Subject: Re: PFLAG Action Alert
From: Scot Bear
Date: 11/19/95
ACTION ALERT: PFLAG Ads Attacked
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) URGENT
HELP PFLAG STOP HATE SPEECH NOW!
What's up? Pat Robertson's multi-million dollar Christian Broadcasting Network is threatening legal action against TV stations showing PFLAG's Project Open Mind Ads. These are ads which show how gay and lesbian youth can suffer from homophobia. Once scene depicts a young girl contemplating suicide and another depicts a young man being beaten by a gang shouting slurs. These scenes are intermixed with footage of hateful rhetoric by Pat Robertson, to show how fiery anti-gay rhetoric can translate into suicide or violence.
Some stations are doing the right thing and showing the ads - we need YOUR help in thanking them. We know the Radical Right will not stop trying. GRASSROOTS ACTION IS NEEDED NOW!!!! What can we do?
Call the two stations below and:
1) Thank them for doing the right thing-- that is,for airing the PFLAG ads.
2) Tell them not to cave into Radical Right pressure. For more information and additional suggestions
Contact PFLAG's national office at 202-638-4200;
e-mail PFLAGNTL@aol.com.
Origin: STARCOM -- Fundies debunked, free-of-charge!
Subject: Re: PFLAG Ad has no takers
From: Scot Bear
Date: 11/19/95
Washington Post article that you may find of intrest
Two controversial ads against gay-bashing produced by Washington-based Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and featuring footage of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Sen. Jesse Helms making anti-gay statements have had trouble finding their way onto television.
In one of the spots, a 15-year-old "all American girl" searches for a gun in her parents' bedroom while listening to the voices of the three men condemning homosexuality. The spot ends as the girl,slumped on the floor, sobs against the gun--clearly contemplating suicide.
The planned three-week campaign, part of PFLAG's Project Open Mind, has grabbed the interest of only a few cable systems and most of those are unwilling to run the suicide spot. According to Project Open Mind campaign manager Jeffrey Garrett, only CNN's "Larry King Live," and WTTG/Channel 5 (Washington, DC) have agreed to air it.
A spokesman for CNN said last week, however, that after legal review "at a higher level in the company" the network had to turn down the ad. At WTTG, the ad will be shown 13 times over the next three weeks with a "dramatization" warning at the beginning. According to Garrett, interest in the ads as well as the Open Mind Project has been impeded by threats from Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network.
"We have made no threats," said Gene Kapp, vice president of public relations at the network. "But we have contacted the (interested) stations and explained the legal problems that might be involved.
The commercials are under review by our legal department.
The transcript shows a gross distortion of Mr. Robertson's words. Any attempt to link Mr. Robertson to violence is absurd, he has repeatedly condemned violence against all groups, including gays and lesbians and he has done so often on his 700 Club broadcasts."
Kapp added that some of the clips used in the spot were taken directly from Robertson's broadcasts, which are legally subject to copyright law. (Washington Post)
Origin: STARCOM -- Fundies debunked, free-of-charge!
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