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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 7, 1995)
e ▼ July 7. 1®»5 ▼ j u s t o u t national news Dozens rally to oppose Amendment 2, Feds a no-show HOME LOANS T new purchase ▼ refinance / cash out ▼ 100% equity loans ▼ pre-qualification by phone/fax ▼ appointments at your convenience 'Financing to make your dreams come true! COLLEEN WEED 2 7 4 -1 5 0 0 O ffice 7 8 0 -1 5 6 1 Eve$./Weekend I f Y ou C an ’ t G et A L oan F rom U s , Y o u C a n ’ t G et A L oan J.lancffeaffconueniionaf ancfnonconu en iionalloans. ♦ First Time Home Buyers Programs ♦ Manufactured Housing/Land ♦ Self-Employed Borrowers ♦ Credit Problems ♦ Bankruptcies & Foreclosures ♦ Debt Consolidation ♦ Complicated Borrowers ♦ 3% Down Programs ♦ Investment Properties ♦ Pre-approvals for Purchase \re y o u r fu lls e r u /c e m o r ly a y e com pany. G a ilto c fa y fo r a fr e e yu a iifica h o n o ve r tiie p /io n e 503 / 636-2066 Pager 503/870-1666 Christine C. Hall Mortgage Broker A broad coalition of states, cities, bar associa tions, law professors, civil rights organizations and religious groups filed friend-of-the-court briefs with the Supreme Court challenging Colorado’s anti-gay Amendment 2. The Clinton administra tion chose not to submit a brief. Those submitting briefs opposing Amendment 2 include the State of Oregon, the State of Massa chusetts, the District of Columbia, the American Bar Association, the American Federation of Teach ers, the American Psychological Association, le gal scholars from Harvard and Stanford Law School, Christian groups, Jewish congregations, and a coalition of civil rights organizations. Port land was one of the cities submitting briefs. Oregon Solicitor General Virginia Linder helped coordinate the brief for the states. The states’ brief argues that measures like Amendment 2 lack any rational basis or legitimate state objec tive and should be struck down for violating the fundamental rights of citizens. Linder wrote, “Amendment 2 stands as nothing more refined than a blanket endorsement of discrimination for the sake of discrimination, one that elevates public and private discrimination against one group of citizens to the status of a constitutional right.” The Clinton administration’s decision not to join in challenging the initiative was criticized by many, including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and The New York Times. Constitutional, unconstitutional— you be the judge Depending on where one’s lawsuit is filed, the military’s infamous “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” policy is either a violation of both the First and Fifth amendments to the U.S. Constitution or completely constitutional. On March 30, Brooklyn, N.Y., federal district court Judge Eugene H. Nickerson ruled the military’s policy on homosexuals unconstitutional and wrote, “Hitler taught the world what could happen when the government began to target people not for what they had done but because of their status.” In June, in the case of Lt. Paul Thomasson, heard in the Eastern District of Virginia, federal district court Judge Claude Hilton ruled that the policy violates neither a servicemember’s First Amendment right of free speech nor his or her Fifth Amendment equal protection rights. Each case will now be heard by a different federal circuit court of appeals—the final step before the U.S. Supreme Court. Washington town lines up for queer softball Kent, Wash., is the site for the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association’s Catch the Spirit World Series. The tournament, scheduled to run from Aug. 14 to 20, is expected to pour nearly $4 million into the local economy, the Associated Press reported. Although Kent Mayor Jim White is not sure the event will be good for Kent, other city officials are more enthusiastic. “They’re expecting a huge turnout,” said Kent parks program coordi nator Gary Quantz. “The city will definitely ben efit.” Some 4,000 gay and lesbian softball players are expected to attend. According to tournament travel agent Karen Farrell, the players are expected to spend over $500,000 in hotel room rental alone. In addition to paying for rental of city fields, the athletic association has purchased a $5,500 lighted scoreboard that it will donate to the city. Profits from the event will benefit three local charities: Rise and Shine, a King County support group for children affected by AIDS; the Women’s Funding Alliance, with funds going for breast- cancer research; and Tacky Tourists of America, with funds going to the Seattle AIDS Support Group. Hatfield no help with ENDA The Employment Non-Discrimination Act was reintroduced in Congress in June, with 10 more co sponsors this session than it had when introduced in the last session. ENDA would prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation. This year 148 members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives agreed to co-sponsor the legislation. Currently, no federal law protects people from being fired, denied employment, or being otherwise discriminated against in the work place because of their sexual orientation. Four of Oregon’s seven-member congressional delegation signed on as co-sponsors of ENDA. The four are Sen. Bob Packwood and Reps. Peter DeFazio, Elizabeth Furse and Ron Wyden. Conspicuously absent from the list of supporters are Sen. Mark Hatfield and Reps. Jim Bunn and Wes Cooley. Find Out on the ’Net Out magazine has invaded cyberspace. In June, Out launched OUT.com, the first commercially sponsored queer site on the Internet. Apple Com puter sponsored the site’s first month on-line. Several gay and lesbian newspapers, including Just Out, are participating in the venture. Last month, newspapers submitted information on the various gay and lesbian pride events in their areas. Michael Goff, Out editor and president, hopes OUT.com will unify and connect gay men and lesbians at both a national and a grass-roots level. To that end, the Internet site will offer options such as Reader Forums, with more than 30 bulletin boards on anything from the lat est issue of Out to legislative develop m ents; E n tertain ment, which will of fer reviews and dis cussions on books, films, music, televi sion and other Web Michael G off sites, Out Mag, with selections from the current issue of the magazine, writer guidelines, ad information and special of fers; a virtual Guest Book for users to sign; and an Index of OUT.com with hypertext links through out the site and to related areas in cyberspace. OUT.com’s World Wide Web address is http://www.out.com. 0 Daytime soap adds gay character NBC chose June 21, national AIDS Compas sion Day, to introduce a new character on its daytime drama Another World. On that day, view ers met Bruce, an openly gay and HIV-positive character played by singer/actor Keith Christo pher. Christopher, who is gay and HIV positive, portrays a character who is dealing with alcohol addiction and interacts with several series regulars while participating in a 12-step program. This is the first time an openly gay and HIV-positive actor has been hired to play an openly gay and HIV positive character on television. To encourage NBC to return the character as a series regular, write to NBC’s Another World, 79 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. Compiled by Kristine Chatwood