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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1995)
O ▼ o c t o b « r 2 0 . 109 5 ▼ ju s t out national news Choosing the right mortgage is as important as choosing the right home! ife iX ♦ Mortgage* C o m p a n y Lynn De frees Mortgage Loan Officer Office (503) 245-8640 Resilience (503) 697-tit 79 Lager (503) 299-0777 Same-sex marriage commission meets Gay wedding set for The Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law, the group created by the Hawaii Legis lature to examine and report on the impact of extending legal and economic benefits to same- sex couples, held its first meeting recently. The commission must complete three tasks over the next three months: examine the benefits conferred by marriage that are now denied same- sex couples; hold hearings on the public-policy reasons to extend such benefits to same-sex couples and on legislation to implement its recommenda tions; and draft the necessary legislation and submit a final report to the Legislature when it convenes in January. The date has been set for the marriage of Leon, the gay co-owner of the diner in the popular ABC comedy Roseanne. The wedding of Leon, played by Martin Mull, is scheduled to air on Dec. 12. Current plans call for M ull’s character to wed his old friend from Femwood 2-Night, Fred Willard. The long-awaited gay-wedding episode re volves around the brouhaha following Roseanne’s insistence that Leon have an elaborate wedding. Kristine Chatwood Genora Dancel and Ninia Baehr, two o f the six plaintiffs in Baehr v. Lewin, the Hawaii marriage case The commission was established in response to a case currently in Hawaii state courts challeng ing the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Hawaii Supreme Court sent the case back to circuit court, where it is scheduled to be heard in July 1996. It is expected that any bill affecting the status of same-sex marriages will impact the outcome of the case. Kristine Chatwood Scouts blown away in the Windy City Whether they need a fleet of one or one hundred vehicles, more people buy from Damerow than from any other fleet source in the entire Northwest. • No Broker’s Fees • Below Market Finance Rates • Largest Ford Inventory in the Northwest • Prompt, Courteous Service • High Trade-In Allowances • The Northwest’s Lowest Fleet Pricing Shelley Shelby Cellular 887-1457 Roger Shelby Cellular 887-1456 Damerow BEAVERTON FORO Fleet Seles 4 0 7 0 S.W. Hall Blvd. • (5 03) 643-5555 • (800) 871 -3 6 73 A hearings officer with the Chicago Commis sion on Human Relations has found that the Boy Scouts’ refusal to hire gay men and lesbians was in violation of the city’s human rights ordinance. Hearings officer Jeffrey L. Taren, ruling on Sept. 19 in the case involving a gay man who was told by the Chicago Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America that there was “no way” the Scouts would hire a gay man, has recommended that the full commission find the Scouts in violation of the ordinance, reports The Chicago Tribune. “There is nothing associated with the hiring of an openly gay man which would require the [Scouts] to alter anything other than its discrimi natory hiring policy,” Taren ruled. The suit was filed by G. Keith Richardson, an Eagle Scout, who filed at the request of a national organization called Forgotten Scouts. The orga nization was looking for a test case to use in its fight against the Boy Scouts’ hiring practices. Richardson was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. Taren did not agree with the assertion by attorneys for the Boy Scouts of America that the group is a religious organization and, thus, ex empt from Chicago’s antidiscrimination ordi nance. He also ruled that because the Boy Scout Council’s specified goal is to not oppose homo sexuality, its First Amendment right to freedom of association was not violated. The full commission is expected to rule within six months on whether or not to accept Taren's ruling. Kristine Chatwood Roseanne Black gay and lesbian organization goes national The Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Fo rum appointed Keith Boykin as its first executive director in September. Boykin, a former special assistant to President Clinton, takes the reins of the BGLLF as it works to establish itself as a national organization, according to a story in The Washington Blade. BGLLF began as a Los Angeles-based group working in AIDS prevention. It established the AIDS Prevention Team, working with black gay men and bisexuals. Its previous efforts at estab lishing a national presence were hampered by a lack of financial and human resources. Three years ago the membership voted to be come a national organization. Earlier this year its two governing boards were dismantled and an interim board of directors was appointed. That board met last month in Washington, D.C., to begin the work of building a national organization. Kristine Chatwood Recall of Spokane coroner sought A campaign to recall Dexter Amend, the Spo kane County coroner, following his outrageous and homophobic remarks about the murder of a young girl, has been bolstered by a petition signed by 136 physicians calling for Amend’s recall. The recall effort began after Amend, com menting to reporters on the brutal murder of an 8- year-old girl, described how the child had been sodomized. He then launched into a hate-filled tirade against homosexuality. There is no evi dence that the girl was sexually abused or mur dered by a gay man or a lesbian. Doctors signing the petition also expressed concern about Amend’s inappropriate actions in volving survivors, as well as problems with death certificates listing the wrong cause of death, re ports Spokane’s Stonewall News Northwest. A judge recently ruled that the recall effort can proceed. If Amend does not appeal that ruling, petitioners will begin collecting signatures on the recall petition. They must collect 35,156 signa tures to put the recall on the ballot. If they are successful, a special election could be held as soon as February. Kristine Chatwood Students rally to support fired teacher A New Hampshire high school English teacher was fired last month because she used books with gay and lesbian characters in her classes. Penny Culliton, who had taught at Mascenic High School in New Ipswich for five years, as signed E M. Forster’s novel Maurice and The Education o f Harriet Hatfield by May Sarton to her junior and senior students last spring. Culliton had requested, and been granted, permission from her principal and the superintendent to use the (Continued on next page)