From: "Edward R. Arnold" <era@csn.org>
Newsgroups: alt.atheism.moderated
Subject: Colorado Springs Extremists (part 2 of 2)
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 00:10:07 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.

[ Part two.  Edited as for part one.  -- moderator ]

The following is the second of two parts of the ASCII version of the
Citizens Project Newsletter for Dec. 92.  This issue of the
newsletter is also available as a single file via anonymous ftp from:

               csn.org:/Citizens_Project/9212newslet.txt.

The Citizens Project is a Colorado Springs, CO - based group of
volunteers who seek to prevent extremists from eliminating our
fundamental freedoms.  Amendment 2 is the extremists' most obvious
success to date.

Slight reorganization of the articles was necessary in order to
convert this text from a newsletter multi-font format to an
electronic 80-column one. No alteration of wording was done.  The
bumper sticker 'Celebrate Diversity' was omitted.

               Please contact me if you have any comments
               or want any information,

               Ken Farmer
               Internet: kfarmer@oldcolo.com
               Voice:    719-685-9899

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

Subject: Library Controversy

NEW AT THE LIBRARY...  
=======================================================================  

      In the wake of the recent controversy over the possible  
addition of Madonna's book Sex to the collection of the Pikes Peak  
Library District, Citizens Project interviewed Bernie Margolis,  
Library District Director, regarding the role of the library in our  
changing, and increasingly divided, community.  Following are  
excerpts from that interview:  

On Madonna:  "[W]e did with Madonna what we would do with any book.  
The only thing that may have been different about our treatment of  
Madonna was the time frame with which we did it.  [The] normal time  
frame would have meant that the Madonna book probably wouldn't have  
been looked at for several more weeks, and [we would] have  
continued answering the phone day and night and spending enormous  
amounts of staff resource just answering the phone...not serving  
the public, not in a sense of what our real job is...[W]e needed to  
set Madonna aside in the sense of expediting what would have been  
the normal process anyway of scrutinizing it."  

On Calls Received Regarding Madonna:  "We've had hundreds and  
hundreds and hundreds of calls...and they were calling with  
different perspectives...people making it real clear how they felt  
about the issue, and as we explained that we had a process  
underway, some people were more appreciative of that than others...  
     [T]he phone calls indicated the sense of greater urgency in  
terms of people wanting us to conclude our process...I took enough  
of the calls that I don't think those calls were organized.  Now  
the only sense that I have is that several of the Christian radio  
station did tell people to call, so if that's organized and  
structured then yes, I think some of it was...but as soon as that  
happened we also were getting calls from people who thought we  
should have it so it didn't seem to me anyway to be any structure,  
any plot to that process."  

On Selection Process and Criteria:  "We have 12 pages of criteria  
that guide [the 24 professional librarians] in terms of deciding  
what's in and what isn't...[I]f we had our choice and unlimited  
resources... we would buy at least one copy of all books  
[published] ...the decision process wouldn't be a decision one at  
all; there would be no exercise of scrutiny or discretion or taste  
or appropriateness or personal prejudice or community prejudice or  
anything else.  
     It would be real easy, but the millions of dollars that would  
require just aren't available, so what we do is make choices, we  
call it selection, other people may call it all sorts of other  
things, censorship, book burning, you can imagine and conjure up  
all those words that people may apply to someone, not them, making  
a choice and a judgment for them and we do that and ... that's our  
public charge."  

