Date: Sat, 15 Apr 1995 10:55:04 -0400 (EDT) From: David Casti Reply-To: LEGALinc@aol.com Submitted by: LEGALinc@aol.com LOUISIANA ELECTORATE of GAYS AND LESBIANS (LEGAL) PO BOX 70344 NEW ORLEANS, LA 70172 email:legalinc@aol.com Brian Hartig, Exec Dir Louisiana's first full-time legislative lobbying organization, LEGAL, will be lobbying for and against several bills this legislative session. We are about to list the most positive -- as well as the most disturbing -- bills. Please contact your legislators now regarding these bills. Please be prepared to cont act them once again when they go up for the vote -- you will be informed when this is about to happen. ****************************************************************************** GOOD BILLS 1. The Hate Crimes Bill (House Bill 1743 & Senate Bill 980): Authored by Rep. Edwin Murray, D-New Orleans, Dist. 96, and Sen. Jon Johnson, D-New Orleans, Dist. 2. This bill offers protection from hate-motivated assaults and provides for the judge to levy stiffer penalties to individuals found guilty of a hate crime. ("Sexual orientation" is included in the bill.) 2. The Equal Employment Bill (Senate Bill 1045): Authored by Rep. Edwin Murray, D-New Orleans, Dist. 96, and Sen. Jon Johnson, D-New Orleans, Dist. 2. This bill provides for employees and prospective employees to be judged based upon their ability to perform their jobs not upon their sexual orientation. It does not enforce a quota system or force anyone to hire anyone else. It simply protects people of all sexual orientations from being discriminated against because of whom they love. 3. The Human Rights Bill (House Bill 2038 & Senate Bill 981): Authored by Rep. Edwin Murray, D-New Orleans, Dist. 96, and Sen. Jon Johnson, D-New Orleans, Dist. 2. This bill amends the Human Rights Commission to add the words "sexual orientation" to the statute which governs the commission. (The commission studies human rights issues, investigates human rights problems and reports to the governor and the state legislature yearly.) BAD BILLS 1. Justifiable Murder of AIDS Carriers Bill (House Bill 290): Authored by Rep. Roy Brun, R-Shreveport, Dist. 5. This bill makes homocide justifiable when an individual kills because he or she fears that an "attacker" has the AIDS virus and it is reasonably assumed that the "carrier" is about to inflict it upon the individual. * Such a bill would provide an instant "fall-back" or "easy out" for any individual who kills a "faggot" in the heat of passion. Defense of such an action would commonly become that the "AIDS Carrrier" attacked him and that he had to defend himself because he felt the attacker had the AIDS virus and was trying to inflict it upon him. 2. Mandatory Minimums for Sex Crimes Bill (Senate Bill 1231): Authored by Sen. Jim Cox, D-Lake Charles, Dist. 27. This bill would, among other things, make the Crime Against Nature (sodomy) a minimum prison term of one year -- it is presently a five-year maximum without a minimum. * Such a bill would sentence adults, who are found guilty of a private, consensual act, to at least one year in prison. (LEGAL is currently in court with the State of Louisiana to have Louisiana's archaic sodomy laws thrown out as unconstitutional.) 3. Woman's Right to Know Bill (House Bill 2072): Authored by Reps. Shirley Bowler, R-Harahan, Dist. 78; Syndie Durand, D-Parks, Dist. 46; Jim Donelon, R-Metairie, Dist. 88; Hunt Downer, D-Houma, Dist. 52; and Sam Theriot, D-Abbeville, Dist. 47. This bill ultimately outlaws the use of "the pill" and other means of abortion. It requires printed material to be provided to assist a woman in selecting alternatives to abortion. * Such a bill attempts to "go in the back door" in shutting down abortion clinics, making it an offense to have an abortion, etc. In the wording of the bill the Department of Health and Hospitals shall provide "materials that inform the pregnant woman of the probable anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child at two-week gestational increments from fertilization to full-term, which may include pictures or drawings representing the development of unborn children..., provided that any such pictures or drawings must contain the dimensions of the unborn child and must be realistic." 4. Elections/Initiative-Referendum Bills. (Several of these bills have been introduced in the House and Senate.) Authored by Sen. Lomax Jordon, R-Lafayette, Dist. 23; Reps. David Vitter, R-New Orleans, Dist. 81; Joe Toomy, R-Gretna, Dist. 85; Quentin Dastugue, R-New Orleans, Dist. 82; among others. These bills would establish an initiative system to allow voters to propose constitutional amendments and adopt or reject proposals. * Such bills have been passed in states like Colorado, Iowa and Oregon a few years ago. Since then, Christian Coalition groups, who were instrumental in getting them pushed through their legislatures, subsequently brought up initiative votes which would deny lesbians and gay men their human rights. ****************************************************************************** WHAT YOU CAN DO. Contact your legislators by phone, letter or in person, and ask them to vote for the good bills and against the bad ones. (Contact your Registrar of Voters Office if you are uncertain as to who your legislators are.) Also, LEGAL will be holding a Lobby Day at the State Capitol building on 27 APRIL (12 noon on the capitol steps). All those who would like to lobby their legislators in person on this lobby day should be present for this event. WHEN YOU CAN DO IT You can start now. Each bill has been sent to committees which will review them to guage whether they warrant a vote on the House and Senate floors. When these bills are to go to committee, you will be notified who to contact on these committees, as well. Then when the bills go to the floors for a vote, you will be notified once again. ****************************************************************************** MORE INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED AS THESE BILLS ARE GIVEN HEARING DATES AND AS THEY MOVE THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS.