pro-active efforts, including movement of pro-gay federal legislation such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, seem unlikely in such a politically conservative and hostile environment. In addition, attacks on abortion rights, social security insurance, health care, and new immigrants all appear likely. Activists from all corners of the country will need to keep up on the new hostile Congress by lobbying their senators and representatives regularly if the voices of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people are to be heard on Capitol Hill. ACTION: NGLTF offers several resources to assist you in lobbying the federal government. To learn more about writing, calling, and visiting your senators and representatives,request Lobbying Tips ($1) from the NGLTF publication request line. Call (202) 332-6483 ext. 3327. If you spend time on the Internet during business hours, you can receive urgent legislative action alerts from NGLTF as news breaks on Capitol Hill. Write to: babngltf@aol.com and type "subscribe legislative action alert" in the subject heading. Be sure to include your name address and telephone number in the message. PHELPS' FOLLIES Holding their "God's Hate is Great" signs high above their heads, minister Fred Phelps and members of his Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of Topeka, Kansas were spotted recently picketing NGLTF's Creating Change Conference. In addition to the activist conference, WBC members heckled Sunday services at Mel White's MCC Cathedral of Hope in Dallas. According to Phelps, WBC picketed 1,560 gay and lesbian churches, conventions, parades, and funerals in 1994 including Stonewall 25, the recent funeral of AIDS activist Pedro Zamora in Miami and a Kansas speech by poet Maya Angelou. Phelps garnered national attention when he began his campaign of picketing funerals of AIDS victims and harassing their mourning family members. Maya Angelou's confrontation with Fred Phelps led her to cancel her speech at Emporia State University. In response, an outraged coalition of over 70 organizations formed to create an organized opposition to Phelp's virulent gay-bashing. The Network for Unity and Tolerance (NUT) is a multicultural group committed to "reaffirming the traditional American values of mutual respect, tolerance and integrity." The "Reverend Church Lady" of Topeka now distributes a weekly parody and update of WBC activities called Church Chat. The Church Lady faxes WBC each week in repsonse to WBC's regular homophobic and vile faxes. ACTION: To find out more about how you can support the efforts of NUT, write to 8336 Sagamore Road, Leawood, Kansas, 66206 or email: Junemoon@fileshop.com. To download a new unauthorized biography of Fred Phelps on America Online, go to glcf->community organizations->file library->NGLTF publications. DISTRESS IN DES MOINES School board members in Des Moines Iowa are finding their pro-tolerance, multi-cultural curriculum proposal under fire thanks to the efforts of imported anti-gay activist, Bill Horn. Four of seven school board members voiced their support for the proposed district education plan which would include teaching about the contributions of famous gay, lesbian and bisexual people and discussion of homophobic thinking and behavior. The plan met with opposition when board members gave the district superintendent the go ahead to begin implementing curriculum changes. Des Moines would become the first school district in Iowa with specific curriculum requirements to ensure that its schools are safe places for all its students including gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Controversy erupted when Bill Horn, spokesman for The Report, a national Christian organization that publishes the anti-gay Lambda Report, moved to Des Moines to begin a campaign aimed at dismantling the long standing school district proposal. Horn, whose children do not attend the Des Moines Public School District, succeeded in gathering 3,000 protesters at a recent Des Moines anti-gay rally and called on those present to flood the school board with phone calls demanding rejection of the tolerance proposal. School board members continue to stand in strong support of the policy but need support particularly from activists in Iowa and in other school districts with pro-tolerance policies. The Gay and Lesbian Resource Center (GLRC) of Des Moines has pitched in their organizing strength to fight Horn and his supporters. In addition to letters of support and encouragement to the Des Moines School Board, GLRC has suggested that activists from across the country write letters to the editor of the Des Moines Register in support of the board's position on the side of tolerance. ACTION: Send letters of support to Jacquie Easley, President, Des Moines School District, 1800 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA, 50309. Send letters to the editor to The Des Moines Register, PO Box 957, Des Moines, IA, 50309 or fax to (515) 286-2511. For more information write GLRC: PO Box 7008, Des Moines, IA, 50309. ***************************************************** If you have an item you think should be included in ACTIVIST ALERT, please mail or fax it to , Activist Alert, NGLTF Policy Institute, 2320 17th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009; fax (202) 332-0207; e-mail ngltf@aol.com. All entries should be national in scope or should allow for activists from around the country to respond.