Voices in the wilderness
ILLUSTRATION: E. ANN HINDS
“ People who don’t live in Portland can
not superimpose their views on our city
and neighborhoods.” Commissioner Earl
Blumenauer. July 22, 1987.
“ Although he’s regularly asked to do
so, God does not take sides in American
politics, and in America disagreement with
the policies of the government is not evi
dence of lack of patriotism.” Senator
George Mitchell, D-Maine. July 14, 1987.
“ We don’t like the way the Vatican puts
down gays and lesbians. We believe in
civil rights for everyone.” Molly Yard;
President, National Organization for
Women, July 19,1987.
“ People, church leaders, who would
B Y
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B R O W N
not dare question the right of blacks or
women to absolute freedom, would tell
you looking you straight in the eye that
giving freedom to gays is a dangerous
thing.
I think that the gay community has a
moral obligation to continue the fight and
to do whatever is possible to encourage
more and more gays to come out of the
closet. God knows, people stay in the
closet because it’s very painful to come
out. But we cannot play the political role
we could play, because we don’t have the
numbers.” BayardRustin; Director,
A. Philip Randolph Institute. (Village
Voice. July 9,1987.)
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City Council
Gay-bashers
—
—
2,
0
City Commissioner Earl Blumenauer
made it “ real simple” for Drew Davis,
Lake Oswego’s Torquemada, to hang him
self with his own words in a charged con
frontation during a first reading of pro
posed guidelines for Portland neighborhood
associations at City Hall on July 22.
Blumenauer asked Davis, “ Are you a citi
zen of Portland? Have you been involved
with neighborhood associations?” Davis
answered, “ No.”
“ We don’t want to be playing games
with the voters. There is absolutely no way
for us to launch an initiative against every
ordinance that has the words ‘sexual orien
tation’, ” Davis said. Davis had asked the
City Council to approve an amendment to
the neighborhood guidelines ordinance
(and any other ordinance with similar
wording) that would remove “ sexual
orientation” if his initiative is approved by
the voters in the 1988 general election.
On July 24, Davis filed an initiative
petition to remove “ sexual orientation”
from a city personnel ordinance passed
unanimously by the City Council on May
7. Davis, who has no legal authority to file
an initiative petition in Portland, filed the
petition in the name of Byron A.E.
Jacobson, a pastor who lives in SE Port
land. Petitioners must gather 23,719 signa
tures by July 1,1988.
Davis says he has no doubts that the City
Council will remove “ sexual orientation”
from the personnel ordinance becuse, like
the Multnomah County Commission in
similar circumstances two years ago,
“ they will not let it go to a vote.”
“ We are not gay bashing,” Davis says.
“ Adding ‘sexual orientation’ validates
homosexuality as a normal lifestyle.”
Right on. Maybe there really is some
4 >
hope for Drew, after all. In the meantime,
he might meditate on the Golden Rule —
“ Do unto others as you would they should
do unto you.”
Hatfield on Bork nomination
Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield says that
opposition to the nomination of Robert H.
Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court is abor
tion and “ should not hinge on a single
issue.” Hatfield made the remark in an
interview broadcast July 20, on Oregon
Public Broadcastng.
We think it is inconceivable that Hatfield
is unaware of Bork’s role in Dronenberg v.
Zech. In that case, Bork wrote the decision
which upheld the discharge of a gay naval
officer, and ruled that the right to privacy
does not include private consensual homo
sexual conduct.
In a speech two years ago, Bork said
that judges who strike down laws prohbit-
ing consensual same-sex relations can lead
to “ a tyranny of the minority.” In the
Dronenberg v. Zech case, Bork wrote that
the Constitution’s implied right to privacy
does not cover homosexuality, even though
“ it is broad enough to encompass a wo
man’s decision whether or not to terminate
her pregnancy.”
In decisions such as Gitlow v. New York
and Whitney v. California, which denied
free speech rights to political dissenters,
Bork believes that such speech “ has no
political value within a republican system
of government..
Oregonians should join the National
Gay Rights Advocates, the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force, The National Or
ganization for Women, The National As
sociation for the Advancement of Colored
People, the National Education Associa
tion and dozens of other groups in a broad
based coalition in opposition to Bork's
nomination.
if
Special rights quashed
The Portland City Council, on July
29, reaffirmed its stance on fairness
and equality of opportunity, by banning
discrimination on the basis of sexual orien
tation in certain city jurisdictions for the
second time this year. The Council passed,
on second reading, an ordinance pertain
ing to neighborhood associations guide
lines.
Commissioner Earl Blumenauer, Com
missioner Bob Koch and Mayor Bud Clark
voted unanimously in favor of the ordi
nance; Commissioners Dick Bogle and
Commissioner Mike Lindberg were absent.
The Council, which took no spoken testi
mony at the second reading, accepted writ
ten statements from Priscilla Martin against
the ordinance and from Adrienne Weller of
Radical Women in support of the ordi
nance. (The City Council welcomes com
munications from its constituents at any
time; we hope the Council and each com
missioner continues to receive mail in sup
port of their actions on this important
human rights issue.)
Mayor Clark summed up the feeling of
many of us when Priscilla attempted to
protest the ordinance after the Council had
voted.
” We had all the testimony on this issue
last week, Priscilla,” MayorClark said. “ I
am familiar with your testimony and we
had enough of that last week.”
Another person wearing an anti-gay slo
gan asked to speak; Mayor Clark said,
“ It’s been voted on; it’s done,” told the
man that the council welcomes written
testimony, then asked the clerk for the next
item on the agenda.
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V ideo
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Sunday, August 9,1987
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Just O ut . 5 . August. 1987
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