ABSTRACT
According to executive director Ira Glasser, the organization has raised,000, which is one third of what is needed to hire a full-time attorney and officially begin the project's activities. Glasser says that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been primarily soliciting contributions from individuals because they don't want to compete with existing gay organizations that already receive grant money. Sodomy laws are used as a legal justification for police harassment and form a legal basis for housing, employment, and child-custody discrimination. Even when not enforced, "their mere existence defines gay relationships as a crime," says Glasser. The project's agenda also includes such constitutional issues as the right to "advocate" homosexuality in the classroom. Glasser said that the project's formation is based on the principle that "as long as civil rights for gays remains a gay people's issue alone, it will be too easy for gays to be isolated in their struggle for equality."
