PRESS RELEASE:  Contact: Kirk D. Lyons 828-669-5189 or
Dr. Neill H. Payne, Executive Director SLRC 828-669-5189
13 AUGUST 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SLRC Responds to Inaccurate Story by Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Black Mountain, NC - I compelled to respond to the following story to correct a few factual errors. This story was written by a reporter, Dennis Roddy, for the "Pittsburgh Post Gazette " and apparently the Associated Press put it on the Wire. The version below was taken from the Fox News web page from a linked story on World Net Daily's page. My comments are appended.

Pennsylvania Man Says He Was Fired Because of Confederate 'National Origin'

NEW STANTON, PA - A man born and raised in Pennsylvania says he was discriminated against because of his national origin, which he describes as "Confederate Southern American."

********SLRC responds**********

[ FACT ] The alleged discrimination is based not only on national origin,
but also on race and religion. Prejudice against the Confederate flag
constitutes religious discrimination due to the presence of a religious
symbol on the flag, viz. the Cross of St. Andrew. Racial discrimination is
alleged due to the fact that the company is making a racist assumption that a White person who displays a emblems of Confederate/Southern American heritage is motivated by racial animus against Blacks and other minorities.]

*********end of response************

In a lawsuit filed Friday, 62-year-old Curt Storey, of Hunker, Pa., said
Burns International Security Services fired him from his job as a security
guard in May for refusing to remove Confederate flag and related stickers
from his lunch bucket and pickup truck.

***********SLRC responds************

[ FACT ] No lawsuit has, as yet, been filed. The only thing filed so far
has been a complaint of discrimination to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.]

***********end of response*************

Storey wants to be reinstated to his $8-an-hour job along with back pay and damages.

Kirk Lyons, Storey's attorney, works for the Southern Legal Resources
Center, which has represented white separatist groups and other people who say they have been discriminated against because of their Confederate heritage.

**********SLRC responds***********

[ FACT ] The Southern Legal Resource Center has never represented any white separatist groups of any kind. Furthermore, SLRC Chief Trial Counsel, Kirk D. Lyons has never represented any white separatist groups either.

The SLRC hired Mr. Lyons because he is a very effective attorney.  He is fearless when it comes to taking controversial or high-profile cases. He has developed a great deal of expertise in defending people whom no one else would defend.  As a result, when the FBI asked for his help, he was instrumental in bringing the Montana Freeman Standoff to a peaceful conclusion.  This was after 42 other independent mediators had tried and failed.

His resume also included his representing 24 Black Jamaican families who were the next of kin to Branch Davidians.  He tirelessly advocated for these families who had family members who were killed or maimed in Waco. In the extensive litigation against the United States Government he gained valuable experience in suing governments entities who claim sovereign immunity.

His former trial work included representing other controversial individuals who were members of unpopular groups.  However, Mr. Lyons has never represented any group whether White or polka-dot.

We are a public-interest, 501 (c)3 tax-exempt legal foundation. We depend on public support for our efforts.  This sloppy reporting is very damaging to our reputation and to the public perception of the kind of work we do.

For the record, we find the following phrase offensive. "white separatist groups and other people who say they have been discriminated against because of their Confederate heritage.  " We reject the attempt to link these two groups as if there were some equivalence.  We do defend those who are discriminated against due to Anti-Southern bias. The SLRC has never defended any separatist group White or Black.

This kind of subtle persuasion helps to foster the anti-Southern bigotry that fuels the heritage violation we chronicle every day.  We all have seen numerous times when Confederate images are used as a backdrop for stories that have a racial angle but that have no connection at all to the South.  We insist that the media stop this gratuitous violence against the Confederate/Southern American people.

***********end of response*************

Lyons said the case is the first of its kind filed by someone who has lived his entire life north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Storey has Southern ancestors, and Lyons said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission standard for national identity should include anyone who feels strongly about their ties to the old South or the Confederacy.

A representative who answered the telephone at the Burns International office in Pittsburgh said Saturday that nobody was available to comment on the lawsuit.

Storey considers his firing discrimination "because Burns Security specifically targeted Confederate symbols only ... Burns assumes, prejudicially, that the Confederate flag is a racist symbol and that therefore I am intentionally trying to offend other workers."

Two small Confederate flags decorate Storey's lunch box and he has two other stickers on his truck, reading "Heritage not hate" and "The South was right."

Storey said "The South was right," refers to a book that argues the Civil War was fought over states' rights to sovereignty, not slavery.

http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,31880,00.html

*********SLRC responds***********

The balance of the article appears to be correct.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Neill H. Payne,
Executive Director SLRC

*************end of release**************

The SLRC is non-profit, tax exempt, South Carolina public law firm that specializes in cases involving Southern Heritage violations.

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If anyone has received this who does not wish to be on our distribution list, please let us know. Our address is SLRC, P.O. Box 1235, Black Mountain, NC 28711. Phone: 828-669-5189 Dr. Payne and Atty. Lyons SCV members, I.N. Giffen,758, Black Mountain, NC