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