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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1992)
4 ▼ novtm kw r 1 9 9 2 ▼ Ju»« out letters Giving thanks To the Editor By the time this is published we will be hours away from the vote that all of our lives are tied to right now. Many of us will not read this until the election is over. I hope all of us will remember to participate in a very crucial part of this campaign, win or lose. I have a strong feeling that Ballot Measure 9 will not pass. I have to believe this. Mostly I believe that Ballot Measure 9 will be defeated because of the support that I have seen from the people in my life and from people I don’t even know. Pastors, priests, business owners, newspa per publishers, major retailers — the list goes on and on. As a result of this support I think it is very important, once this election is over, that we thank those who stood by us in this battle. By writing letters and making phone calls you will continue to hold a bond with the forces that have stood by us. Many of the people outside of our day -to-day lives will walk that line with us. They have become our allies, and they deserve to hear our gratitude. If we win, my lawn sign will be replaced with a “Thank You Oregon” sign, my window sticker will be substituted with “Thanks for Supporting No on 9” and all the people I wrote to urging to take a stand on this issue will get gratitude cards that will overwhelm their souls. And if we lose, I will still thank all those who supported us, and then I will ask them to stand by us again-as the battle continues. Mickey Lee Portland appears to be an attempt to touch the raw hatred that lies buried in the hearts of those poor unfor tunate people raised in troubled homes, who never learned how to take responsibility for their own lives and are constantly searching for scapegoats on whom to blame their troubles. The fact that Mabon is also a member of the Christian Action Council, whose goals are much more expansive in the area of supporting discrimination and vio lence, indicates to me that I’m probably not too far from the truth. Thank goodness that history tells us, at least in my lifetime, that Oregonians have been wise at the ballot box. They have elected good and responsible people to govern, whether at home or in Washington, no matter what the party. Orego nians are thinkers. They do not allow others to use them. Gerald Rolnick, M.F.T. West Redding, Conn. Who hires you? To the Editor: The other day I heard someone (a hetero sexual) on a talk show say that we (gays and lesbians) could just quit being gay and lesbian. They don’t realize that it’s not a job, it’s an adventure ! C. Lee Hazer Eugene Thanks, Lon, et al To the Editor: After attending the rally on Sunday [Oct. 4], I’d really like to thank the Oregon Citizens Alli ance for fueling our fire, for bringing us together in this fight for our lives and bringing so many of us out The other day I was getting into my car. I live in Northwest and my car has bumper stickers, “No on 9”, “Equal Rights Are Not... ”, etc. A man waved at me. His name was Tom. We talked. We touched each other’s lives. We had a common cause. I would have never met Tom, or Joe or Curtis or all the many others if it weren’t for this challenge created by the OCA. I am proud. I came out to 150 of my co-workers today. My life has changed. I think of e.e. cummings’ words, “It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are.” I’ve never been so awake or so motivated nor more committed to my truth, my values and my community. Thank you OCA for the wake-up call; we’ve only just begun. Red-winged blackbirds To the Editor: As a seventy-year-old family psychotherapist, I am shocked and amazed to discover that the Oregon Citizens Alliance is attempting to have homosexuality declared “...abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse” constitutionally. This makes about as much sense as if one were to say, “We have decided that red-winged blackbirds should not be flying right side up but rather should be flying upside down and in reverse. Therefore let us amend our constitution to say that any red- winged blackbirds found not flying upside down and in reverse will be summarily shot down because it is offensive to us.” It’s patently evident to anyone vaguely famil iar with current research on homosexuality that Lon Mabon and his group did not do their home Linda Clays work. Rather, this appeal by Mabon and the OCA Portland A draft of an agenda One lesbian’s idea of the “militant homosexual agenda” from A to Z by Linda Mullen V think all lesbian and gay people agree that I t it s been a hard campaign season in Oregon. It’s also been downright weird. Naiyaquoteby Ixin Mabon goes by without his reference to the “militant homosexual agenda." I’ve been an out lesbian for seven or eight years now, and I’ve never seen a copy of the homosexual agenda. How did Lon get a copy? Who wrote it? Do we get to vote on it? Where do you go to request a copy? I say if we’re going to be accused of having a militant homosexual agenda, let’s have one And let’s make it public. Certainly, if Lon Mabon knows our agenda, every gay, lesbian and bi sexual person ought to. too. I offer up this “Draft: Militant Homosexual Agenda, from A to Z” to spur discussion in the lesbian and gay community in Oregon. It in cludes qualities that we, as lesbians and gay men, ought to feel compelled to fight for. It is in draft form because, as one person, I would never claim to speak for our whole community. AIDS cure. Bisexual inclusion, Civil rights for all people. Diversity and dignity. End to teen suicides, Fairness, Gay and lesbian pride, Health care and housing, Integrity, Justice, Knowl edge, Love, M any voices and viewpoints, Non violence, Out, out, out of the closet. Pro-choice, Queer visibility. Religious freedom, Safer sex. Trust, Understanding, Valuing all families, World peace, eXcmplary eXamples for our Youth, Zero votes for Ballot Measure 9.
