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
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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
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