[MLPnews] Media Release: Presbyterian Equality Project calls for support of ENDA & the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act in Congress

[mlpnews at mylist.net]

  Friends in Christ, we urge you to use the information and links below 
to contact your Senators and urge their support of both the Employment 
Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act 
of 2007.  We know your voices of support, along with those of our 
national church leaders, add to the overwhelming chorus calling for 
passage of these important and overdue pieces of legislation.

  You can give your support to MLP and the Presbyterian Equality Project 
(PEP) by visiting www.mlp.org/give/ <http://www.mlp.org/give/>.

  On behalf of the More Light Presbyterians National Board, we thank you 
for your continued prayer, advocacy, generosity, and support.

  Together, we're building a church for /all /God's people!

  Brian W. Spolarich
  MLP Communications
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
 
*http://www.mlp.org/* <http://www.mlp.org/>
 

*Presbyterian Equality Project*
*The LGBT-civil rights initiative of More Light Presbyterians*
*MEDIA RELEASE*
*September 22, 2007

*
*"Presbyterian Equality Project calls for support of ENDA & the Matthew 
Shepard Hate Crimes Act in Congress"

*
*Media Contacts:* *Bear Ride,* Co-Moderator, bear.ride at gmail.com 
<mailto:bear.ride at gmail.com> (626) 683-9002; *Michael J. Adee*, National 
Field Organizer, michaeladee at aol.com <mailto:michaeladee at aol.com> (505) 
820-7082

Louisville, KY: The Presbyterian Equality Project calls upon all members 
of Congress to support ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 
2007, and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act of 2007.

Presbyterian Equality Project, or PEP, the LGBT civil-rights initiative 
of More Light Presbyterians, was recently launched at the National 
Welcoming and Affirming Presbyterian Conference, Atlanta, GA over Labor 
Day weekend.

The social witness policies of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have called 
for non-discrimination, fairness and justice in civil society for 
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and their families in a 
variety of measures for more than three decades.

PEP, the Presbyterian Equality Project <http://www.mlp.org/pep> as the 
new LGBT civil-rights initiative of More Light Presbyterians is 
collecting and lifting up the social witness policies of long standing 
in the Presbyterian Church (USA) that support nondiscrimination, 
fairness and justice for LGBT persons and their families. "While our 
Church is still seeking the spirit of Jesus about LGBT persons inside of 
our denomination, it has spoken without equivocation about 
nondiscrimination, fairness and justice for LGBT persons in civil 
society," declared Michael J. Adee, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Adee is an 
openly gay Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and National Field 
Organizer for More Light Presbyterians.

Bear Ride, Co-Moderator, said: "We are grateful that official letters of 
support for both ENDA and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act from our 
Stated Clerk, Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, are being made available to 
members of Congress this next week as these historic decisions are being 
made in Washington, DC. Those members of Congress who are Presbyterian 
need to know that the social witness policy of their Church supports 
both ENDA and the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crime Act, and that both are 
matters of Christian faith, justice and public policy."

These official letters of support for both ENDA and the Matthew Shepard 
Hate Crimes Act are a result of PEP, the Presbyterian Equality Project, 
working in partnership with the Religion and Faith Program of the Human 
Rights Campaign <http://www.hrc.org/issues/religion.asp>, Washington, DC.

The Presbyterian Equality Project asks you to contact your member of 
Congress now <http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/actioncenter/home.html> to 
ask for her or his support of ENDA and Hate Crimes Act of 2007. We call 
upon all members of Congress to do the right thing by supporting 
fairness and justice by voting for both ENDA and the Matthew Shepard 
Hate Crimes Act.

Presbyterian Church (USA) Letters of support for ENDA (PDF version 
<http://www.mlp.org/pep/CK_ENDA_Letter.pdf>) and the Matthew Shepard 
Hate Crimes Act of 2007 (PDF version 
<http://www.mlp.org/pep/CK_LLEHCPA_Letter.pdf>):

------------------------------------------------------------------------

    *


    Office of the General Assembly
    **Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk *

    Dear Senator,

    I am writing as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the
    Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a denomination of some 2.5 million
    members, to urge you to co-sponsor and support the Employment
    Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

    As early as 1977, our most inclusive governing body, the General
    Assembly, stated */"the need for the church to stand for just
    treatment of homosexual persons in our society in regard to their
    civil liberties, equal rights and protection under the law from
    social and economic discrimination which is due all citizens/*."
    [117^th General Assembly (1977), _Minutes_, Part I, p. 174] In the
    intervening years, General Assemblies have regularly called upon
    Presbyterians "*/to work for the passage of laws that prohibit
    discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, and public
    accommodations based on the sexual orientation of a person/*."
    [214^th General Assembly (2002), _Minutes_, Part I, p. 575]

    There is widespread support among Americans for equal opportunity in
    employment, irrespective of sexual orientation. The fact that there
    is unevenness and even neglect in the approach of individual states
    to this concern makes it imperative that Federal legislation be put
    in place to insure that basis rights such as this are uniformly
    protected. The proposed bill is careful to provide exemptions for
    religious bodies whose basic tenets mandate that they take sexual
    orientation or gender identity into account in certain hiring
    decisions. It also exempts business with fewer than 15 employees,
    who might be unduly challenged by the requirements.

    For all of the theological, moral and pragmatic reasons that
    underlie our General Assemblies' commitments to non-discrimination
    in employment, I urge you to give your strong support to this vital
    piece of legislation.

    Cordially yours,



    Clifton Kirkpatrick
    Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
    Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

    *

    Office of the General Assembly
    **Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk *

    Dear Senator,

    I am writing as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the
    Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a denomination of some 2.5 million
    members, to urge you to co-sponsor and support the Local Law
    Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (S. 1105).

    Our denomination's most inclusive body, the General Assembly, has
    called Presbyterians to support "*/federal legislation that provides
    enhanced penalties for violent crimes motivated by the actual or
    perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual
    orientation, gender or disability of the victim/*." [210^th General
    Assembly (1999), _Minutes_, Part I, p.661]. This call to action is
    based on our understanding of the Word of God and is expressed in
    our _Brief Statement of Faith_ in these terms: "*/In sovereign love
    God created the world good and makes everyone equally in God's
    image, male and female, of every race and people, to live as one
    community/*." /Book of Confessions/, 10.3.

    It is an indictment of people of faith that some hate crimes are
    perpetrated by those who use their religion to justify their
    violence against other children of God, declaring that their victims
    are inferior creatures or demonizing them for their sexual
    orientation, gender or physical challenges. We also know the shame
    of lynchings in the U.S., in which communities and even law
    enforcement personnel were complicit, as well as the contemporary
    violence against homosexuals where witnesses are mute or law
    enforcement officials appear disinterested.

    We know that state laws to address such crimes are uneven in their
    scope and enforcement and that local officials who wish to pursue
    the perpetrators of such crimes sometimes do not have the resources
    to do so adequately. While not usurping the states appropriate role
    as the primary agent for investigating and prosecuting such violent
    crimes, LLEHCPA (S 1105) will provide new authority and support for
    federal officials to investigate and prosecute cases where local
    officials are unable, for whatever reasons, to do so.

    Hate crimes are egregious attacks on the core values on which our
    national compact rests. It is imperative that the federal government
    do its utmost to insure that every such crime is addressed by our
    legal system, whether at the local, state or national level. We urge
    you to support S. 1105.

    Cordially yours,



    Clifton Kirkpatrick
    Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
    Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

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