Date:         Wed, 12 Apr 1995 08:57:38 EDT

           Press release from LOIS in Victoria, Australia.
 
                           DYKES  TAKE OVER
                             PARLIAMENT!
 
               LOIS - Lesbians Organising in Solidarity
 
Today at 3.30 pm, thirty lesbians and their friends took over the
Victorian Legislative Assembly.  We swamped the public gallery and,
chanting "Queer Rights Now!" and hurling streamers, dropped a huge
purple banner into the chamber below.  The banner read:
 
                               LESBIAN
                              TRANSGENDER
                              BI AND GAY
                              WE DEMAND
                             REAL RIGHTS
                                 NOW!
 
Here's why we did it:
 
LOIS is a broadbased direct action group of lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered women.  We are voicing the protests of the gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender communities against the Kennett Government's
proposed amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act in regards to
discrimination on the basis of sexuality.  While change is welcome, we
believe that the amendments as they are proposed are unwieldy,
inadequate, and perpetuate homophobic discrimination.
 
Firstly
 
The proposed legislation does not provide protection for the
transgendered.
 
Secondly
 
A clause has been proposed which specifically permits discrimination
against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenderists who work with
young people.  This perpetuates the homophobic myth that it is
predominantly homosexuals who molest children.  The fact is, the
overwhelming numbers of perpetrators of child abuse are heterosexual
men.
 
Thirdly
 
A clause has been proposed which specifically permits discrimination
on the basis of appearance.  This restricts the rights of lesbians and
gays, in addition to many other cultural groups, to express diversity.
The subjective nature of this clause will allow the persecution of
lesbians, gays and particularly transgenderists as well as other
minority groups to continue under another guise.
 
Finally
 
We believe that the wording of the proposed amendments as "lawful
sexual activity" is inadequate.  Sexuality is about more than what you
do in bed: it is about identity, culture and the way we live our
lives.  The criminal codes exist to deal with "sexual activity" which
is unlawful.
 
Lesbians, transgenderists, gays and bisexuals demand the right to live
our lives and express our differences free from discrimination.