AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION OF PENNSYLVANIA

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NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2003

CONTACT: Diane Gramley 1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355

PRO-FAMILY GROUP BLASTS GOVERNOR FOR ANTI-FAMILY APPOINTMENT

(Harrisburg) -- Today a statewide traditional values group blasted Governor Ed Rendell for his appointment of Stephen Glassman to chair the PA Human Relations Commission. Glassman is also the co-chair of the homosexual special rights organization the Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition. "All in Pennsylvania who uphold traditional values are shocked that the governor would 'sell us out' to a radical homosexual activist and we are asking that he rethink his decision. Glassman used his position as commissioner on the Human Relations Commission to further undermine Pennsylvania's traditional families by working to get the "Hate Crimes Bill" passed last year. Now this governor rewards him by giving him more power -- this is unconscionable," remarked Diane Gramley, director of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania.

The goal across the state has been to give special right to those who are engaged in a very destructive lifestyle. The effort has been portrayed as a fight to obtain civil rights for those with minority status, but the three requirements for a group of individuals to claim minority class status and special protection from discrimination has been consistently overlooked. The three requirements:

o unchangeable characteristics like skin color

o financial discrimination resulting in the inability to earn an income, obtain an adequate education or enjoy cultural opportunities

o political powerlessness

According to a survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 76 percent of lesbians, gays and bisexuals reported they feel more accepted by society today than a few years ago. A new online survey finds that the income of homosexual households is 65 percent higher that the U.S. median income. Nearly 6,000 respondents completed the "2001 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census," conducted by Opus Commgroup. More than a fifth of the respondents reported a combined household income of $100,000 or more, with nearly 60 percent of gay male households and 46 percent of lesbian
households reporting a combined income greater than $60,000.

"This is not a civil rights issue, but Steve Glassman and other homosexual activists have hijacked the civil rights movement. There are no 'gay' or 'straight' water fountains, nor do those living in the homosexual lifestyle have to sit at the back of the bus. Even though homosexual activists and the mainstream media refuse to acknowledge it, there are thousands who have come out of the homosexual lifestyle -- no one is born gay," Gramley stated.

Governor Rendell's appointment of Glassman will further undermine the biological family in Pennsylvania and validate a very destructive lifestyle. Gramley said medical studies and other evidence indicates that individuals who engage in homosexual behavior experience dramatically higher risks of domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse, life-threatening disease, and premature death by up to 20 years. She cited the following documentation: ]

* College-aged men who engage in homosexual behavior are at risk of
dying up to 20 years younger than other men, according to Oxford
University's International Journal of Epidemiology, which reported:
"Life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years z
less than for all men. nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently
aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday."

* "The probability of violence occurring in a gay couple is mathematically 
double the probability of that in a heterosexual couple," write the editors 
of the National Gay & Lesbian Domestic Violence Network newsletter.

* The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that "people with 
same-sex sexual behavior are at greater risk for psychiatric disorders" - z
including bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and anxiety disorders, major 
depression, and substance abuse.

* The Medical Institute of Sexual Health reports: "Homosexual men are at 
significantly increased risk of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, anal cancer, gonorrhea 
and gastrointestinal infections as a result of their sexual practices. Women 
who have sex with women are at significantly increased risk of bacterial 
vaginosis, breast cancer and ovarian cancer than are heterosexual women." 
(Executive Summary, "Health Implications Associated with Homosexuality," 1999)

* The Institute reports "significantly higher percentages of homosexual men 
and women abuse drugs, alcohol and tobacco than do heterosexuals."

* A Detroit homosexual newsmagazine columnist wrote regarding his partner: 
"This is his first relationship, so he has not yet been ruined by all the 
heartache, lies, deceit, and game-playing that are the hallmark of gay 
relationships...A study I once read suggested that nine out of 10 gay men 
cheat on their lovers."

* The Centers for Disease Control warns that men who have sex with men 
"have large numbers of anonymous partners, which can result in rapid, 
extensive transmission of sexually transmitted diseases."

"Governor Rendell's decision will further harm all those who uphold 
traditional values.  For the sake of those families, we are asking the 
governor to appoint someone who does not have the goal of giving special 
rights to a group simply because of their sexual practices," said Gramley.

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