LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Speak Out |
I hope this letter finds you well and successfully avoiding this heat! But while you're daydreaming at the beach, pool side, or just out the window at work, I hope your mind is at least occasionally thinking about what you can do to help secure civil rights for all Delawareans, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Although we've been quiet, the ACLU-DE Lesbian & Gay Civil Rights Project has continued working this spring and summer. We sent a representative to the Federation meetingwhere groups from all the states get together and learn from each other. We also had meetings with staff members of Senator Biden and Representative Castle, urging them to support and co-sponsor ENDA, the federal bill that would prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Although Biden will vote for ENDA again and Castle probably will, neither has signed on as a co-sponsor and both would be influential. Give them a call and let them know what you think! (Local office numbers: Biden 302-573-6345, Castle 302-428-1902, Roth 302-573-6291). Since we can't sit back and wait for the federal government to enact this legislation, we need to keep building on our success this spring and get similar legislation passed in Delaware. As you recall, we were just 6 votes short of passing an employment discrimination bill and it was only the first attempt. We're ready to start planning next year's lesbian and gay lobby day in Dover and we need your help. With last year's experience, we know what we can do better and where we could really use everyone's help. We plan to have a date for lobby day by Delaware Pride (Sept 18) so we can advertise it then. We've also established a meeting schedule through the fall. We'd like to meet as a large group on September 30, October 28, November 18, and December 16, at 6:30 p.m., tentatively in the Community Services Building in Wilmington. We will move the location of some of the meetings if we have enough interest in another location. We also will help elections at the September meeting for the Statewide coordinator and New Castle County, Kent County, and Sussex County coordinator positions. Please let me know if you'd like to be a candidate. Between these monthly meetings, we'd like people to be working, individually or in small groups, on the following areas: fundraising, group and community outreach, materials/flyers/posters, public relations/mailings, logistics for lobby day, and legislative outreach. If you can't make the meetings, you can still help with these and probably other areas! The Project is an almost entirely volunteer driven effort; any time you can give will help. Speaking of fundraising, this effort can't happen without money. The more money we have early, the better our advertising can be to increase attendance, the more professional our materials for legislators will look, and the more people we can mobilize. Please show us that you thought Delaware's first gay and lesbian lobby day was a success and that you think we can do even better next year by sending the Project a check, made out to the American Civil Liberties Foundation. Please indicate on the check that the money should go to the Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Project. Thanks for your effortstogether we can do it! If you have any questions or concerns, email me at: Deborah_I._Gottschalk@diamond.net.udel.edu or call me at home, before 9:00 p.m. at 369-2552. Hope to see you at Pride on the 18th and again on September 30th! Debbie Gottschalk, ACLU-DE Lesbian & Gay Civil Rights Project It has come to my attention that six Rehoboth Beach Restaurants will participate in a benefit to raise funds for the United Way of Delaware (Summer House, Rusty Rudder, Sir Guy's, Sydney's Blues and Jazz Restaurant, Purple Parrot, and Dave & Skippy's). And, it's their decision to participate that concerns me the most. I do not support the United Way because it contributes funding to an organization, the Boy Scouts of America, which in turn, discriminates against homosexual people. To me, supporting the United Way is tantamount to supporting the continuation of bigotry. In an area with as diverse a population as Rehoboth Beach, I was surprised to find that these fine-dining establishments are lending their names to raise funds for an agency that in turn discriminates. I hope they will be more aware of the United Way policies the next time they are asked to help. Tim Wallace, Lewes, DE I recently found your site by surfing through the internet and would like to have our Chesapeake Bay Bears event listed in CAMPDates. The Chesapeake Bay Bears is a gay male "Bear" club with over 115 members based in the Washington/Baltimore communities. We are conducting our third Annual "Bears on The Beach" fundraising event at the Double L Bar, Saturday, September 18. There will be approximately 60 of us coming over for the $5 All-You-Can-Drink "Beer Blast" from 7 - 10 p.m. Your local "Bear"club, the Eastern Shore Bears, is a co-sponsor as well. All monies garnered from the event will be donated to SCAC, the Sussex County AIDS Committee. The Chesapeake Bay Bears primary goal is to raise money for AIDS charities. Last year, we donated over $10,000 to various charities in the Mid-Atlantic. We are looking forward to once again returning to Rehoboth Beach for what is turning out to be our largest "Beach" weekend event to date. David King, CBB-VP, Events |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 12, Aug. 27, 1999 |