On Controversial Material:  "A news reporter asked me...after the  
Madonna press conference...what book could you defend?  I said I  
could defend The Satanic Bible, I could defend Mein Kampf, I could  
defend a book by William Shockly who thinks blacks are inferior, I  
could defend a... kids book about a child who lives in a gay  
family...  Our criteria doesn't say that we shy away from  
controversy, our criteria doesn't say that because something is  
controversial it shouldn't be in the library, our criteria doesn't  
say that this is the philosophy, modern America, Colorado Springs  
1992, that has to fit in this box to be in the library.  
     What our criteria say is controversial ideas are welcome,  
differing views are welcome, different perspectives are welcome.  
The caveat that it imposes on us, and not on the individual book,  
but on the collection, is that we do that with some sense of  
balance, so that it doesn't appear to anyone that we are promoting  
William Shockly's ideas or that we're promoting fascism or Nazism  
or any other kind of atrocity or that we're promoting anything that  
might be good or bad.  I mean that we don't want in the same breath  
to appear to be promoting Adolph Hitler, nor do we want to appear  
to be promoting James Dobson.  
     What we want is the whole, is as broad a brush perspective of  
what ideas exist in our world, so people can understand them...  
What one person may see as dangerous, another person may see as the  
antidote to those same things, an ability to be educated and  
informed in response...  If you go through the list of books that  
indeed have been challenged, you see that many of them do reflect  
philosophies, attitudes that are pretty controversial that are  
unacceptable to a lot of people.  Well, that's not in the criteria  
at all.  
     We don't propose to have a popular vote or referendum on books  
in terms of whether they're added or not...  Some libraries, by  
their Board decisions and sometimes by pressure, have gone to  
public review processes...[like] a referendum, and I think what  
happens is that you tend to sieve out all those things that smell  
of controversy. You then have a collection that's pretty dull and  
may serve the needs of some people, but it certainly doesn't get  
the kind of depth of inspiration or motivation that a good well  
rounded collection that has controversy should provide."  

On Balance in the Collection:  
     "[W]e have people on our staff who participate in Focus on the  
Family...just as we have people who belong to the American Civil  
Liberties Union or who knows what other kinds of groups--we're all  
over the map.  
     We're trained as professional librarians to do a job, separate  
from those prejudices and values that we bring to that job, so while  
I may dislike intensely a certain political perspective about issues,  
that doesn't mean that I impose that personal perspective on the  
task at hand when I decide whether this book is appropriate to the  
collection or isn't.  But that sensitivity in terms of my values  
helps me also be in touch with issues of balance, because I may  
have a strong interest or knowledge in terms of the  
collection...let's pick on Focus on the Family as a case, that I  
would be as attuned to knowing that there are views contrary to  
James Dobson's that need to be reflected in this collection by  
virtue of maybe a more intimate knowledge of what his views are."  

In Summary:  
"What's tolerable and acceptable varies, and we know that, but we  
try to be evenhanded in offending everyone."  

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

Subject: Boards and Commissions

THE NITTY GRITTY  
=======================================================================  

     The elections are over, and now we can all relax--right?  Of  
course not!  Changes in our community are happening every day, and  
we need to be a part of them.  Much of the work of defining our  
community values happens at levels that are not very visible,  
through the various boards, commissions and task forces that exist  
at the city, county, and state levels.  We must be participating on  
all these levels if we are to have an effective voice in protecting  
community diversity and civil liberties.  

     The religious right is well aware of the opportunities for  
influence on these boards, and their members are active in  
volunteering.  Openings on various boards and commissions are  
announced on local Christian radio stations.  The Colorado Springs  
Human Relations Commission already has representatives from Focus  
on the Family and from Every Home For Christ.  Kevin Tebedo,  
director of Colorado for Family Values, participates on a committee  
evaluating health education in School District 11.  These  
individuals are welcome to contribute to the community we share,  
but we feel it is vital that Citizens Project participants, and  
others with a civil liberties orientation, also be present to  
balance their perspectives.  

     Citizens Project has been sending letters to select  
participants with notifications of openings in local boards and  
commissions of interest.  We match openings with participants based  
upon information you have provided to us about your residence  
location, your interests and background, and your willingness to  
volunteer.  

     To make this system work, we need information from you.  This  
newsletter, if it was mailed to you, includes an "Information and  
Phone Tree Form".  If you would like to be notified of openings,  
please fill out this form and return it to us.  This form combines  
two previous forms; please fill this new form out, as it will  
provide us with updated information.  

     Some current openings of note:  

     * The County Board of  Health has a vacancy for a medical  
     doctor. This board is involved with general policy making to  
     guide the Department of Health and Environment.  

     * The Department of  Social Services' Consumer Review Board has  
     openings for a private citizen, a consumer/parent, and  
     a representative from a client/child advocate group.  

