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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1990)
just briefs GMHC to boycott International AIDS Conference To protest a US law restricting free entry of people with HIV into the country, GMHC will boycott the Sixth International Conference on AIDS, taking place in San Francisco during June. The decision to boycott was prompted by the Justice Department’s refusal to support the Rowland Bill, a measure that would allow the removal of HIV from the list of communicable diseases which bar entry to the US. "This is a painful decision for us,” said Executive Director Jeffrey Braff at a May 7 press conference. "The Bush Administration’s hypocrisy on the AIDS issue made it impossible for us, in good conscience, to attend the conference.” GMHC joins an international boycott movement to protest the immigration law. To date, 50 AIDS organizations worldwide are boycotting the conference, including AIDS Project Los Angeles, Northwest AIDS Foundation (Seattle), the Terrence Higgins Trust (London), International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Canadian AIDS Society and the Canadian Red Cross. GMHC is intensifying its media and lobbying campaigns to press the President and Congress for the removal of HIV from the immigration law. Women in the Woods Scholarship Fund Initiated For the first time, Women in the Woods, an annual retreat for women at Breitenbush Hot Springs, and sponsored by Phoenix Rising, will offer financial assistance through a scholarship fund. The fund will provide partial assistance with fees to the retreat for women with financial need. If you would like to apply for assistance with your fees, please call Rioenix Rising at 223-8299. If you would like to help with fundraising or organization of the fund committee, call Carol' Steinel at 235-1356. Applications for assistance to this year’s retreat, held August 3 to 5, 1990, must be submitted by June 15. Working assets Nearly all of us use some sort of credit card and long distance service. Working Assets is an organization which not only fulfills those needs, but helps the gay and lesbian community as well. They also support human rights, peace, environmental and economic justice groups. Greentapping — service fees diverted from banks, phone companies and other large corporations — puts money in a donation pool along with 100 per cent of any voluntary tax- deductible donations received. At the end of each year, all card holders and long distance service users decide by vote where the money is to go. The highest votegetter and thus largest recipient for 1989 was Greenpeace ($27,787). Other top votegetters were the National Abortion Rights Action League ($24,132), the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force ($20,183), the Environmental Defense Fund ($19,168), Amnesty International ($18,316) and Habitat for Humanity ($14,573). This seems to be a fine way to get the services you need, plus getting some solid support going at the same time. For a brochure, call Working Assets 1-800-522- 7759. National Hate Crimes Hotline Washington, DC, May 15, 1990...A national hate crimes “hotline,” set up to collect information on crimes of bias but which originally refused to take “gay bashings” and religious-related reports, is now tracking such crimes following pressure from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). The toll-free hotline is operated by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Relations Service and was established to help the DOJ mediate and conciliate incidents of hate violence. It is not a substitute for the federally mandated data collection effort. Victims must report the crimes to local police. Lesbian and gay victims of hate crimes are urged to call the national hotline at 1-800- 347-HATE. The hotline is open 27 hours, seven days of the week. According to Dettwyler, unless payment is received in the meantime, the Secretary of State’s Office of Support Services plans to docket a lien for the remaining amount due, $8,247.75, “as soon as possible” on all real property owned by Mabon in the county in which she resides. Mabon is married to Lon Mabon, Executive Director of the Oregon Citizens Alliance. — Wayne Harris 'W9oU>*mR, ,, |. f ) k €O U fti Court News — Coastal Campout Oregon’s Annual Fourth of July Coastal Campout will again be held near Newport on the beautiful Oregon Coast. The campout will run from 6 pm on Tuesday, July 3 to Sunday, July 8. Cost is $15 per person or $20 for two. Bring your own food, drinks, and camping equipment. There will be a free Champagne Brunch sponsored by hosts Elite Productions. The annual scavenger hunt will decide the Queen Beach and King Ocean titles. The week will be filled with surprises. Space is on a first-come, first-served basis, so call today for reservations. The deadline is June 15 if you are bringing a trailer or motorhome and June 25 for tent space. Call (503) 363-7367 or write Elite Productions, 1115 Madison NE, Suite 125, Salem, OR 97303. Elite Productions is a non-profit social organization. For verification please call Capitol Forum/Community News (503) 363- 0006 or ICWE (Imperial Court of the Willamette Empire) (503) 362-1810. The changing of call letters OPB, Oregon Public (emphasis mine) Broadcasting, has long been purported to be a place where we could get away from crass commercialism and enjoy different, special and usually well-done programming. Thanks to Mayor Clark, June 16-24 has been designated as Gay Pride Week. There are many and varied activities planned throughout this time. In looking through OPB’s listing for that week, I found not one show that is related to our community. There is not one listing for gay and lesbian entertainment, entertainers, movies, informa