GAY COMMUNITY TO ATTEMPT “NEW MESSAGING”

"...President Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress have chosen to put politics ahead of real progress...", "Many legal experts agree this amendment also would close the door on civil unions...", "This ban on same-sex unions undermines the Constitution, which has never once been amended to deny rights to a group of Americans." “Ethan Geto, longtime political consultant and president of the firm Geto & de Milly, said past messages lacked the personal elements that connect with people. "It was missing some of the kinds of messaging that we should be focusing on in these situations, which is to be talking about our lives, our families, personal stories—how people are deeply personally affected as human beings, as parents, as children, by this kind of stuff," he said.” Geto knows from experience. He headed up one of the nation’s first gay political battles in 1977 when Anita Bryant led the charge to repeal a gay-rights ordinance passed in Dade County, Fla. Geto said his ad campaign failed to sway public opinion and the ordinance was repealed. "They were very well written ads, but they were all about the Constitution and basic human rights and civil liberties—all without the human face," he said. "Every single time, what we learn is when we can put a genuine, compelling human face and human story on our message, that really should be the front line," he said. (newyorkblade)