South Bend Equality
Supporters of Fair and Equal Treatment
People from all walks of life, including a vast majority of Hoosiers, are in favor of fair and equal treatment of lesbian and gay persons.
According to a 1998 poll conducted by the Center for Survey research at Indiana University, 89.6 % of respondents answered "should" when asked, "In general, do you think gay and lesbian citizens of our state should or should not have equal rights in terms in job opportunities."
Statements below are from a variety of individuals or groups that have gone on the record in support of fair and equal treatment for all. This is simply a representative few of those who have taken a stand for fairness. There are many more that could be included.
South Bend Human Rights Commission
"The South Bend Human Rights Commission is an agency of the City of South Bend, Indiana, committed to fair and equal treatment of all human beings. It is the responsibility and duty of the Human Rights Commission to make sure that no human being is mistreated based on status, without making value or moral judgments.
"Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered (G,L,B&T) persons have experienced mistreatment based on their G,L,B&T status. The South Bend Human Rights Commission supports and encourages the South Bend Common Council to hear from the general public, to explore, investigate and to determine the degree to which G,L,B&T persons have been treated adversely within the City of South Bend due to their G,L,B&T status. The South Bend Human Rights Commission further encourages the South Bend Common Council, working cooperatively with the South Bend Human Rights Commission, to create an appropriate remedy."
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association deplores all public and private discrimination in such areas as employment, housing, public accommodation, and licensing against those who engage in or have engaged in homosexual activities and declares that no burden of proof of such judgement, capacity, or reliability shall be placed upon these individuals greater than that imposed on any other persons. Further, the American Psychological Association supports and urges the enactment of civil rights legislation at the local, and state and federal level that would offer citizens who engage in acts of homosexuality the same protections now guaranteed to others on the basis of race, creed, color, etc.
Conger, J.J. (1975) Proceedings of the American Psychological Association, Incorporated, for the year 1974: Minutes of the Annual meeting of the Council of Representatives. American Psychologist, 30, 620-651.
American Nurses Association
Discrimination and racism continue to be a part of the fabric and tradition of American society and have adversely affected minority populations, the health care system in general, and the profession of nursing. Discrimination may be based on differences due to age, ability, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic by which people differ. The American Nurses Association (ANA) is committed to working toward the eradication of discrimination and racism in the profession of nursing, in the education of nurses, in the practice of nursing, as well as in the organizations in which nurses work.
ANA Position Statement on Discrimination and Racism in Health Care
Coretta Scott King
"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. ... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'"
Coretta Scott King, widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., speaking March 31, 1998, at the 25th anniversary luncheon for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
“I have worked too long and hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice is indivisible.” Like Martin, I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others."
Coretta Scott King, remarks, press conference on the introduction of ENDA, Washington, DC, June 23, 1994.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
"When I stand up and say that I want to oppose discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation, it is not because I want to seem nice. It is because if I don't, everything I have done in my life will be in vain."
Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, speaking May 1, 1999, at the Human Rights Campaign's Atlanta Dinner.
Maya Angelou
"When we have enough courage to come out – I don't mean just out of the closet, I mean out of your spirit – when you have enough courage to stand and say, 'I came here to stay.' It's amazing. You have no idea who you will inform."
Poet and author Maya Angelou speaking Sept. 19, 1998, at the Human Rights Campaign's Second National Dinner.
Wade Henderson
"Today, most Americans agree that civil and human rights are best measured by a single yardstick, and that protection against invidious discrimination is a fundamental civil and human right. By that standard, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act – a modest but important initiative that would protect against job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation just as the law now protects persons on the basis of race, gender, national origin and disability – is the missing jewel in America's crown of civil rights protection."
Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, speaking Nov. 8, 1997, at the Human Rights Campaign's First National Dinner.
