j a
:
An open letter
to the Portland
lesbian community
Have you been wondering where the
movement went? Maybe you're not sure
what the movement is. What happened to
those of us who were active in the past? Why
aren’t we now? How will activism in the mid
eighties be different? What do we need as
individuals and as a community to support
and sustain ongoing activism?
The Lesbian Community Organizing Pro
ject (LC O P) is busy asking these questions
and searching for their answers. We re a
group of lesbians who share a desire to see
our community more organized and more
active. Som e of us were activists in the
seventies; some o f us are new to the women’s
community. All o f us believe the lesbian com
munity needs to and is able to
develop a more powerful influence on social
change politics in Portland.
I—— i
LJ
J
i—
Recently the repeal of the county employee
gay rights ordinance, under pressure from a
fundamentalist group, found us, as a com
munity, unable to respond effectively in our
own interest We need to make our voice
heard on the many issues that affect us as
lesbians, as women, and as citizens.
W e’ve been meeting for several months
discussing ideas and developing goals. Es
sentially, we envision a four-phase project:
information gathering, analysis, and a com
munity conference that aided by the results
of the information, will decide to set in motion
strategies for community development The
final phase will be sharing our work with other
lesbian communities nationally,
encouraging them to undertake their own
organizing projects.
In order to accomplish these goals we plan
to:
1. Design and distribute a community
wide survey.
2. Conduct in-depth interviews with indi
viduals from different segments of the
community.
ing and analyzing the information and
organizing the conference. You can choose a
level of participation that’s comfortable for
you. Participate with a maximum commit
ment on the steering committee, or on a
more minimal level by holding a house meet
ing for friends in your home, or putting your
name on a committee phone list so you can
be called for help on a specific task So, don't
be overwhelmed. The LCOP is accessible
even if you don’t have a lot of extra time.
Another way to participate is financially.
Your contributions of money, as well as time,
are needed to make it all happen. We also
need help planning and organizing fundrais
ing activities.
To contact us call: Cathy at 238-0135 and
233-9079. Judith at 284-5262.
Or write us a P.O. Box 2212, Portland
97228.
Or, leave a message in the LCOP log book
at A Women’s Place Bookstore.
W e’ll be talking with you.
The Lesbian Community
Organizing Project
3. Hold a series of house meetings to
facilitate small group discusson of the
questions.
4. Compile and analyze the information
and write a report of the findings.
5. Present the report at a conference so
Portland lesbians can get together and make
informed decisions regarding community
development
6. Publicize the work of our project in the
national women's press.
During the whole process we will be con
necting women with one another, developing
mailing lists and phone trees, and focusing
community attention.
There are many ways you can be involved.
Right now we're recruiting for the steering
committee and the house meeting commit
tee. We also need lesbians from a wide variety
of perspectives to participate in the com
munity focus group. This group will
meet periodically just to tell us what they
think about the work of the project as it pro
gresses. In the future we’ll need help compil
— i
Insurers to
require AIDS test
T h e Am erican Council o f Life Insurance,
w h o se 60 30 m em ber com panies write 95
percent o f the nation's insurance policies,
an n o u n ced on Septem ber 12. that it would
b ack any insurers that want to require AIDS
b lo o d testing o f prospective clients.
The policy statement by the board of di
rectors of ACL1 said the tests are necessary to
“ protect policy holders’ interest’’ An industry
spokesman said the industry will also use its
substantial lobbying power to overturn laws
in California and Wisconsin which ban insur
ers from requiring the tests.
Nationwide Insurance Companies, an
Ohio-based firm, was reported to have started
AIDS blood screening of som e male appli
cants from New York New Jersey, California
and Florida a week before the ACU
announcem ent
The controversial blood test detects the
presence o f antibodies to the HTLV-III virus,
which causes acquired immune deficiency
syndrome.
Opponents o f the test have argued that it
should not be used by insurers because not
all people with antibodies will develop AIDS.
Experts estimate that between 5 percent and
2 0 percent o f antibody-positive people will
contract the lethal syndrom e, and an addi
tional 25 percent will contract AIDS-Related
C om plex, a m ilder form o f the infection that
p o se s serious health problem s. A s m any as 1
m illion Am ericans have the AID S antibodies
in their blood , federal officials have said.
B oth insurance industry representatives
an d gay com m unity leaders have expected
con cern s about A ID S and insurance to in
crease as m ore AID S victims becom e sick
en o u gh to require expensive hospitalization
and m edical treatm ent
Federal health officials have estimated that
AIDS care already is costing billions of dollars
nationally. Each of the nation’s AIDS victims
typically runs up a medical bill between
$50,000 and $ 100,000. As of this month,
m ore than 12 900 AIDS cases were reported
nationally.