     Call our office (719-685-9899) for more information on the above  
opportunities.  If you hear of openings we should know about,  
please call us with the information (or send it) so we can pass it  
on to interested persons.  

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

Subject: How to Make a Difference

12 STEPS TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE  
=======================================================================  

     One question we are often asked at Citizens Project is: "What  
can I do?"  Most people are asking how they can get more involved  
with Citizens Project.  However, Citizens Project is limited in the  
activities we are undertaking at any one time.  Nonetheless, in  
addition to volunteering with Citizens Project, a number of  
activities can help make an impact.  Here is our handy-dandy, quick  
and easy 12-step program to making a difference in our community:  

     1. Display your bumper sticker.  Let our community know that  
there are people who value diversity and dislike the intolerance of  
extremist groups.  

     2. Sign up for the Citizens Project "Get Involved" seminar  
scheduled for February 20.  Details are on page five; the signup  
sheet is in this newsletter.  Cost is $10 per person cheap.  

     3. Return the Citizens Project Information Sheet.  When  
something is happening in your school district or political  
district, or when we have volunteer opportunities, we need to be  
able to contact you (see our story on page 6).  If we don't have  
sufficient information, you may get bypassed when we send out  
special mailings or make calls.  If your newsletter was mailed to  
you so that it included an Information Sheet, please take a minute  
now to complete that Information Sheet and return it to Citizens  
Project, Box 2085, Colorado Springs, CO 80901.  Thanks.  

     4. Talk to your friends.  The religious right groups and their  
sympathizers are making gains in Colorado Springs not because they  
represent the majority view (see page 3), but because they are  
becoming organized and active.  If you and I and your friends and  
my friends don't get together and speak up, we are acquiescing to  
these "squeaky wheels".  So go ahead and network with your friends;  
call us if you need a few extra copies of Freedom Watch to pass  
out.  

     5. Invite someone from Citizens Project to speak with your  
local group or coffee club.  Citizens Project has been active and  
growing for the last eight months, and we have become better  
speakers over that time.  So, for a good time at your next meeting,  
call Citizens Project--we guarantee we aren't boring.  

     6. Call Governor Romer to: 1) express your feelings about  
Amendment 2 and encourage him to continue his opposition to it, and  
2) express support for him in the upcoming recall drive.  You can  
reach the Governor's office at 1-800-332-1716.  You can also call  
Mayor Webb in Denver to express your support for the legal action  
Denver is taking against Amendment 2; call (303) 640-2721.  
Colorado For Family Values is pushing its people to call the  
governor, and reports are such calls are running strongly in favor  
of Amendment 2.  That apathy on our part is what got Amendment 2  
passed!  

     7. Write Channel 11 to support them for reporting the  
aftermath of Amendment 2's passage.  They have reported the story  
consistently, and they have been the only local TV station to do so  
adequately.  We know that print and TV media (particularly Ch. 11)  
covering the post-election Amendment 2 story have received numerous  
calls demanding that they quit talking about Amendment 2 because  
"the people have spoken" and then accusing individual media people  
of being gay or lesbian.  
     We need to balance out this outpouring of hate, and thank the  
more responsible media for not backing down in the face of this  
pressure.  You can write the news director of KKTV Channel 11 at  
3100 North Nevada, Colorado Springs, CO 80907, call KKTV at  
634-2844, or fax them at 634-3741.  

     8. Learn about the religious right.  The "Notable Quotes" we  
included in this newsletter (on pages 8 and 9) illuminate key  
Christian right beliefs and policies, but you should also take the  
time to read their own publications.  
     Focus on the Family has their open-to-the-public bookstore at  
the old United Bank building (corner of Kiowa and Cascade).  While  
most of Focus' material concerns family problems and counseling,  
books in the current events section illustrate their slant on  
political issues.  Cost for these materials at the bookstore is  
whatever you care to donate (although suggested donation amounts  
are shown on each item).  
     To keep on top of the religious right's political agenda for  
Colorado and learn about community and political opportunities in  
Colorado Springs, tune your radio to Christian station KGFT (100.7  
FM) each Thursday at 1PM and each Saturday at 9AM to hear Rocky  
Mountain Family Council's half-hour program "You Can Make A  
Difference".  

