FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | January 21, 2005

Message from Kate Kendell

NCLR Signs on to National LGBT "State of the Union" Statement

(San Francisco, CA, January 21, 2005) — This week we witnessed the extravagant spectacle (and I don't mean that in a good way) of the Presidential Inauguration, the questioning and now near-certain confirmation of Condoleezza Rice, who at best was part of the gang who misled us to war, and the flip-flopping of the President on whether he would, in his second-term, push for a federal constitutional amendment enshrining second-class status for lesbians and gay men. It's enough to make one wish for the Reagan years. But all is not lost. While there is much we cannot control or cure, we can take some hope and dream of a new vision.

Earlier this month NCLR signed on to a Unity Statement that we, along with many other national LGBT organizations, helped craft. The document is not meant to be all things to all of us, nor is it meant to raise every issue and answer every demand. But the statement is unprecedented and is intended to make very clear that there is a sense of vision, purpose and mission among many of us in our movement. We know that our future challenges will be perilous and we also know that repelling those attacks will require great collaboration and commitment. With your support and investment, NCLR will be there for every step.