Texas Sodomy
law upheld
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New
Orleans voted 9 to 7 on August 26 to uphold
Texas’ sodom y law which forbids “deviate
sexual intercourse with another individual o f
the sam e sex," even in private.
"In view o f the strong objection to hom o
sexual co n d u ct which has prevailed in W est
ern culture for the past seven centuries, we
cannot say that (the Texas law ) is totally unre
lated to the pursuit o f im plem enting morality,
a perm issible state goal,” the judges said.
The case was appealed by Danny Hill, a
district attorney in Potter County in west
Texas, with the support of a group called
Dallas Doctors Against AIDS after the law was
declared unconstitutional by a federal judge
in 1982.
The ruling majority (six Reagan appointees,
two Nixon appointees and one appointed by
Carter) apparently ignored a decision re
leased last May by the Eleventh Circuit Court
which struck down a similar law in the state of
Georgia.
The majority opinion in the Georgia case
ruled that the law “infringes upon the funda
mental constitutional rights of the homosex
ual’ and that the state “ must prove in order to
prevail that it has a compelling interest in
regulating this behavior.”
At this time litigants in the Texas case have
made no decision for a U.S. Supreme Court
appeal. The state of Georgia, on the other
hand, is asking for a Supreme Court decision
claiming that the state does have a "compel
ling interest in regulating” sexual behavior.
Weller quits
C hicago post
Jerry Weller, executive director of
Chicago’s Howard Brown Memorial Clinic,
resigned, according to GayLife. Weller
said he plans to complete his master’s de
gree in journalism at Roosevelt University
during the com ing school year and then pos
sibly return to Portland.
Weller’s resignation came after a vacation
in Portland where he decided that he “really is
a West Coast person," and that
working at the clinic is “ not how I wanted to
spend my life.”
Weller was founding executive director of
Portland’s Phoenix Rising Foundation until
1982 when he moved to Washington, D.C., to
work for Gay Rights National Lobby. After a
stint as GRNL’s deputy director he was ap
pointed acting director between the resigna
tion of Steve Endean and the appointment of
Vicky Monrean.
Hired on October 25,1984, by the Howard
• Brown Memorial Clinic, Weller said he is leav
ing the clinic more financially stable than
when he took the job. Weller also cited his
success at bringing city and state funds to the
clinic for the first time.
RED ROSE SCHOOL
W om en’s Term, Fall 1985
The Red Rose School offers classes to help us better understand
our position in society and our ability to change it through social
action. This fall we present a special term which is being con-
ceiued, organized and taught by women.
Mena Resource Center Counseling Service
Classes begin Oct. 14 and are held at 7:30 pm in the Friends'
Meetinghouse, 4312 S.E. Stark A small tuition is charged to
cover expenses For m ore Info rm ation and a brochure, call
1
232 - 1605 .
Monday«: Women as Organizers In the Workplace (M L. Smith. 4 Mondays starting Oct. 14);
Methods of Discrimination (Patricia MacAodha, 6 Mondays starting Oct. 14). Tuewlays: Daughters of
Poverty: 20th-Century Fiction (Diane Nowicki, 7 Tuesdays starting Oct. 15); Violence Against Women
(Portland Women's Crisis Line members, 6 Tuesdays starting Oct. 22) Wednesday«: Internalized O p
pression of Women (Cindy Cumfer, 6 Wednesdays starting Oct. 16); W om en’s Leadership Develop-
ment (Sister Guadalupe Gua)ardo, 5 Wednesdays starting Oct. 16). Thursday«: Lesbian
Identity in a Homophobic Society (Dr. Peggy Hockenbruck, 6 Thursdays starting Oct 17)
•
FRIDAY. OCT. 4: FORUM AND OPEN HOUSE. “ The View From Nairobi" will be a
special report on the recent international women's conference by two Portland women
who attended. Damari Wakhungu and Carol Page. Open house: 7 pm; forum: 7:30 pm.
Friends’ Meetinghouse, 4312 S.E Stark.
4
G AY T H E R A P IS T S
•
•
•
•
•
Professional Counseling
Low Fees - Sliding Scale
Individuals, Couples, Groups
Hypnotherapy
Evening & Weekend
Problems ............ We
2 3 5 -3 4 3 3
Can Work It Out!
M
l
Out O ctober 1985