Interested persons are asked tc ^.uti the
church through the basement door on
Hancock. Parking is available on the street.
Western Savings or photomat, but not at the
Northwest Christian Center.
Harrison Pierce
sings farewell
aria to Portland
Harrison Pierce, well known theater person
and producer of gay plays, left Portland last
month to take a job with the San Francisco
Opera. Pierce joined the San Francisco
Opera February 20 as an assistant to the
costume director.
Pierce, a native of Tampa. FL. first appeared
in Portland in a 1979 production of Isadora
Duncan Sleeps until the Russian fSacy
(directed by Richard hurst and featuring
Laurie Holland) at Portland Civic Theatre. He
went on to act with The Production Company
(led by Peter Fomara) at Centenary Wilbur
Church and finally became their business
manager. He last appeared on the Portland
stage as Rudy in a 1982 production of Bent at
the Willamette Center.
Pierce is probably best known to Portland
theater goers as the writer of blurbs for Wil
lamette Week's theater calendar (a job he
held for almost three years) and as a pro
ducer of plays by, for, and about lesbian and
gay people. His productions of Doric Wilson's
Street Theater (1983) and Terry Baum's Dos
Lesbos (1984) celebrated Lesbian and Gay
Pride, and his 1982 production of Doric
Wilson's A Perfect Relationship played to
capacity audiences at the YWCA, was written
up as "the funniest show in town" by Holly
Johnson of the Oregonian, and won a Willie
nomination for director Paul Douroumis. To
complement these productions. Pierce
brought playwrights Doric Wilson and Terry
Baum to Portland to share firsthand their
experiences as writers of lesbian and gay
material.
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• 2 « HO URS 1 D A Y S BO NO EO COURIERS
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III] B «
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236-1252
*
Board of Directors:
Right to Privacy, P.A.C.
12 ISSUES
y '
2 164 N .W . Aspen
Portland, O regon 9 7210
Portland 224-4369
Salem 364-9410
Eugene
r+0f\
S 7 .5 0
K rrtton Lowery, Chair
Barbara HcCuire, Treasurer
John Baker
Tarry Bean
Carol Carver
Sanford Director
Gene Males
Don Pow ell
Warren Schlegel
March 20, 1985
Dear friend,
I know that in recent weeks you followed the news concerning Multnomah County s ordinance for
bidding employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation The turn of events, which
resulted in the repeal of the ordinance and the subsequent passage of a resolution with similar con
tent, was complicated I thought you might want to receive our perspective on the matter
Soon after the passage of the ordinance, Drew Davis and his followers, who have long been hostile to
the gay community, launched a petition drive to force the issue onto the ballot where they believed it
would be defeated
Many people in the gay community, and our friends, were concerned about the prospect of such a
campaign.
P .0 . BOX 1 5 1 1 7
PO R TLA N D , OR 9 7 2 1 5
It would have been certain to divert our efforts to achieve civil rights protection under legislation we
are seeking from the Oregon Legislature That legislation would extend protection to all gay people
The Multnomah County ordinance only applied to those seeking employment with the County
Davis and his followers are particularly strong in east Multnomah County Our chances of defeating
him on his territory would not have been good
Because it only applied to a few gays, the ordinance had a divisive potential Because Multnomah
County has long practiced nondiscrimination, its practical effect would have been minimal
Recent experience in other communities around such referendums has not been good They have
been marked by bigotry, lies and attacks on gays that are a setback to our movement
Most important we have never believed that our most basic human rights should be a matter of a
popular vote. No minority can tolerate such an arrangement It goes to the heart of why we have laws
to protect minorities against the possible tyranny of the majority
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Under the circumstances we urged our supporters on the Board of Commissioners to repeal the or
dinance and substitute a resolution. The resolution has the same "olicy mandate as the ordinance, but
it cannot be forced to a popular vote. It is binding on the County s employment practices.
Although we were successful in preserving the County s protection for gays, and deflecting the orga
nized efforts of bigots to wage their campaign of hate and fear against us, there is much to be done
We have learned that we must be better prepared to deal with such events in the future. None of us
was comfortable with the necessity for rapid, ad hoc decision making. We simply are not equipped as
an organization to meet the demands placed upon us by the virulence of our enemies. An example
was the phony news clips" circulated by Davis organization
Soon, I will be back in contact with you to ask for your financial and volunteer help in order to give
us the resources we need 1 hope you will be generous in your support, and that you will ask your
friends to help too.
None of us can afford to be complacent. All of us need to help each other, now more than ever
Sincerely,
ámj A
Keeston Lowery
Chair Right to Privacy P A C
Puà lor by tha Right to Privacy. P.A.C.
Barbara Mc Cuira, Traasurar
Just Out, April 1985
7