tional specials about our lives, our children, our problems, our gay and lesbian youth or elderly. In short, we are again ignored. Maybe the call letters should be changed from OPB to OHB, Only Heterosexual Broadcasting. — Mollie Sid he Of deadbeats and the OCA The No Special Rights Committee failed to make its May 5 quarterly payment toward satisfaction of a $10,997 civil penalty, according to Tami Dettwyler, Public Service Representative of the Secretary of State’s office. The fine was assessed for 1988 campaign finance law violations during the state-wide fight over Ballot Measure 8. In that election, Oregon voters revoked Governor Neil Goldschmidt’s 1987 executive order banning employment discrimination among executive department employees on the basis of sexual orientation. In October 1988, Secretary of State Barbara Roberts proposed a fine of $47,460, but the No Special Rights Committee, headquartered in the Wilsonville offices of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, contested the matter and it was ultimately reduced to $10,997. Bonnie Mabon, treasurer of the No Special Rights Committee, signed an agreement dated January 10, 1990, with the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office in which she agreed to make quarterly payments of $2,749.25 to pay the fine. The group made the first payment, due on February 5, 1990, but failed to make the second payment. The agreement also provides that a late payment “will result in termination of the agreement.” The Team Portland Steering Committee. Seated: Jill Schuldt. From left to right, second row: Geoff Pleat, Tyler Cole, Jay Dobson. Back row: Richard Brown, Dave CorTal, Lennie Sobocinski. Not pictured: Bev Mickelson, Dale Shaw. Team Portland bound for Gay Games III Team Portland has surpassed its goal of registering 100 gay and lesbian athletes for the Gay Games HI to be held in Vancouver, Canada, August 4 through 11. Gay Games III and Cultural Festival will be the largest gay and lesbian event in history. Vancouver, B.C. is expecting around 20,000 visitors for the week-long festival. Team Portland participants are registered in 27 different events. Teams are represented in basketball, volleyball, softball, bowling, touch football, swimming and many others. The Festival Chorus will include members of the Portland Lesbian Choir and the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus. Fund raising for Team Portland is in full swing and participants are reminded to register with Team Portland to receive a Team Portland uniform. T-shirts are on sale at the Jelly Bean, 802 SW 10th, and commemorative pins will be available soon. The following corporate sponsors have been secured: Gold Medal: Bridgetown Realty and Cascade Therapy Associates, P.C., Bronze Medal: Jelly Bean, Hobo’s Inn, 310 Hair Design. Additional corporate sponsors are needed and welcome. Call Bev Mickelson, 281-2103. A benefit variety show featuring Carol Steinel will be hosted by Cafe Mocha, 4108 NE Sandy Blvd., on June 1, at 7:30 pm. Tickets will be on sale at the door for $4-7 sliding scale. A fun evening of local enter tainment will be provided. T-shirts and commemorative pins will be on sale at this event; T-shirts are $10 and pins are $3. Join in the celebration of pride and spirit by supporting TEAM PORTLAND. Watch for Team Portland in the Gay Pride Parade and visit the Team Portland booth. Editor's Note: We're looking for a few good people to cover Gay Games III. Articles, photos, news surprises, interviews, whatever. Let's make sure those who couldn't go, get to enjoy some of the great times. Give me a call about your ideas on the Games and/or Festival. Conference of gay and lesbian Jews Friday, August 10, and Saturday, August 11, Congregation Tikvah Chadashah, Puget Sound’s gay and lesbian Jewish congregation, will sponsor the 1990 Western Regional Conference of the World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations. The weekend program will include workshops on Judaism, gay/lesbian Jewishness, and organizing local groups of gay and lesbian Jews; Shabbat services; tours; entertainment; and community meals. All activities will be open to the public, and all lesbian and gay Jews and their friends are invited to participate. The annual Conferences of the World Congress provide unique opportunities for gay and lesbian Jews to meet, learn, and discuss common concerns. Registration is $60 and includes two meals. Write to: Congregation Tikvah Chadashah, PO Box 2731, Seattle, WA 98111, or leave a message with your address at 206/329-2590. Homophobia hits campuses Harassment of a lesbian student prompted a rally attended by 150 students at Willamette University in Salem last month; closer to Portland, a group of students at Pacific University debated how to respond in the wake of a homophobic incident there in April. At Willamette University, where a lesbian was called a “fucking dyke” and spit on while leaving a dormitory, students and faculty joined a rally protesting hate crimes and calling for tolerance of differences on campus. Other students wore lavender ribbons for a week prior to the rally to show their support. The activities were organized by a year-old student group, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance. At Pacific University, where a lesbian received a threatening note after publishing a notice for the Portland Lesbian Choir wi^h her name on it, students decided to postpone a panel discussion on diversity to the fall, when student participation might be greater. The incident has prompted “a lot more awareness, a lot more consciousness about issues” of tolerance and difference, said Dean Meg O’Hara. “ [The woman who was harassed] has received a lot of support.” just out ▼ 7 T June 1990 »
