Fwd: Urge Attorney General Ashcroft to Reconsider Banning Gay Pride Celebration
James Nimmo
Urge Attorney General Ashcroft to Reconsider Banning Gay Pride Celebration
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Urge Attorney General John Ashcroft to Reconsider Decision to Ban Gay Pride Celebration
Dear James,
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has banned the Department of Justice's annual Gay Pride Celebration. Please use HRC's Online Action Center today to send a message urging the Attorney General to reconsider his decision!
Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Attorney General John Ashcroft
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: Please reconsider your cancellation of the Justice Department's Gay Pride event
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
First, thank you for allowing the Department of Justice employees to conduct a Gay Pride Celebration during your first two years as Attorney General.
However, I urge you to reconsider your decision this year to ban the Gay Pride Celebration. It is very troubling to me that the agency responsible for protecting the civil rights of all Americans would single out one group of its own employees for different and discriminatory treatment.
During your Senate confirmation hearings, you stated that you "would not tolerate discrimination against any employee at the Department of Justice based on sexual preference. I have no intent to treat this group differently than any other." Your recent actions are in direct conflict with your previous pledge not to discriminate, and I am extremely concerned that you have gone back on your word to the Senate.
This decision infringes upon the rights to free speech and assembly of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees of the Department of Justice.
I urge you to reconsider your decision.
Sincerely,
James Nimmo
Take Action!
Instructions:
Click here to take action on this issue.
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Visit the web address below to tell your friends how they can urge Attorney General John Ashcroft to reconsider his decision.
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What's At Stake:
During last year's Department of Justice gay pride event, Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson -- the second-ranking official at the department -- spoke to about 150 people in the Great Hall of the department. The decision to cancel this year's event was announced yesterday, and marks the first time that any federal agency has banned gay pride since its inception in the mid 90's.
During his Senate confirmation hearings, Ashcroft was asked if he would permit DOJ Pride, the voluntary organization of gay, lesbian and bisexual DOJ employees that planned the gay pride event, to continue to use Justice Department facilities on the same basis as other voluntary employee groups or other minority Justice Department employees.
"I would not tolerate discrimination against any employee at the Department of Justice based on sexual preference," said Ashcroft. "I have no intent to...treat this group differently than any other."
On Thursday, Justice Department officials told the group that it could not hold its annual event at the department because the White House had not formally recognized Gay Pride Month with a presidential proclamation.
Other federal agencies that will be holding events to celebrate Gay Pride Month are the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation and the State Department.
For more background information on this issue, please visit the HRC homepage.
Campaign Expiration Date:
June 9, 2004
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Ezekiel Krahlin
<<
Urge Attorney General Ashcroft to Reconsider Banning Gay Pride Celebration
>>
Not to disparage your good efforts, James...but don't you think it's useless, fighting homophobia on paper or e-mail, any more? At least, when it comes to making appeals at the feet of our very enemy? The Beast of Homophobia will only chortle, and open her dragon jaws to burn away (like dross) any such letters sent.
Isn't it much more effective at this point, to prepare for a holocaust, civil war, secession...or some other strategy that has NOTHING to do with making friendly appeals to this Whore of Babylon D.C.?
Or at least: letter-writing should be relegated to the bottom of one's queer priority list?
Want to get involved with queer secession? Go here:
The Free State of San Francisco
http://www.freestateofsf.org/
This is NOT my baby, but that of other activists, among which number the founders and managers of Queernet and Online Policy Group.
Or you could get involved in hacktivism, posting messages to hackers groups, to convince them how important it is for them to incorporate sexual minorities in their online umbrella. Your appeals have a MUCH better chance of being heard and followed on, than any to our Blight House.
How about attending black churches, to dissent against homophobic preachers? Best to be "of color" yourself, of course. Organize a group!
How about open-mic spoken word gatherings? That's what I'm presently doing: reading tales and poetry to mixed (read "mostly hetero) audiences in a captivating manner, while informing/educating them of the serious matter of gay oppression raging outside of their radar, in the cultural undercurrent. I'm also doing this through open-mic standup comedy...but it looks like I'm getting black-listed throughout S.F. from any comedy venues. (There is not ONE SINGLE queer open-mic venue ANYWHERE in S.F....forget The Castro; which one homophobic comedian suggested I keep my queer jokes.)
---
Homosexual reference in a Zits comic:
Gay friendly or not? You decide!
www.gay-bible.org/index.html#zits
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This is message #5305.