The National Boycott for Equality on Oct. 8th.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dale Duncan (757) 257-6215
dsd@boycottforequality.org

Gays and Lesbians to Withdraw Cash from Banks October 8 – Could Total Billions

Atlanta, GA, September 22, 2004 – Organizers of the Boycott For Equality are expanding their nationwide walkout to include a coordinated cash withdrawal from the economy on October 8.

To demonstrate the need for equality in marriage and the workplace, Straight and Gay supporters will each take out $80 from their local ATM.

Boycott For Equality expects the action will exhaust the cash in many ATMs, leaving a reminder of gay economic power to all who try to use them throughout the long bank weekend.

To further drive home the lessons taught during the Boycott, participants should refer to the Boycott when communicating with their elected representatives, particularly when candidates ask for money to fund their campaigns.

“Let them know you participated in the Boycott” explained Duncan. “Just take your ATM receipt, cross out your account number, circle your balance, write GAY MONEY on it and mail it to campaign headquarters in the postage paid envelope they provide. They’ll get the message that nobody in America can be taken for granted.”

The amount represents the amount the average member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community contributes to the US economy each day, and could grow beyond the $1.4 billion that LGBT workers contribute each day – more than $500 billion each year according to computations by Washington D.C.-based public relations firm Witeck-Combs Communications.

The walkout combines several actions highlighting the various ways that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Citizens contribute to the economy on a regular basis.

Other components of the Boycott include a one-day work stoppage or “pink flu” day to make employers and colleagues aware of their gay and lesbian employees and what it would be like without them; a moratorium on spending for goods and services such as gas, food and clothing, to show retailers what would happen if 7% of their revenue goes away; closures by sympathetic businesses to make their customers aware of how dependent Americans are upon each other; and a halt to cell phone use to spread the message to the many people every American communicates with each day, that marginalizing gay and lesbian citizens is not good for business.

Close to fifty businesses and 15,000 people have already pledged to participate using the online forms at the group’s web site. Some major groups that have endorsed or encouraged Boycott For Equality Day include Don’t Amend: The Equality Campaign, The Advocate magazine, Civil Marriage US, several local PFLAG chapters, DC Diversity, Equality Illinois and Wyoming Equality.

Additionally, Boycott For Equality is listed on Margaret Cho’s Marriage Equality Resource Site, www.loveisloveislove.com, as one of the things people can do to fight for the issue of Marriage Equality.

“We have had almost one million visitors to our web site. If just one tenth of those people are able to participate, we will have united to send a powerful message to those who stand in the way of economic growth” said Dale Duncan, co-founder of Boycott For Equality. “For many people, such as those who would be fired for participating in the walkout, this is the only way they will be able to express their frustration at obstacles to fairness.”

In at least 36 states it is still legal to fire some one because of their sexuality – even if they never bring it into the workplace. And nowhere in the United States are these taxpayers able to file joint federal income tax, combine tax deductions, or access their partner’s social security or disability benefits.

The actions were chosen so that they could be performed anonymously, yet demonstrate on a personal level how valuable LGBT citizens are to the community. They are also measurable and open to participation by an unlimited number of straight allies.

“Across the country, more than 80% of Americans support equal job opportunities for lesbians and gays” says Duncan. “These are people who understand how discrimination hurts their bottom line, and are willing to help their friends and colleagues secure basic rights and freedoms.”

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Boycott For Equality is an Atlanta-based non-profit formed to promote the boycott, scheduled this year for October 8. For that day, GLBT Americans and their straight allies are encouraged to withdraw from the economy in four specific areas:

1) Stay home from work. Do not generate payroll taxes, income taxes or add to the economy. If you run a business, let your customers
know by closing for the day.
2) Withdraw $80 from your bank account at an ATM.
3) Don’t shop. Do not generate sales tax or business revenue.
4) Hang up your cell phone. Your silence will affect your whole communications network.
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http://www.boycottforequality.org/

From the website:
When?
Friday, October 8, 2004

1) Withdraw from your ATM. We are asking GLBT citizens to withdraw $80 from their bank accounts on that Friday and hold the cash in their pockets. This is the symbolic average daily contribution of gay people to the economy. There are an estimated 17 million GLBT citizens with a daily spending power of $1.4 billion, equivalent to $500 billion annually! On Saturday, October 9, either redeposit the money into your account, OR spend it at a local GLBT friendly business.

Why?
On February 24, 2004, the President of the United States declared war on gay/bisexual/transgendered Americans when he decided to support a Constitutional Amendment banning Same-Sex Marriage denying us over 1000 rights and responsibilities that all other Americans currently enjoy.

In addition, the Congress and State Legislatures have refused numerous attempts to pass employment non-discrimination laws. The discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy continues to make a mockery of the service of lesbian and gay service people, when other democracies (i.e. Great Britain) allow gays to serve in the military.

GLBT citizens pay taxes everyday to support our government and society, just like heterosexual citizens. As such, we will no longer be treated as second-class citizens without the full protection of the law in employment non-discrimination or legal status in marriage, adoption or other rights. We should be able to serve our country with distinction without fear of discharge.

Gay people do not choose to be gay — who would logically choose to be despised by the majority. We do not choose to be homosexual any more than straights decide to be heterosexual. Left-handed people do not choose to be different than the right-handed majority — they just are!

I can’t see how this will work. . .
We can only have an impact if we get the word out and participate. Imagine the discussions that will occur if there is a significant amount of press leading up to those two days. Imagine if Broadway shut down for the day. Imagine if brides could not find florists for their weddings for those days. Imagine if people could not get appointments to get their hair cut that day. Imagine law enforcement officers not on their normal patrols. Imagine the conversations in classrooms at schools across America if teachers and principals didn’t show up to work that Friday. Imagine the discussions in Board Rooms and at the water coolers in corporations all over the country if major players don’t show up. Imagine the power that gays and lesbians who, for personal reasons, have chosen to stay in the closet will feel by quietly participating in this boycott.

Near as I can tell, this is legitimate. I ask that people who agree with this type of protest to pass along the word.