     9. Read your newspaper, and then write a letter to your local  
newspaper.  While editorials in the local Gazette-Telegraph have  
not received any recent awards for endorsing tolerance and  
encouraging diversity, yet the G-T deserves the opportunity to  
publish letters from the other side.  Who knows, the editorial  
staff might even come to see the error of their ways.  
      You can write them at Letters To The Editor,  
Gazette-Telegraph, Box 1779, Colorado Springs, CO 80901; fax your  
letter to 719-636-0202; send via modem at 719-636-0127; or call them
at  719-473-1919 to have your opinion recorded (and maybe published)
in the  Tell It To The GT section.  
     For broader coverage of state-wide issues (particularly  
Amendment 2), you should consider subscribing to the Denver Post,  
which has home delivery in this area.  

     10. Get involved with your local school.  Find out about  
school committees you can join and then volunteer for a committee.  
Don't be surprised if members of the far right are already on your  
committee.  Most often, you don't have to be a parent or have  
children in school to be a part of these committees.  In addition,  
you should join your Citizens Project school group (see our story  
on schools on page 4).  
     11. Join your local political party.  That's standard advice,  
but good advice.  Most people are politically inactive, but local  
political parties know a lot about what is happening in our  
community, and they have an impact on much of it.  Don't worry that  
the elections just ended.  A whole lot more is happening day by day  
(see our "Nitty Gritty" story on page 6).  
     To join, call the Republican Party at 719-578-0022, or the  
Democratic Party at 719-473-8713.  When you call, be sure to find out  
the name and address of your precinct captain, and then go and talk  
with this person.  He or she is your first step to making your  
political party work for you.  

     12. Pay attention to elections coming up.  Elections already?  
Four Colorado Springs city council seats are up for election in  
April, and school board elections will be this coming November.  
Will the religious right run candidates?  You bet!  Will they  
identify themselves as religious right candidates?  Not if they  
were listening to the speakers at their own Community Impact  
Seminar last November (see our story on page 3).  
     These candidates will be the new wave of "stealth candidates"  
in the Pikes Peak area, and you will have to take the time to  
question them closely to find out what they believe and why on the  
relevant issues.  Citizens Project will provide more information on  
these elections as it becomes available.  

     If you successfully work your way through all the above twelve  
steps and have energy for more, call Citizens Project at 719-685-9899.  
We will help you find more to do!  

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

Subject: Notable Quotes Centerfold

NOTABLE QUOTES  
=======================================================================  


ON GOVERNMENT:  "Government and true Christianity are inseparable!  
Government cannot rule fairly without morality.  There can be no  
morality (right or wrong) without the Bible--man's only reliable  
book on right and wrong.  Christians can properly apply Bible  
principles to government, because they are the ones reading the  
Bible and trusting its teachings to be true."  From How To Elect  
Christians To Public Office, by Citizens For Excellence In  
Education (CEE) president Robert Simonds (undated).  

"[T]his [the United States] was really a Christian nation and, as  
far as its founders were concerned, to try separating Christianity  
from government is virtually impossible and would result in  
unthinkable damage to the nation and its people.  Much of the  
damage we see around us must be attributed to this separation."  
>From Focus on the Family's Community Impact Curriculum: A Biblical  
Case For Social Involvement (undated), p. 20, used in the November  
9 Community Impact Seminar at Pulpit Rock Church in Colorado  
Springs.  

"[W]hen we look at our country's founding, we find that this whole  
system was designed to work only on a Christian foundation.  
Without a Christian foundation it will not continue to work, but  
will gradually wind down and cease to function."  From Focus '  
Community Impact Curriculum, p. 23.  

"The Constitution was designed to perpetuate a Christian order."  
Community Impact Curriculum, p. 18, quoting Robert Flood.  


