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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1996)
8 ▼ aprii 5 , 1 9 9 0 ▼ ju s t o u t it 'l My P Em ily Simon 620 SW Fifth Ave„ Ste. 1204 Portland, Oregon 97204 ( 503 ) 241-1553 national news (503) 241-2587 FAX WHEEL ALIGNMENTS & TIRES AUTOBODY (5 0 3 ) 2 3 2 -3 6 0 0 2454 E. B U R N S ID E • P O R T L A N D , O R 97214 Family Owned & Operated Since 1952 What if Gail Shibley lost by one vote and you didn’t vote? But, you can attend and vote at the Keeston Lowery Straw Poll! Come and endorse your choice for all metro-area legislative, local and statewide candidates running in the May Primary Election. Sunday, April 14th at The Panorama SW 10th Avenue and Stark 2:30 pm Doors Open, 3-7 pm Candidates speak followed by announcement of the Straw Poll results In order to vote in the April 14 Straw Poll, you must be a member of the Keeston Lowery Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club! Memberships ($20) are available at the door. eestonLozisery Lesbian & Gay Democratic CluF Gay couple’s bookstore bombed The Hawaii Legislature has tied itself in knots trying to avoid legalizing same-sex marriage. The Senate and the House have significantly different bills. The House bill would place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot defining marriage as existing between a man and a woman. The Senate bill would create “domestic partner ships” for lesbian and gay couples. Under the Senate plan, same-sex couples would have the Claude Schneider and Dave Hamilton opened the Agave Bookstore in St. George, Utah, in 1994. The two gay men had vacationed in the town several times before deciding to settle amidst the retirement condos and golf courses of a town known as “the poor man’s Palm Springs.” Last September the bookstore was firebombed. The arson remains unsolved. The two men claim the police did not actively investigate the firebombing, and, in fact, wanted the owners to take a polygraph test before beginning an investi gation. The bookstore reopened after the fire, but the owners said they continued to receive threats and insults. In March, Schneider and Hamilton locked the doors of the bookstore and left town because of what they say is a climate of hatred, intolerance and police indifference. “Because of the firebombing and the after- math, we are closing the business and leaving Utah,” Schneider told the Salt Lake Tribune. “We continue to be very uncomfortable and are con cerned about our safety.” same benefits and obligations that married couples have under Hawaii law. It would not extend benefits covered by federal law to same-sex couples. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Rey Graulty said in an Associated Press story that domestic partnerships are “the way out of the legal minefield we now find ourselves in.” He went on to say, “Ours is a culturally diverse and pluralistic society. It is a society that is in fact the envy of the world. It is our strength. It is what we are. Our collective experience has sensitized us to civil rights and its great importance in our lives.” But the House Judiciary Committee chairman disagreed with Graulty, calling domestic partner ships a “naive and misguided” way to appease the Supreme Court. If the Legislature does not reach a compromise by Aug. 1, the issue goes back to the court. The session is scheduled to end April 29. Black gay groups honor Wilson, Waters Phill Wilson and Ruth Waters, founders of the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Fo rum, will be honored at a special gala to be held April 28 in Los Angeles. Honorary co-chairs are U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. PHOTO BY BOB ROEHR Em phasizing representation of the accused in all m isdem eanor, felony, traffic and DUII actions in state, federal, juvenile courts and adm inistrative actions Hawaii tries to avoid same-sex marriages Parents claim teacher traumatized daughter The parents of a Brookline, Mass., teenager have sent the town of Brookline a demand letter seeking $359,571 because of the trauma they claim their daughter suffered when she learned her social studies teacher was a lesbian. A demand letter is often a preliminary step to a lawsuit. Jeannine and Thomas Jenei allege their daugh ter, Johanna, was so distressed she was forced to transfer to a private school. They contend their daughter was denied her right to a public educa tion, the Associated Press reports. “Johanna is a young woman who believes in God and believes in Jesus Christ as her savior,” said Randal Fritz, the Jeneis’ lawyer. “She was just completely overwhelmed by people bringing their sexual.. .and political agendas into the school.” According to Fritz, three years ago Polly Attwood, the teacher, was interviewed on televi sion about a state bill to protect the rights of gay and lesbian students. At that time Attwood told her class at Brookline High that she was a lesbian. Johanna was a freshman at the time. Johanna’s parents claim the school threatened to withhold class credit if Johanna did not remain in Attwood’s class. Their request for an indepen dent study course with a different teacher was denied, they said. Schools Superintendent James Walsh said the Jeneis were offered several options including a different teacher and a different social studies class. Phill Wilson The event, “ 106 Years of Activism,” honors Wilson, who retired last month as director of public policy for AIDS Project Los Angeles, and Ruth Waters, a well-known Los Angeles lesbian activist. Both Wilson and Waters have birthdays in April. Wilson will be 40, and Waters will celebrate her 66th birthday. Waters and Wilson began the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum in March 1988. Their purpose was to help combat racism, homophobia and sexism, and to strengthen institutions for African American lesbians and gay men. “We are very excited about this tribute,” said Keith Boykin, executive director of the Forum. "This is an opportunity to say thank you to the people who helped to build bridges between the black community and the mainstream lesbian and gay community.” Compiled by Kristine Chatwood