FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- JULY 31,1995

DALLAS GAY AND LESBIAN ALLIANCE LAUNCHES MARRIAGE PROJECT

On-line Contact:  MarriageTX@aol.com
Telephone Contact:  Avery Maixner, Chairperson of DGLA Marriage
Project
214-521-5342,ext.414 or Michael Osborn, Director of Administration
214-528-4233.  FAX 214-521-6424

Lesbians and gay men are on the verge of a tremendous legal victory:
winning
the freedom to marry.  Through a landmark case underway in Hawaii, the
doors
to civil marriage soon may be open for gay men and lesbians.  The
Dallas Gay
and Lesbian Alliance has started a new program in preparation for this
historic civil rights development. 

Working in coordination with the Lambda Legal Defense and Education
Fund
National Marriage Project, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force, and
with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union-North Texas
Region,
the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance Marriage Project is preparing to
lead the
state of Texas in ushering in this historic moment in our nation's
history.

The purpose of the DGLA Marriage Project is to provide education about
the
civil rights implications of legalized marriage for same-sex couples. 
Many
Americans fail to understand how seriously lesbians and gay men suffer
discrimination.  Nor do they realize that many gay people are in
long-term
committed relationships and yet are denied the freedom to marry in
every
state.

Education will be presented through video presentations, published
commentaries, computer on-line materials, and an extensive speaker's
bureau.
 Any interested organization may schedule a formal presentation with
written
materials and speaker, and members of the media may request interviews
by
contacting the DGLA.

Although many lesbian and gay couples are in long-term relationships,
and
undertake responsibilities toward one another as married couples, they
are
denied the vast array of legal, economic, and practical benefits that
married
couples enjoy.  Among these are the rights to:
     - file joint tax returns and get marriage or family rates and
exemptions
     - obtain joint insurance policies for home and auto, as well as
family
health coverage
     - inherit automatically in the absence of a will
     - inherit jointly-owned real and personal property through the
right of
survivorship
     - determine medical decisions on a partner's behalf in the event
of
illness
     - decision making power with respect to a deceased partner's
final
resting place
     - take bereavement or sick leave to care for a partner or child
     - visit a partner or child in the hospital, and others.

Additionally, same-gender couples are not seeking "gay marriage". 
They are
seeking MARRIAGE.  The term "gay marriage" implies that same-gender
couples
are asking for something different from what other married couples
have.
 Lesbians and gay men are asking for the equal freedom to marry the
person
they love and care for, just as non-gay people do.

------Founded in 1977, the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance remains one
of the
preeminent civil rights organizations in the state of Texas.  Its
mission is
to advocate full civil rights, dignity, and self-respect for gay and
lesbian
individuals by educating, creating social and political change, and
fighting
discrimination based on sexual orientation in order to achieve the
full
participation of gay and lesbian people in society.

For more information about the DGLA Marriage Project,the on-line
contact is "
MarriageTX@aol.com".  Phone contact is Avery Maixner, Chairperson of
the DGLA
Marriage Project @ 214-521-5342, ext. 414, or Michael Osborn, Director
of
Administration @ 214-528-4233.


_________________________________________________________________

On Monday, August 14th, at 7:30 PM the DGLA Monthly Membership Meeting
will
be presenting its program  " Marriage for Gays and Lesbians: What All
the
Talk's About".  The location will be the Gay and Lesbian Community
Center at
2701 Reagan St. at Brown.  Attendance is free; non-members are
welcome.  A
brief business meeting of DGLA will precede the program. Speakers will
include noted Attorney Rebecca Covell and myself.

This next year promises to be an exciting one for our community and
our
country!  For any assistance or information, please don't hesitate to
contact
me.

Warmly,
Avery Maixner
Vice-President, Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance 


=========END FORWARDED MESSAGE=========

Michael Lax; lazarus@bga.com; http://www.realtime.net/~lazarus/
12514 Esplanade St #B Austin TX 78727-4409; 512.837.1596/512.836.9715 [fax]
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
 If I am only for myself, what am I?  If not now, when?" Hillel