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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1992)
1092 V 13 Two more groups cry foul at OCA In recent newsletters and meetings, two more groups have announced their stance against the OCA: W omen’s International League for Peace and Freedom and New Jewish Agenda. Both groups have held public forums on the issue. NJA’s newsletter comments on their meeting’s resounding theme that “OCA ’s hateful attacks on gays are not simply a gay predicament, they are a fascist manifestation which ultimately threatens Jews, blacks and anyone who stands in the way of the Religious Right’s long-range strategy of turn ing America into a unitary Christian state.” WILPF’s Portland branch sponsored an open meeting with Suzanne Pharr to discuss her article “The Christian Right: A Threat to Democracy," in which Pharr outlines that movement’s growth in the last two decades, including the formation of the OCA. Rally tu oppose violence No on Hate and the Lesbian Community Project will be co-sponsoring a rally Tuesday, Aug. 25, 5:45 pm to 7 pm at Terry Schrunk Plaza (South west 3rd Avenue and Madison Street). Featured speakers will be Kevin Berrill and Donna Red Wing. The rally is called “From Harassment to Homicide: Bias Motivated Violence.” Kevin Berrill is a national anti-violence project expert, most recently working as the head of the Policy Institute for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force based in Washington, D.C. Berrill is now on his own doing work as a grassroots organizer and trainer. He has come to Oregon to join in the fight against the OCA ballot measure. Donna Red Wing is the executive director of LCP and has been fighting the OCA at every turn. The OCA continues to dictate to Springfield In a 4-2 vote, members of the Springfield City Council voted to assist with the annual confer ence of the Northwest Coalition against Mali cious Harassment, to be held Oct. 23-25 at the University of Oregon. Seminars at the conference include “Gay and Lesbian Youth in Schools,” and “Gay and Lesbian Awareness.” Anti-gay leader Loretta Neet said the council action would violate the charter amendment. City attorney Joe Leahy told officials that because the conference focuses on harassment and not gay • rights, no violation is apparent. The OCA has threatened to take action in response to the city council’s move. By threaten ing an action against a city’s attempts to build a Statewide organizations mobilized to fight the OCA Coos Bay Citizens for Equal Rights, Harry Viar, 954 Commercial, Coos Bay, OR 97420 No on Hate, Portland Metro, Sharon Hill, PO Box 6611, Portland, OR 97229,222-9885 No on Hate, Lane County, Alan Brown, 135 N Seneca, Eugene, OR 97402, 688-1601 Gorge Alliance for Human Dignity, Spike Livermore, PO Box 321, Hood River, OR 97031 No on 9, Peggy Norman, PO Box 3343, Port land, OR 97208, 232-4501 Grants Pass Group, PO Box 182, Grants Pass, OR 97527 People for Human Dignity, PO Box 2995, La Grande, OR 97850 Columbia County Citizens for Human Dig nity, Marcy Westerling, PO Box 262, St. Helens, OR 97051 coalition around malicious harassment, the OCA continues to reveal itself as a perpetrator of social violence. Article on crossdressing stirs up OCA An article, “Crossdressing and the Law,” that appeared in the June issue of Just Out was appar ently noticed by members of the OCA. The article in question discussed a dinner meeting of the Northwest Gender Alliance, at which Tom Potter addressed the group. After publication of the article, the OCA made a press release calling for Chief Potter’s resigna tion “for supporting the use of women’s restrooms by male transvestites.” OCA officials take of fense that Potter even accepted the engagement. As with their disapproval of Potter’s appearances at Lesbian and Gay Pride events, the OCA claims that Potter is a poor role model for children and has “degraded his office.” Copies of the Just Out article were copied onto a No Special Rights anti-gay propaganda sheet, and distributed at OCA petition locations. Those pamphlets also included a segment of the flyer from the April 1992 conference, “Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth: A New Visibility” and a county advertisement for its Youth Services Com mission, which reads, “Gay men and lesbians are welcome!” NSR-PAC claimed that all of these were examples of “special rights for gays and lesbians.” Republicans are too progressive for the OCA The Oregon Citizens Alliance is gathering signatures once again, this time to establish its own political party. Despite bargaining efforts by C o r v a llis H um an R igh ts C oalition , Annabelle Jaramillo, PO Box 1828, Corvallis, OR 97339,757-1532 Southern Oregon Human Rights Coalition/ Jackson County, PO Box 3176, Ashland, OR 97520 Citizens for Human Dignity-Blue Moun tain Region, PO Box 152, Pendleton, OR 97801 Human Rights Coalition, Bob Lobe, 555 Bond St.. Astoria, OR 97103,325-8438 Lambda Eastern Oregon Association, PO Box 382, Baker City, OR 97814 O U TPA C .PO B ox 5263, Eugene, OR 97405, 687-9226 Coalition for Human Dignity, Box 40344, Portland, OR 97240,232-5070. ’ Republican officials such as Sen. Orrin Hatch (R- Utah), and former U.S. Rep. Denny Smith (R- Ore.), OCA Executive Director Lon Mabon said his groups would not concede to the Republican party. The OCA will need to collect 38,884 signa tures by Aug. 25 to make the party official. Mabon wanted to call the party the American Heritage Party, but OUTPAC of Eugene filed a petition to use that name before the OCA had a chance to claim it. Mabon told the press that the OCA may present a candidate against Sen. Bob Packwood if they succeed in starting the new party. A1 Mobley, who was backed by the OCA in an unsuccessful bid for governor in 1990, said he would make himself “ available” to run for the office. The Republican State Convention, held in July, saw OCA members in confrontation with party leadership. It was determined at the Republican State Convention that the OCA neglected to elect their Lane County delegates by accepted party guide lines. This made them ineligible to vote at the convention, which allowed the Republican party to elect truly representative delegates to the Re publican National Convention to be held in Hous ton, Texas. According to news analysts, the OCA is fast losing national support as a result of its latest attempts to split the conservative vote in Oregon. Portland’s No on Hate mobilizes grassroots efforts Workers at No on Hate-Portland have begun scrambling to launch a large grassroots effort to fight the OCA ballot measure. Spokespersons from the group say that their campaign will be “community based” and "very much at the grassroots level.” These activities will include ÍT canvassing, speakers’ bureaus, letter-writing cam paigns and assisting people “to host block or house parties.” No on Hate's spokesperson, Sharon Hill, says some of their projects, such as the house parties, really emphasize person-to-person contact Hill says some people have said, “ You’ve got to be kidding.” But Hill continues, "The scary part is that everybody needs to step forward." She em phasizes the importance of individuals examining what they can do on their own. Hill suggests writing letters to newspapers all over Oregon and talking to friends and co-workers. No on Hate is co-sponsoring an Aug. 25 rally against bias crimes. An Oct. 4 “ family group” celebration is also being planned to “show people that the OCA and Dan Quayle aren' t the only ones who define family." Coalition for Human Dignity publishes journal A comprehensive political exposition on the Oregon Citizens Alliance has been published by Portland’s Coalition for Human Dignity. The Oregon Witness discusses the history of the OCA, its political connections and strategies for com bating its campaign. The Oregon Witness is published six times a year and is available to coalition members, sup porters and the public. CHD plans to distribute the Witness at various Portland metro locations. CHD may be reached by calling 232-5070. OCA shows numbers despite alleged fraud Oregonians United Together Political Action Committee was busy filing a complaint of elec tion fraud with the secretary of state’s office while the OCA waited until the last hour to turn in their anti-gay petitions on July 3. OUTPAC told the Elections Division that their statewide volunteers had observed OCA petitioners violating election laws. The OCA petitioners reportedly would gather a person’s signature and then have her or him fill out a voter registration card. This activity often occurred on weekends and late in the day, so that the cards could not get to the county on the same day that the petition was signed. Oregon law requires that people signing petitions must be registered voters. OUTPAC asked the secretary of state’s office to investigate the signature dates and the dates of voter registration. The OCA petitioners submitted 136,035 sig natures, and of that number, 115,629 signatures were ruled valid. The OCA only needed 89,028 signatures to place their amendment on the ballot. Members of both sides observed the signature verification procedures. Steven K oehler, L . M . l . Licensed Massage Therapist 5 years experience THE SEATTLE BASED LESBIAN S/M ORGANIZATION PRESENTS 1POWERSURGE! THE 1st INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN S/M CONFERENCE SEPT. 4-6,1992 LABOR DAY WEEKEND SEATTLE, WASH. 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