ju s t out
February, 1987
S t e p p in ’ O u t
urity” to about 300,000 people; they will
feel secure in their jobs, in their homes,
and in the places they spend their money.
People whose jobs and homes are safe
pose no threat to “ state security.”
And what is this, anyway? Has Oregon
suddenly become a bastion of the CIA?
Co-Publishers
Renee LaChance and Jay Brown
Editor Jay Brown
Feature Editor w.c. McRae
Intern Rodger Larson
Special privileges
Advertising Director Roger Hall
Advertising Representatives
Jewel Murphy, Julie Draper,
Robin Cunningham, Rick Kelso
A
Regional Representative EveSicular
Production Director
Renee LaChance
Creative Director
E. Ann Hinds
Production Assistant
Bev iMBelle
Graphic Inspiration
Rupert Kinnard
Lee Lynch
Mark Miller
Amy Smith
Douge Martin
Rodger Larson
Nancy R. Walseth
Steven Bailey, N.D
Eleanor Malin
Deborah Betron
Katharine English
P.M. Scott
The Imperial Rose Court System o f North America will be honored at ‘Night o f a
Thousand Gowns,’ ’ a tribute to the pioneering role o f drag in the lesbian and gay
communiites, Saturday, March 27, in the Grand Ballroom o f the Waldorf Astoria in New
York City.
‘
Distribution
E
Terri Redbird
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D
I
T O R I
Security risks?
overnor Neil Goldschmidt, while
speaking to the Salem Chamber of
Commerce on January 19, said the
state should not discriminate against gays
and lesbians in employment unless secur
ity is at stake, according to the Oregonian.
“ Unless security is at stake?” Does Gov
ernor Goldschmidt mean to imply that les
bians and gays are a threat to the security
of the state? Is he saying that gays and
lesbians should not be given positions of
responsibility in the state because we can
not be trusted? (Calls to the governor’s
office were not returned by press time.)
Whatever Goldschmidt meant, my
G
memory recalled the specter of Senator
Joseph McCarthy whose rabid hounding
of homosexual “ security risks” ruined
countless lives in the early 1950s. I dread
to think that in 1987 such sophisticated a
politician as Neil Goldschmidt would be
lieve that lesbians and gays in the State of
Oregon, or anywhere, pose a threat to
“ security.”
Neil Goldschmidt needs to do a lot of
homework in the next few months. After
all, more than 10% of his constituency are
counting on his signature on House Bill
2325.
House Bill 2325, Neil, will offer “ sec-
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RE ALLY 7
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r.M IMPRESSED THAT A GAY MALE
\CAN LOOK BEYOND HIS O W N
\0PPRESStON AND B E A B L E TO
EM BRACE REV. K IN G AS A CHAM-
PION fO R T H E DfáNtTY O f ALL
p e o p l e !^
If you have contacts that can be of use in
this most important campaign, please call
the ACLU, 227-3186 in Portland, and
345-6162 in Eugene.
•
F e a t u r in g
^
THE BROWN BOMBER & DIVA TOUCHE FLAMBE
B Y R U P E R T K IN N A R D
_________
c a n t g , o o u t ^
com m ém ora t iñ ó
t h e b ir t h d a y o r r ev , d r . m a r t i n ^
L
The implication that gays and lesbians are ‘ ‘security risks' ’
surfaced recently in Salem; a blast from the past
from the governor , no less.
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Contributors
s House Bill 2325 wends its way
through the maze in Salem, I
predict that opponents to the
legislation will raise a hue and cry about
“ giving special privileges” to gays and
lesbians. Close attention will reveal that
those most vehemently opposed to
“ special privileges” for lesbians and gays
are institutions and people who believe
their own privileged status is legitimate —
divinely inspired, even.
Since 1973, I’ve been watching gay
rights bill after gay rights bill get stiffed in
Oregon. I gave testimony at a committee
hearing in 1979.1 was in the gallery during
the floor debate in the Senate in 1983. And
in every defeat for us, the same privileged
people and institutions triumphed.
The privileged people and institutions
are, of course, the religionists; their hold
ings and incomes are exempt from taxation
and their beliefs and actions are fully pro
tected by law. Their religious privileges,
they sometimes believe, put them beyond
the law.
The religionists who oppose us will
always win as long as their ignorant
harangues drown out reasonable voices.
At the committee hearing I attended in
1979, the only opposing testimony came
from religionists. They quoted scripture
and defeated the bill — and we out
numbered them.
Their special privilege means that re
ligious persecution of gays and lesbians
continues to be legitimate activity, and it
means that lesbians and gays can legally be
deprived of employment, housing and
public accommodations.
Let’s make sure the lawmakers listen to
our side this time. It’s the squeaky wheel
that gets the grease.
X d.
Vol. 4 No. 4
Just Out
3 February.
1987