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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1988)
«* A g o ld e n opportunity K a ren L. Z um w alt is pleased to announce the relocation o f her law office to 4040 Douglas Way P.O. Box 1708 Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035 (503) 635-7773 Ric Young’s THE PASSION FOR FRESH FLOWERS effective A p ril 4, 1988. She will continue to limit her practice to fa m ily law and wills. Coming soon to Storefront Theatre 224-4001 SPIRITUAL COUNSELING by REV BOB E. CARRINGTON. D.D. I offer twenty-five years experience in Spiritual Counseling. Psychic Reading and Hypnotherapy. I have studied with some of the leading names in these fields, including Dick Sutphan. Dan Millman and Freda Morris. A special interest is working with AIDS/ARC patients and the worried-well to help with fears of death and dying. I am a member of the Association for Past-Life Research and Therapy, and a certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. SOUL PATTERN READING GOING HOMK COTISE UNO PAST UEE THERAPY SOI'!.-CONNECTION READING CHANNELING METAPHYSICAL HYPNOSIS SPIRITUAL HEALING STATEMENT OE SERVICES Explore cuTrent life soul patterns, their past life cause and life-lessons being taught Go back to the source and finally understand, learn, release, and heal. Explore death and the spirit state by going hack and reliving a past-life death experience Also re-experience planning this lifetime before birth. Explore unfinished business from past lives. Working with gay and lesbian couples to explore how soul patterns interact and what lessons they are together to learn Work also done with groups Let CMARLA s wisdom, humor and unwavering honesty brighten your path Work with root causes to make change easy Both individual and group work available Please call Rev Carrington at the GOING HOME FOUNDATION for more information. (5031635-3272. FIFTH A N N U A L r IN WOMEN rZ WOODS ! THE I at Breitenbush Hot Springs- — August 5,6 & 7, 1988 - Com e and enjoy the natural setting, therapeutic hot springs, pools, steam sauna, hiking trails, rustic cabins, old mountain lodge, ovo-lactic vegetarian meals (included) at historic Breitenbush Hot Springs, 60 miles east of Salem. This three day retreat for Lesbians is limited to 100 participants. There'll be time available for healing workshops, play, relaxation, music — your choice. There will be a dance Saturday night featuring Loose Wimmin. Sliding fee scale $95-5145 (set vour own fee). Register early, spaces go quickiy. $25 deposit (refundable until June 15). Carpooling avalable from Portland or Salem. Sponsored bv 333 SVV Fifth. S te MM • Portland OR ‘*7204 • (503) 223-8299 Just Out • 14 •^Apnl I98R PHOENIX V i . *N * " • » < * < * • « I I *-»-*• My history in the Legislature shows involvement in civil rights for all from the very beginning. — Shirley Gold BY K E L L Y M A S E K hirley Gold was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1981 and has served as the District 14 (Southeast Portland) representative since that time. Last year she was elected House majority leader. She is currently seeking election as the state senator for Dis trict 7. S Shirley, in your press release you say you will represent all the citizens in your district. With that in mind, what message do you have for your gay and lesbian constituents? How will you support and promote their interests in the Senate? “ The basis I start from with any group is the right of every American citizen to live as full a life as they can according to their beliefs. When I have legislation before me. I evaluate it this way. 1 will do the same as a senator. Last term you testified on behalf o f the gay rights bill (HB 2325). Why did it fail to pass? What will it take for gay rights to become a priority issue with legislators? How can the gay and lesbian community facilitate this process? “ Among our group in the House and. I suppose, in the Senate, we have some who are sort of closet sympathizers. If faced with [gay rights] legislation on the floor of the House or Senate their conscience will force them to vote for it. They are an unknown factor. Their sup port is difficult to line up. Among Vera [Vera Katz. House speaker] and myself there is a core group that has worked quite closely with the ACLU lobbyist [Laurie Inacy of the American Civil Liberties Union Commission on Gay and Lesbian Rights] and other groups you might not think of as allies, but who are adamant on the civil rights issues. We strove mightily to get the votes from the Judiciary Committee We did not succeed in getting it out of committee. “ There are three types of supportive legis lators. There are the kind that come to the Legis lature and actively pursue support for their issues. Then there are those who are openly supportive, but busy with other things. They will tell you. ‘Yes. I’m there and if anyone asks me publicly, yes. I support this issue.' The third group are those who just won't tell you. You know who they are and you know if you can get the bill to the floor, they’ll support it. Those who disappoint us most are in this latter group. They will not declare themselves. “ Those who openly advocated for HB 2325 on the Judiciary Committee were Judith Bauman. David Dix and Dick Springer among the Democrats. Tom Hanlon (Democrat) was supportive, but it’s not clear to me whether he was publicly supportive. The other Democrat on the committee we could not succeed with was Mike Burton 4 Those on the commitee who were not open advocates of the bill, who were supportive, but fearful for their political careers, required a show of votes on the floor. Laurie Inacy was constantly trying to get that necessary support from the general group. She had perhaps 25 or 26 votes [of 31 required]. ' Those legislators who don't have the cour age to go with an issue have to be shown by the people in the community who elect them that this is not only the thing to do. but they’d better do it because there is enough of a force in this community to make a difference for them politi cally. I don't mean that as a threat, just prove there is support for the issue “ I don't know if there was a special effort made [by the gay and lesbian community] to get support from Tom Hanlon's or Mike Burton's constituency Once a bill is assigned to a com mittee it is critical for the lobbying group to see to contact of these committee members by their constituents. Another meaningful way to gain support is to advocate through the member’s business peers. For example, Mike Burton is the head of the business administration depart ment at Marylhurst College. He has much con tact with the Portland busin:ss community. A number of highly respected business com munity people are gay or gay supporters. This would be very meaningful contact for Mike. What you are trying to do on this particular issue is instill some courage in the individual. The most important advice I could give to the gay and lesbian community is to work on creating courage in those whom you need to speak on your behalf of the Legislature.” Could you briefly describe your other priorities? “ My priorities continue to be as they have been. I focus on the preventive, such as early childhood education and prenatal care, with the idea of changing things for the better from the very beginning. I also work on the other end of the spectrum because I believe that older people have done their thing for our community and they rate a peaceful and productive old age. A final question, Shirley. Do you perceive the gay and lesbian community as coming into power? “ Yes! Sanford Director’s birthday party was a real sign to the mainstream public that you are mainstream community folks, you have arrived. Every available space inside the Mont gomery Park Building was occupied. It was packed with gay and lesbian community mem bers and their supporters. Many of the people attending were prestigious community members both in the mainstream and gay com munities. This carries clout in politics and in society. You couldn’t even find a parking place!” Editor’s note: Shirley Gold is seeking elec tion to the state senate seat now held by Rod Monroe. Monroe, it will be remembered, is no friend to gays and lesbians. In a campaign in the late 1970s. Monroe accepted money and an endorsement from the Portland Town Council. At about the same time, in response to a ques tion put to him by Keeston Lowery at a public forum. Monroe stated that he would vote in favor of a gay rights bill if it came up again. In 1983, a gay rights bill lost by one vote in the Oregon Senate. Rod Monroe voted against the bill. In a contribution solicitation appeal mailed to his constituents last year. Monroe said, “ I am facing opposition in the May primary from groups and individuals who object to the strong stands I have taken on basic moral questions facing our society” (emphasis in the original) •