ON EDUCATION:  "We have been teaching multiculturalism instead of  
Americanism, for ten years now, and indoctrinating our children  
with values clarification and 'self-esteem.'  Multiculturalism  
emphasizes diversity among races rather than our commonalities  
('created equally') and thus breeds prejudice.   Self-esteem  
teaches children they are the best and they deserve the best, and  
values clarification encourages them to create their own standards  
of right and wrong, thus allowing them to justify stealing...  Any  
common-sense person of average intelligence can see this  
hate-filled teaching will produce a fractured, warring society  
which will eventually self-destruct."  From the June 1992 CEE  
President's Report.  

"73% of people without a high school diploma said religion can  
answer most of today's problems.  That number drops to 61% for high  
school grads, and only 49% of college grads think religion can  
answer most of today's problems.  The education system appears to  
hammer religious convictions out of students."  From Focus on the  
Family's Community Impact Curriculum: A Biblical Case For Social  
Involvement (undated), p. 13.  

"Jefferson County public school officials are adopting rhetoric  
that avoids terminology such as 'evangelical Christians' or  
'conservative right' in favor of 'lunatics,' 'fanatics,' and the  
'fringe element'."  From the November 1992 Denver Christian News,  
p. 19.  

"Many years ago Christian pioneers who settled the American West  
had to fight savage Indians.  Missionaries were sent to the Indians  
to civilize and Christianize them.  Today the reverse is true:  
missionaries of these former cultures are being sent via the public  
school to heathenize 'our' children."  From the Fall 1992 Eagle  
Forum, published by the Eagle Education Fund of Colorado.  


ON AMENDMENT 2:  "I submit to you today, to every one of you, this  
issue with Amendment 2 is not about homosexuality.  And it's really  
even not about sex.  It's about authority.  It's about whose  
authority takes precedence in the society in which we live.  Is it  
the authority of man,..or is it the authority of God?  ..Now the  
authority of man would dictate that homosexuality is perfectly  
okay, that there's nothing wrong with it.  The authority of God  
says no, that there is plenty wrong with homosexuality.  .. And so  
I say to you today that Amendment 2 is about authority; it's about  
whose authority gets to make the decision."  Kevin Tebedo, Director  
of Colorado For Family Values, speaking at the First Congregational  
Church in Colorado Springs (August 23, 1992).  


ON TOLERANCE:  "Tolerance enslaves."  Statement by a speaker at the  
Focus on the Family/Rocky Mountain Family Council Community Impact  
Seminar, November 9, 1992, at Pulpit Rock Church.  

"Colorado Springs has been inaccurately portrayed by some as  
intolerant or hostile to diversity.  Our city is made up of  
individuals from diverse backgrounds and many points of view...  
There's room for everyone in Colorado Springs."  Statement by  
Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce President John Fowler, as  
reported in The Colorado Springs Business Journal, Dec. 1, 1992,  
p. 25.  


MISCELLANEOUS:  "Current expressions of human dignity, morality and  
social order are possible only because of our Christian heritage."  
>From Community Impact Curriculum, p. 25.  

"Christians are not just another special interest group; we are an  
'everyone's best interest group'."  From Community Impact  
Curriculum, p. 49.  



BUMPER STICKER  
=======================================================================  

     Included with this newsletter is a "Celebrate Diversity"  
bumper sticker that you can proudly display on the bumper or rear  
window of your vehicle, in your home or business window, or on your  
bulletin board.  

    These bumper stickers have two objectives.  First, they show  
our support for the incredible diversity of citizens here in the  
Pikes Peak region, and especially for the gay and lesbian citizens  
who have been under vitriolic attack by Colorado For Family Values  
and their like-minded supporters.  And second, these bumper  
stickers remind our community that the religious right is not the  
only group of consequence in this area.  

     We urge you to display your "Celebrate Diversity" bumper  
sticker, and look for others in our local communities who also  
support diversity over narrow-minded intolerance and bigotry.  

    If you want more bumper stickers (for your second car, for  
example, or for a friend), please call the Citizens Project office  
at 719-685-9899.  


THANK YOU!  
=======================================================================  

    We at Citizens Project would like to say "Thank You!" for your  
generous contributions of time and money.  With your help, we will  
continue to spotlight the increasing far right influence here in  
the Pikes Peak area.  We will also explore, publicize, and debate  
the viewpoints of the religious right as they attempt to make over  
local communities in their image.  

