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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1995)
O ▼ m ay S. 1 9 0 5 ▼ J u s t ou« national news G A R D E N - S T O R E Streptocarpella by any other name would still grace hanging shade baskets, pocket pots, shade-dappled walkways: whatever, plant these and fall in love! CALIFORNIA Zeke Zeidler, an openly gay man, won election in March to a seat on the Redondo Beach School Board, according to the Baltimore Gay Paper. With this win, Zeidler becomes the ninth openly gay or lesbian candidate to be elected to a school board in the United States. Zeidler finished first in the eight-way race for two seats on the school board, beating a Christian Coalition-backed oppo nent by 2,500 votes. 19350 N W Cornell Road • just off 185th in Hillsboro COLORADO Unmarried Denver city employees may now take sick leave to care for live-in partners, accord ing to the Associated Press. The new policy was approved by the city’s personnel board in March. It applies to gay, lesbian and heterosexual employ ees. City employees are allowed to take up to 10 sick days a year to care for immediate family members. Under the new policy, “family” now includes same-sex and unmarried heterosexual partners. DISTRICT OF COLOMBIA Flying Magazine reversed an earlier decision and decided to print a classified ad from the Na- to run the ad since ¡¡ijjiiiiii October 1993. A c-¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡1 cording to a story W in The Washington £ Blade, after receiv ing a letter from' NG PA’s legal counsel that cited a Connecticut Commission on Human Rights case regarding a similar situation involving the Lambda Amateur Radio Club, Flying Magazine agreed to print the ad. FOR HIV POSITIVE ONLY A SPECIAL DENTAL CARE P R O J E C T TO HELP I M P R O V E T HE L I VE S OF P E O P L E W I T H HIV P ro je c t D e n ta l H e a lth at th e R u s s e ll S tr e e t C lin ic n e e d s H IV p a r tic ip a n ts fo r an O ra l C a re P ro je c t to stu d y th e o v e ra ll h e a lth e ff e c ts o f r e g u la r d e n ta l c a re fo r p e o p le w ith HIV. E lig ib llfty : • H IV p o s itiv e • 20 to 45 y e a r s of ago • H a v a a T 4 co u n t b e tw e e n 100 and 500 To participate in the Oral Care Project call: Melody Scheer Russell St. Clinic/ Project Dental Health (5 0 3 ) 4 9 4 -6 3 0 0 All participants will be paid $15.00 for each examination and a $25.00 bonus for the final exam. Participants will help in efforts to improve the quality o f life for people with HIV. Study director: Dr. David Romnstaiit, Oregon Health Sciences University • H a v a a t la a s t 20 ta a th P a r t ic ip a t io n : • D a n ta l e x a m s 3 t im e s e a c h y e a r • P o s s ib le c le a n in g a v a ry 2 m o n th s of a s p a c ia l m outh r in s e GEORGIA According to poll results released in March by the Georgia Equality Project, Georgia voters sup port equal rights for lesbians and gay men in the workplace. A story in Southern Voice stated that 73 percent of Georgia’s registered voters agreed that gay men and lesbians should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities. Eighty-two percent of voters responding to the Georgia Legislative Poll said that it is wrong to fire an employee “just because he or she is thought to be homosexual.” HAWAII Attempts by the Mormon Church to join the state of Hawaii in defending its ban on same-sex marriages recently were blocked by a circuit court judge. Three gay and lesbian couples have filed suit to over turn the law banning same-sex marriage; the couples have prevailed in earlier court rulings. The Hawaii Supreme Court will hear the mat ter in September. LOUISIANA House Bill 290, a bill that would have classified as “justifiable homicide” murders committed by someone because he or she thought they were in danger of being infected with HIV, died in com mittee in late April. The bill was introduced by state Rep. Roy Brun (R-Shreveport). According to an article in Diversity, Brun said the bill justified the use of violence to prevent an assault, sexual or otherwise, that threatened transmission of HIV. NEVADA Las Vegas police reported that a ring of up to seven drag queen thieves have stolen thousands of dollars worth of women’s clothing and jewelry from Las Vegas stores, according to the Baltimore Gay Paper. Police believe the drag queens shop lifted the merchandise and then sold it to buy drugs. Two drag queens, believed to be part of the ring, were charged with stealing from the Rare Breed store. MICHIGAN A lesbian in Wayne County has filed for cus- sons. In January, just days before she died of ovarian cancer, Leigh Porter asked Carol Hess to raise her sons. Porter and Hess had been living together since 1988. According to a story in the Baltimore Gay Paper, Hess said she had shared responsibility for the boys with Porter. After Porter’s death, Hess petitioned for cus tody. Last month, however, the boys’ father won a court order giving him custody of his sons. A circuit court judge has granted Hess weekend visits with the boys while he decides if she has legal grounds to seek custody. MONTANA Just one week after the state legislature re moved people convicted of sodomy from a mea sure requiring lifetime registration of convicted sex offenders, the words Fuck You, Fags, were spray-painted on the door of the Capitol Rotunda. Legislators responded by introducing a resolution condemning hate crimes against gay men and lesbians, reported The Washington Blade. It is still illegal in Montana for persons of the same sex to engage in sexual activity. NEW JERSEY Whitney Houston’s father, John Houston, is alleged to have plotted to shatter the kneecaps of Houston’s assistant, Robyn Crawford, according to a story in the April 6 Oregonian. Singer- songwriter Kevin Ammons has filed a $ 10 million lawsuit against Whitney ’ s publicist, Regina Brown, for allegedly ruining his reputation in the music business after Ammons refused a $6,000 offer from Brown and the elder Houston to maim Crawford. According to Ammons, Houston’s fa ther hated Crawford for being a “lesbian” who was trying to destroy Whitney’s marriage. John Hous ton denied the allegations. NEW YORK A Manhattan jury awarded $111,000 to two gay men who were beaten and unlawfully arrested by Drug Enforcement Agency agents in 1988. The jury found that the three DEA agents violated the men’s civil rights. The suit charged that the DEA agents attacked and beat the plaintiffs after the motorcycle of one of them nicked an unmarked DEA vehicle. During the attack, at least one agent called the two men “faggots” and made other derogatory comments. The plaintiffs were falsely arrested by the agents for assault and held for hours in a New York City police precinct. SOUTH CAROLINA A $ 10 million lawsuit has been filed against the Barnwell County Museum because the museum’s board of directors canceled an exhibit of neoclas sical paintings of nude men by Atlanta artist Rob ert Sherer. The paintings show men in poses tradi tionally used to depict women. The suit was filed by Sherer and Jennings Rountree, the museum curator. The lawsuit alleges the museum’s board violated Sherer’s constitu tional rights by closing the show early, according to a story in Southern Voice. Compiled by Kristine Chatwood