Press

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender leaders representing national faith and advocacy communities expand values debate

Date: 
September 26, 2006

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

“It is time for us to seize the moral high ground and state unambiguously that anti-gay discrimination in any form is immoral.” — Matt Foreman, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

What:

Panel discussion: Values? Yes — but whose values?
Who:

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the nation's leading voice on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues
Bishop Yvette Flunder, San Francisco City of Refuge, United Church of Christ, and Refuge Ministries/Fellowship 2000, a multidenominational fellowship of more than 50 primarily African-American Christian leaders and laity
Christian de la Huerta, National Religious Leadership Roundtable member, moderator
Where:

Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, Calif.
General admission, $15; Commonwealth Club members, $8
When:

Thursday, September 28, 6PM
Why:

How do American religion and values impact political views and behavior? Is there such a thing as a “values voter”? Has the religious right hijacked the conversation on moral values in the United States? These questions are at the forefront of a national debate. Some believe the values issue is hype coming from the ultra-conservative right wing designed to distract from real issues. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have been demonized by right-wing political leaders and religious zealots in the name of “values.” This attack has found its loudest voice in the fight over marriage equality for same-sex couples. Recently scores of faith leaders, communities of faith and secular advocacy organizations have been lifting their voices in a growing effort to redefine the values debate.

Progressive people, both secular and sectarian, have begun to wrench the definition of values from the hands of the religious right, according to the National Religious Leadership Roundtable, which said last week in a public statement: “We are unwilling to stand by while people of faith and goodwill are misrepresented by extremist voices as they seek political gain.”

Matt Foreman, the nation's leading voice on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, and Bishop Yvette Flunder, a noted faith leader from the Bay Area, will discuss reclaiming the moral values discourse. These distinguished panelists expand the conversation about values while making the case for how and why it is important to take back the values debate.

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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.

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