    We expect this work will continue for quite some time in our  
Pikes Peak region.  

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

Subject: CP General Meeting

CP GENERAL MEETING  
=======================================================================  

   You asked for it, you got it!  The first-ever Citizens Project  
General Meeting will be held January 24, 1993 at 7 PM at Patty  
Jewett Clubhouse (just east of the corner of  Prospect & Espanola,  
at 900 E. Espanola).  All Citizens Project participants are  
invited.  

   Although the meeting will not start until 7PM, you are invited  
to come early to meet other Citizen Project people.  We will have  
complimentary food available starting at 6PM, and the clubhouse bar  
will be open.  

    This is the first of what is anticipated to be regular (perhaps  
quarterly) Citizen Project General Meetings.  These "General  
Meetings" are different than the monthly "Introductory Meetings"  
that we have for people who have just signed up for Citizens  
Project.  

    This general meeting will be an opportunity to meet other  
Citizen Project people, to hear what is happening in the Pikes Peak  
area and in Citizens Project, and to weigh in with your opinion on  
what actions Citizens Project should be taking.  

    We will look forward to seeing you January 24th.  Please mark  
your calendars with that date.  



CP CALENDAR  
=======================================================================  

Introductory Meeting------January 7  
   (for new participants)  
General Meeting-----------January 24  
   (see above for details)  
Introductory Meeting------February 9  
   (for new participants)  
"Get Involved" Seminar-February 20  
   (see page 5 for details)  
"Imposing Morality" Seminar-Feb. 21  
   (see page 7 for details)  


SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED  
=======================================================================  

    Citizens Project receives numerous calls from parents, teachers  
and students regarding apparent or possible violations of church /  
state separation in our schools.  We need to improve our ability to  
respond to these reports.  

     We are restructuring the schools committee to better meet this  
need. We would like to have at least one parent, teacher or student  
volunteer for each school in the Pikes Peak area.  A committee will  
exist for each school district, discussing and responding to issues  
within that district.  Each volunteer will be involved with his or  
her chosen school and will be in a position to help us understand  
and respond to incidents as they occur.  Citizens Project will  
provide training on school policies and church/state law.  

    If we wish to have public schools that serve all of the public,  
we need to stay involved.  To volunteer, call Citizens Project at  
719-685-9899.  



CITIZENS PROJECT'S "GET INVOLVED" SEMINAR  
=======================================================================  

    Citizens Project is pleased to announce an information-packed  
"Get Involved" seminar. This seminar will take place Saturday  
February 20, 1993 at the First Congregational Church (corner of  
North Tejon and St. Vrain) from 9AM to 4:30PM.  

    Dynamic speakers will provide nuts-and-bolts information about  
how to get involved in the politics of our community.  

    We will talk about local political parties, city government  
(Colorado Springs city council elections are in April), our state  
legislature, school boards and school-related involvement  
opportunities, volunteer opportunities on boards and commissions,  
and opportunities to act on your own or within your own group or  
organization.  

    Speakers include Daphne Greenwood (District 17 state  
representative), Mary Ellen McNally (former city council member),  
Chuck Green (Denver Post writer), and others.  

   The seminar will start at 9AM.  We will have a morning break  
with refreshments.  Lunch will be on your own.  Cost is $10 in  
advance; $12 at the door if space is available.  

    Please register using the sign-up sheet included with this  
newsletter.  Come to learn and meet other interested citizens.  

    Call Citizens Project at 719-685-9899 if you have questions.  We  
will provide a more complete listing of seminar speakers in our  
next Freedom Watch newsletter.  



                  SEMINAR ON IMPOSED MORALITY SCHEDULED  
=======================================================================  

    A seminar will be held February 21, 1993 from 2-4 PM on  
"Imposed Morality: Where Will It Lead?"  A panel of four will speak  
on censorship, Amendment 2, the effect of religious groups in  
politics, and separation of church and state.  

