Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 20:29:52 -0500 (EST) From: David Casti Subject: ACTION ALERT: Referendum 1 in Tampa, FL Submitted by: NoRefTamFL@aol.com On March 7, voters in Tampa, FL, will vote on Referendum 1, an anti-gay initiative placed on the ballot by David Caton and the Florida chapter of the American Family Association, dba as a PAC called "Yes! Repeal the Homosexual Rights Ordinance!" If passed, Referendum 1 will repeal the portions of Tampa's current Anti-Discrimination Law which prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, real estate transactions, and public accommodations. Last year, Caton failed in his attempt to place a statewide anti-gay initiative on the Florida ballot. He subsequently vowed to pass these initiatives in every city and county in Florida "with the possible exception of Key West." On January 10, a similar initiative was defeated in West Palm Beach. This battle in Tampa has implications far outside Tampa. We have the momentum in these battles following recent victories in West Palm Beach, Oregon, and Idaho (where I also worked.) If we can defeat Caton here in his hometown, Florida AFA HQ and one of the state's largest cities, I believe we can set the tone for any future initiative battles in the nation's 4th largest state. We will also begin to dry up some of the financial support for these initiatives by continuing to win. Nobody likes to back a consistent loser. Citizens for a Fair Tampa (our PAC for this campaign) needs your help. You can write letters to our newspapers, the St. Petersburg Times and the Tampa Tribune, send them to us, and we will forward them to those papers. If you have friends in this area, contact them and urge them to volunteer if they haven't done so already. A lot of our city's residents are retirees from northern cities. If you have friends or relatives here, call them and urge them to vote NO on 1 and get involved with the campaign. If you are interested in hosting a house party about this campaign, please contact us. For more information, you may contact us at 813-227-6457 or NoRefTamFL@aol. Our mailing address for contributions is Citizens for a Fair Tampa, P.O.Box 1288, Tampa, FL, 33601. All support is greatly appreciated. - Gary Barlow, Campaign Coordinator