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 J A Y 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.) The Coffee Merchant ♦ The finest imported coffee beans, teas, chocolates, and beverage brewing accessories. ♦ THE BROADWAY COFFEE MERCHANT 1637 N.E. Broadway • 284-9209 ♦ THE HAWTHORNE COFFEE MERCHANT 3562 S E. Hawthorne • 230 1222 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. • V ideo 9 Sunday, August 9,1987 Waterfront Park CALL NOW! 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