    This seminar will be held in Gaylord Hall, in the Worner  
Student Center (corner of Cascade and Cache la Poudre) at Colorado  
College.  

    Co-sponsors of this seminar include Hadassah, Colorado College,  
Citizens Project, and ACLU.  



INAUGURAL BALL  
=======================================================================  

    The Democratic Women of El Paso County are hosting an inaugural  
ball January 20, 1993, 7PM to 1AM, at the Patty Jewett Clubhouse  
(900 East Espanola).  

    An invitation to this ball is extended to citizens from all  
parties and affiliations willing to work together for the future.  

    Cost is $10 per person, and  reservations are necessary.  Call  
596-2027 or 597-2104 for reservations or more information.  



YOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS  
=======================================================================  

If you want the announcement of your upcoming event listed in the  
next Citizens Project newsletter, send the information to Citizens  
Project with a request.  Our next newsletter will be out in  
February.  

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

Subject: Epilogue

DISCRIMINATION?  
=======================================================================  

     The last clause of Amendment 2 says gays and lesbians can make  
"no claim of discrimination".  What does that mean?  
     Everyone agrees that this language bars lesbians and gays from  
protection if, because they are gay, they are fired from their jobs  
or kicked out of their rental homes.  
     Will Perkins described protection from these types of  
discrimination as a "special right", and in a Dec. 11  
Gazette-Telegraph article said: "I don't have a special right to  
keep my job as a heterosexual.  Why should they if they are  
homosexual?"  
     In Colorado Springs and in most of Colorado, Will Perkins is  
correct.  There is no protection from those types of discrimination  
for either heterosexuals or gays or lesbians.  
     However, the fallacy in Will's reasoning is that heterosexuals  
simply do not encounter much, if any, discrimination in these areas  
due to their heterosexuality.  However, lesbians and gays suffer  
significantly higher levels of discrimination in those areas.  Due  
to Amendment 2, such discrimination cannot ever be remedied by law.  
     This is, in a sense, "equal rights", but the result is very  
unequal justice and an unequal right to petition for redress of  
grievances.  
     In the cities of Boulder, Denver, and Aspen, Will Perkins is  
not correct.  Each of those cities had by ordinance extended  
discrimination protection to all people on the basis of sexual  
orientation.  Amendment 2 now withdraws that protection from gays  
and lesbians.  But note that Amendment 2 does not alter these  
ordinances as to protection from heterosexual discrimination.  
Thus, in those cities, the result of Amendment 2 has been to grant  
heterosexuals "special rights" against discrimination by virtue of  
these pre-existing city ordinances.  
     Consequently, for those three cities, the Amendment 2 argument  
was not one of "special rights", but one of "equal rights", which  
lesbians and gays now no longer have.  


                 HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

                ======================================  
                          CITIZENS PROJECT  
                             Box 2085  
                      Colorado Springs, CO 80901  
                           (719) 685-9899  
                      Amy Divine and Doug Triggs  
                            Coordinators  
                      Printed on Recycled Paper  
                ======================================  

