Press

MEDIA CONTACT:
Roberta Sklar, Director of Communications
media@theTaskForce.org
646.358.1465

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force today launched two new resources on its Web site to provide journalists and the public with the latest information on the issue of marriage equality and the 2004 presidential elections. Election Center 2004 and the Marriage Information Resource Center, both available on the organization's Web site at http://www.TheTaskForce.org, provide a plethora of resources on the marriage issue and other gay rights issues that will be helpful to journalists, policymakers, activists, and Americans grappling with this issue.

ELECTION CENTER

Election Center 2004, available at http://www.TheTaskForce.org/electioncenter includes:

- A summary comparison of President Bush and the Democratic presidential candidates on 12 key issues of concern to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, including marriage equality for same-sex couples, nondiscrimination and hate crimes laws, HIV prevention and treatment, and education policy.

- A comprehensive analysis of the Bush-Cheney Administration's record on LGBT issues.

- A comparison of the 2004 Democratic presidential candidates on marriage, civil unions, domestic partnership, the Federal Marriage Amendment, and recent developments in Canada and Massachusetts.

- Choice quotes from President Bush and the Democratic presidential candidates on LGBT issues.

- Excerpts from the 2000 Republican and Democratic platforms.

MARRIAGE INFORMATION RESOURCE CENTER

The Marriage Information Resource Center, available at http://www.TheTaskForce.org/marriagecenter includes:

- Marriage: Legal Protections for Families and Children - a policy brief explaining the protections that only come with marriage; comparing marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships; explaining the difference between religious marriage and civil marriage; and analyzing pending state and federal measures that threaten same-sex couple families such as "Super DOMAs" and the Federal Marriage Amendment.

- Quotes from conservative activists and political leaders who have come out against the Federal Marriage Amendment.

- Quotes from African American leaders who support marriage equality.

- Summaries of national and state public opinion polls on marriage equality for same-sex couples, and explaining why public opinion should not determine individual and constitutional rights.

- "Marriage Protection Week" Sponsors: Are they Really Interested in Protecting Families and Children? - an overview of the religious right groups promoting anti-gay family policies, including the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.

The Marriage Information Resource Center also reviews social science research on parenting and adoption among LGBT people, as well as profiles of same-sex couples and the children of LGBT parents who are hurt by the inability of same-sex couples to marry.

Both sites will be updated regularly over the next year. Election Center 2004 and the Marriage Information Resource Center were researched and written by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, a think tank dedicated to research, policy analysis and strategy development to advance greater understanding and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.