Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 12:04:08 -0400 From: PMDAtropos@aol.com Subject: Press Release: ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS [ Send all responses to Robert_Riley@GALAXY.COM only. Any responses to the list or list editors will be returned! ] ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS 3102 Oak Lawn Avenue, The Centrum - Suite #700 Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. 75219 1-800-520-4AFP FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 11, 1994 Contact: Jon Etienne Mourot ************************************************* GAY RIGHTS COMMERCIAL FILMED IN DALLAS History was recently made when the Dallas-based non-profit organization Alliance For Progress filmed the nation's first gay rights television commercial entitled Sunday Morning in various Dallas locations, including the home of Human Rights Campaign Fund board member Lory Masters. Alliance For Progress is the only gay rights organization that challenges the barriers between the lesbigay and heterosexual communities through the use of 30-second television commercials which emphasize the similarities of the groups. Sunday Morning, similar in design to Ronald Reagan's campaign commercial entitled Morning in America, depicts the daily lives of lesbigays through a chronological series of vignettes. These images pointedly show that the lesbigay community shares the same values of family, religion, patriotism, and economic success as the heterosexual community. "It's important that the lesbigay community educates parents, grandparents, friends, coworkers, and neighbors to the fact that the majority of lesbians and gays live normal everyday lives, except with same-gender partners. The most cost-effective way to inform them is through 30-second television commercials aired into their homes," stated co-founder Christopher Parman. "It's a simple message to counteract the Radical Rights' propaganda to heterosexuals that lesbians and gays are sexual deviants out to spread AIDS and molest children." "If the lesbigay community intends to achieve equal rights and protection," stated co-founder Jon Etienne Mourot, "it must send its message to the people who elect our country's leaders. Until a proper foundation is laid with voters, our lobbying efforts will not succeed." AFP plans to premier Sunday Morning during television newscasts on August 26 in a Midwestern state which is home to a Radical Right fanatic known for his attacks upon the lesbigay community. Soon thereafter, AFP will air Sunday Morning and other educational commercials throughout the nation. "These commercials have been designed with three goals in mind," according to Parman. "First educate the heterosexual community that like it, the lesbigay community is very mainstream in order to counter the negative stereotypes, fear, and hatred spread by the Radical Right. Second, show that the harsh reality of discrimination, hatred, and violence against lesbigays requires legal protection for our community. Finally, to cut the alarming rate of teen suicides we must provide positive role models proclaiming that it is OK to be gay." "We must stop the discrimination and violence against gays," stated Mourot. "AFP's commercials will play an important role in countering the atmosphere of fear and hate engendered by the Radical Right. We intend to take on these malevolent groups nationwide. The public will finally see truthful portrayals of our community. Our community will finally see public affirmations of its value and role in society." AFP needs the financial support of the lesbigay community to effectively implement its advertising campaign. Once we have raised the necessary funds to broadcast the commercial," Parman stated, "the benefits to the lesbigay community should become quickly apparent. Alliance For Progress will target areas where lesbigay issues are at risk in addition to broadcasting commercials nationwide." To inquire about obtaining videotapes of the commercial, hosting community fundraisers or to make a financial donation contact Jon Etienne Mourot at Alliance For Progress, The Centrum, Suite #700, 3102 Oak Lawn Avenue, Dallas, TX 75219-4272. For more information call 1.800.520.4237 or in Dallas, 214.520.2205. AFP may also be reached by electronic mail at AFProgress@aol.com.