MEDIA CONTACTS:
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Sheri A. Lunn
(323) 857-8751
media@TheTaskForce.org
Woodhull Freedom Foundation
media@woodhullfoundation.org
Judy Guerin (202) 494-9555 or
Jeff Montgomery (313) 506-1847
NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE AND WOODHULL FREEDOM FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE JOINT EFFORT STUDY
OF U.S. SEX LAWS
May 28, 2004, Washington, D.C. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (the Task Force) and the Woodhull Freedom
Foundation and Federation (WFF) today announced the launch of a joint project to analyze sex laws
throughout the U.S. The project will serve a dual purpose – to educate Americans about the prevalence and abuse
of antiquated and unjust sex laws in the nation, and to give grassroots activists policy and organizing tools to
work to change these laws.
“This project will be a significant step toward eliminating unjust laws that are used almost exclusively for the
purpose of persecuting minorities,” said Dr. Mary Frances Berry, Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and
WFF board member. “Most Americans are unaware of the sex laws in this country and how those laws are used to
selectively persecute individuals simply for their private and consensual sexual expression. We believe that once
people are educated on these issues, they will demand change.”
The laws which the project will address range from the archaic – like Michigan’s law prohibiting unmarried people
from having sex and living together – to the grossly unjust – like Kansas’ differing age of consent laws based
on the gender of the persons involved – to those addressing facially valid public policy concerns – like laws against
public lewdness, but which are routinely misused to persecute and prosecute people who participate in non-traditional
forms of sexual expression.
“I’ve seen firsthand how the misuse of these laws has ruined the lives of gay and bisexual men,” said Matt Foreman,
the Task Force’s Executive Director. “Few victims of this abuse ever come forward for fear of
further embarrassment and the system counts on this silence. We intend to shine some light on these shameful practices.”
Foreman served as Executive Director of the New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, the nation’s
largest gay victim assistance agency, from 1990-1996, and is a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission.
MORE
The project will have two phases. The first, a study of the laws with and case studies of how the laws have been
selectively used to target minorities will be released at the Task Force’s 17th Annual Creating Change Conference
in St. Louis, Missouri, November 11-14. The second phase will include policy analysis, recommendations, and strategies
for grassroots activists to use in overturning the laws or changing the way
in which they are enforced.
END
Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force was the first national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) civil rights and advocacy organization and remains the movement's leading voice for
freedom, justice, and equality. We work to build the grassroots political strength of our community by training
state and local activists and leaders and organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance
pro-LGBT legislation. Our Policy Institute, the community's premiere think tank, provides research and policy analysis
to support the struggle for complete equality. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create
a world that respects and makes visible the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully
participate in society.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Cambridge. The Woodhull
Freedom Foundation is devoted to education and public advocacy in support of the proposition that safe and consensual
sexual expression is a fundamental human right. Based in Washington, DC, WFF brings together experienced, successful
sexual freedom activists who seek to eliminate the barriers, governmental and
private, to expressions of human sexuality in the United States and around the world. Helping to mobilize diverse
grassroots communities, WFF utilizes lobbying, outreach, and education to help change antiquated
and unjust sex laws. WFF supports civil liberties, emphasizing issues of sexual expression, sexual orientation,
gender and racial discrimination.
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