From: rizzoe@FASECON.ECON.NYU.EDU (Emily Rizzo)
Newsgroups: soc.motss
Subject: Re: Another Group Joins Boycott
Date: 11 Jan 93 14:11:54 GMT
Organization: New York University

In article <7745522309011993/A20995/POSSE/11714DF40A00*@mrgate.uwyo.edu> 
LASAGA@corral.uwyo.edu (LASAGA) writes:

>The following was announced on a local news station tonight (NBC-Denver):  
>"Amendment 2 is being blamed for another convention cancellation.  
>The National Association of Hispanic Journalists planned to bring 
>a thousand members to Denver in March.  But today, the group's 
>executive board voted to cancel" (transcribed from videotape).


For those who want more details, this story appeared in the New York 
Times on Sunday 1/10/93:

   HISPANIC JOURNALISTS TO MOVE CONVENTION, CITING COLORADO BOYCOTT
         
MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Jan. 9 (AP) --
Hispanic journalists voted today to move their annual convention 
from Colorado because of the state's new ban on civil rights protections
for homosexuals.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists board voted 13 to 3 to
cancel its Denver convention, which is scheduled for March.  The association
is the latest to join the protest against Amendment 2, which was passed
by Colorado voters on November 3rd.  The board also said it would not 
return to Colorado until the law was repealed or nullified.
Amendment 2 bars the passage of any law that would provide specific
civil rights protections based on sexual orientation.  It annuls 
ordinances passed in Aspen, Boulder and Denver that extended such 
protections.
"I hope some will respect our decision because of how emotional and 
difficult it was," said Diane Alverio, president of the 1,400-member 
association.  "It's divided the organization  quite a bit."
Ernest Gurule, vice president of the group and a reporter for KWGN-TV
in Denver, voted against the move. "My position as a journalist is you 
fight hate with knowledge,"  he said.
Plans to hold the conference in Colorado set off a dispute with the 
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, which voted last week
to boycott the event unless the meeting was moved.
The gay journalists' association issued a statement  today praising the
Hispanic group's action, and vowed to help the National Association of 
Hispanic Journalists with the move and to recover any losses.
"We Understand the difficulty and we are gratified by this decision," 
said Leroy Aarons, president of the gay journalists' group.  "We think
it's a victory for a free press and for minority journalists everywhere."
The Hispanic association had said it would have to forfeit $70,000 under 
its contract with a Denver hotel if it moved the three-day convention.
The new location of the convention was not immediately disclosed today.
Among the groups that have canceled conventions to honor the boycott of 
Colorado are the United States Conference of Mayors, the American Association
of Law Libraries and the National Organization for Women.
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Seattle have 
prohibited official travel to Colorado and the spending of public money
in the state.
So far, Denver has lost an estimated $15 million in convention business.