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MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Coalition of Organizations Plan Action At HRC Chicago Dinner Targeting HRC's Policy of Exclusion

Contact:
Miranda Stevens-Miller
It's Time, Illinois!
P.O. Box 3932
Oak Park, IL 60303

312-409-5489
ItsTimeIL@aol.com (ITIL office) or

MirandaSt1@aol.com (Miranda direct)

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Chicago, IL --- July 20, 1999 --- It's Time, Illinois has enlisted the support of a rainbow coalition of the LGBT community in an action leafleting the HRC tenth annual dinner at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on July 31st. The endorsers represent the spiritual community, the women's movement, youth groups, people of color, veterans, the bisexual community, and rural regions… many of whom feel alienated by HRC's national policies.

This action will be the 4th year that It's Time Illinois! has leafleted the HRC Dinner in Chicago, protesting HRC's blatant disregard of a major portion of the LGBT community. It's Time Illinois and the endorsers of the action claim that the omission of gender variance in the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) was a deliberate plan on the part of HRC to keep transgender people out of the bill . ENDA was reintroduced in both houses in June, and once again, the bill excludes gender variant people.

According to Miranda Stevens-Miller, Chair of It's Time Illinois, the only stumbling block for inclusion of gender variance in ENDA is the HRC. "When asked, HRC will tell you that they will lose votes if 'transgender' were included in ENDA. But I have not heard HRC mention the name of even one congressman who would change his vote."

During GenderPAC's Lobby Days in Washington DC this past May, the Illinois contingent asked each of the Illinois co-sponsors of ENDA whether they would change their vote if gender variance was included. Each of the congresspersons or their legislative assistants said they would continue to support ENDA with the more inclusive language. Many were appalled that HRC is using that as an excuse to keep transgender out of ENDA, and several indicated that they would take that message directly to HRC.

Gender variant people include not only transgenders, but a large portion of the gay and lesbian population. GenderPAC, a national coalition for gender, racial and affectional equality, has documented that about a third of the employment discrimination suffered by gays and lesbians can be directly attributed to gender expression, and not to sexual orientation. Many national organizations, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force have publicly stated that they will not endorse ENDA because it does not include gender variant people and much of the LGBT population in the current form.

The list of confirmed endorsers as of July 19 are:
1. Advocacy Council for Human Rights (Bloomington, IL)
2. Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays
3. Chicago Foundation for Women
4. Chicago NOW (National Organization for Women)
5. Chicagoland Bisexual Network
6. CMAGYC (Chicago Metro Area Gay Youth Coalition)
7. Dignity/Chicago
8. Gay and Lesbian Association of Decatur (GLAD)
9. Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America
10. Generation Q
11. Illinois Federation for Human Rights
12. It's Time, Illinois
13. It's Time, Wisconsin
14. Khuli Zaban (South Asian/Middle Eastern Les/Bi/Trans Women's Organization)
15. Officer Lori Cooper, Chicago Police Department
16. Rev. Karon C. VanGelder, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
17. SANGAT-Chicago (South Asian LGBT Organization)
18. TransGenesis
19. Trikone-Chicago (South Asian LGBT Organization)
20. WACT (Women Of All Colors And Cultures Together)