*----------------------------------------------------------------------*  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|       Citizens Project Information and Phone Tree Form               |  
|                                                                      |  
|     Following are a number of questions that will help us build      |  
| Citizens Project.  In order for Citizens Project to maximize our     |  
| effectiveness, we must build a broad-based coalition of interested   |  
| citizens.  Knowing more about you, and the role you play in the      |  
| community, will help us know how we may be able to call upon you to  |  
| help us build this coalition.  And, knowing your particular areas of |  
| concern will allow us to notify you with information regarding       |  
| particular issues or actions (such as board openings), when we may   |  
| not be able to notify the entire mailing list.                       |  
|     We realize that we are requesting personal information.  If you  |  
| are not comfortable answering any of the questions, then just leave  |  
| them blank.  All information will be confidential, and again, is     |  
| solely for internal use in strengthening our efforts.                |  
|     This form combines past information and phone tree forms.  If    |  
| you have not filled these in, or have filled out only one, please    |  
| fill in the additional information.                                  |  
|     Thank you for your participation!                                |  
|                                                                      |  
| Name_________________________________________________________________|  
|   Address____________________________________________________________|  
|   Phone Number(s)____________________________________________________|  
| Occupation___________________________________________________________|  
| Name of Company / School_____________________________________________|  
| Political Party______________________________________________________|  
|   School District where you reside___________________________________|  
|   Political Districts where you reside (State Senate, State Rep, Cnty|  
|    Commission)_______________________________________________________|  
| Schools your children attend_________________________________________|  
| Primary Concerns (ex. religion in schools, gay/lesbian issues, pagan |  
|  issue, religion in politics, etc.)__________________________________|  
| Organizational Affiliations (ex. Chamber of Commerce, PP Ed Ass., NOW|  
|  EPOC, etc.)_________________________________________________________|  
| Church / Synagogue you attend________________________________________|  
| Fax Number___________________________________________________________|  
| Will you participate in a phone tree?_____________If yes:            |  
|  ___I am willing to make seven phone calls                           |  
|  ___I am not willing to make calls but would like to be called.      |  
| Skills you wish to volunteer_________________________________________|  
| Other comments or ways you can help__________________________________|  
| _____________________________________________________________________|  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|        Please email to Ken Farmer at kfarmer@oldcolo.com             |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
*----------------------------------------------------------------------*  


*----------------------------------------------------------------------*  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|         CITIZENS PROJECT "GET INVOLVED" SEMINAR                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|     Yes, I am (or we are) planning to attend the February 20 Citizens|  
| Project "Get Involved" Seminar.  Enclosed is payment of $10 per      |  
| person for registration (make check payable to "Citizens Project").  |  
| I understand this entitles me to the all-day seminar, the written    |  
| materials, refreshments at the morning break, the chance to meet a   |  
| lot of nice people, and a generous "thanks" from Citizens Project for|  
| attending.                                                           |  
| Number of people who are signing up for this seminar:__________      |  
| Please put your name(s) and address at the bottom of this page.      |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|         CONTRIBUTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!                            |  
|                                                                      |  
|     You bet--newsletters, postage, and long-distance phone calls     |  
| all cost money, and we can always use your help.  We welcome your    |  
| donation and will use it to promote constitutional rights and        |  
| diversity in the Pikes Peak area.                                    |  
| Enclosed please find my donation of: ___$20;___$35;___;$50___;$100;  |  
|                                      $____other                      |  
| Please put your name and address at the bottom of this page.         |  
|     Please make your check payable to Citizens Project.  Because we  |  
| lobby to protect civil liberties, contributions are not tax          |  
| deductible.  Thanks!                                                 |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|        HOW COULD I HAVE WAITED SO LONG?                              |  
|                                                                      |  
|     I'm not currently on the Citizens Project mailing list, but I    |  
| would like to be.  I have provided my name and address below.  I     |  
| understand that if I have any questions I am welcome to call Citizens|  
| Project at 685-9899.                                                 |  
|                                                                      |  
|======================================================================|  
|                                                                      |  
| I am providing my name and address below in response to the above    |  
| items (check which ones apply):____The "Get Involved" Seminar;       |  
| ____A contribution; _____To get on the mailing list.  If you are     |  
| signing up for the "Get Involved" Seminar, please include the $10    |  
| per person fee.                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|   Name:___________________________________________________           |  
|   Address:________________________________________________           |  
|   Phone(s):______________(day); _________________(evening)           |  
|                                                                      |  
|   Comments or suggestions:________________________________           |  
|   ________________________________________________________           |  
|   ________________________________________________________           |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|   Please send checks to:     Citizens Project,                       |  
|                              Box 2085,                               |  
|                              Colorado Springs, CO 80901              |  
|                                                                      |  
|   Alternatively, if you only wish to get on the mailing list:        |  
|   please send email to Ken Farmer at kfarmer@oldcolo.com             |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
|                                                                      |  
*----------------------------------------------------------------------*  

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

End of CPN Digest V01 Issue #03b
********************************

-- 
Ed Arnold * Boulder, CO * 303-497-1253(voice,weekday) * 303-494-6949(voice)
internet: era@csn.org * compuserve: internet:era@csn.org * bitnet: era@ncario