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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1996)
8 ▼ may 3, 1900 ▼ just out SPEAK TO YOUR BROTHERS Support, Education, and Outreach for Gay and Bisexual Men. national news Torched Join Us. Neighborhood Men Talk Gingrich calls the decision to move the Olympic torch relay out of Cobb Countyf Ga.f giving in to <(blackmailyy Find support & friendship with other gay and bisexual men. Ongoing monthly groups scheduled in Southeast, North east, and Northwest Portland. Groups meet at 7 PM. For info: Doug at Ext.145. ▼ (G A Y P E E -A ) Volunteer Training A percentage of proceeds donated to local A I D S organisations Saturday, May 2 5 ,1 0 am- 5 pm CAP, 620 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 300 For info: Roger at Ext. 130. ▼ T ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ !« ► ◄ Monthly S<9port Groups ► ► Drop-In HIV Testing for Gay and Bi Men Speaker Em powerm ent Workshops ◄ ‘lore Makes a FamHy' ◄ W eekly Tak Radio Program KKEY1150 A M * 7 -9 a m W ed. ◄ ► ► A Public Voice for ► Lesbian and Gay Families ► 503 / 228-3892 ◄ ► Fax: 503/228-3970 ◄ ► PO Box 11694 Portland, OR 97211 ► Speak to Your Brothers is a program of Cascade AIDS Project ◄ ◄ ► Fax 223-7087« V/TDD 223-0238 ◄ Opening Hearts A Mind* ► 620 SW 5th Ave., Ste. 300 Portland, OR 97204 ◄ Dialogue for Educators ► 503 223-5907 ◄ The Parent Teacher Panel ► Confidential or anonymous. Results in one week. $20 Fee to off-set lab costs. Tuesdays. 6pm - 8 pm, at CAP office. For info: Dawne at Ext. 172. ◄ fo r Parents, K x th & Children (Meets second Monels of month) A A A A A A A STEREOTYPES A A A A A~AÍ<Í HOME A U D I O 1 st Annual Spring ANNIVERSARY SALE 280-0910 26 27 N E B R O A D W A Y PSB SPEAKERS ALL A R O U N D COMPLETE ^ Home Theater & Audio System SHERW OODELECTRONIC^ W/ ALL INTERCONNECTS I List Price S 242Ì. HARMAN KARDON FESTIVAL 500 C o m p lete S y ste m : a m p , tu n er, C D p lay er, c a ss e tte deck & sp e a k e rs w / rem ote NOW $1095. Reduced From $ 896. § i H I ¡¡¡1 NAD || ur/ remote & p a ir o f IS M O R D A IM SHORT | ◄ Speakers $1498. N O W $ 1996. ALL H A R M A N KARDON R EC EIV E R S O N SALE SAVE TW O COMPLETE S i S T E M S OR □ □ □ □ $ 5 0 -$ 1 5 0 $ 499. SHERWOOD r e c e iv e r & C D p la y e r ► r e c e iv e r fit C D p la y e r w i t h a p a ir o f PSB Speakers 1 MONTU NO INTEREST FINANCING NOW AVAILABLE larmed by the potential for nation wide protests, organizers of the At lanta Olympics announced on April 19 that their torch run will not go through Cobb County, the suburban Atlanta county where commissioners have offi cially condemned the “gay lifestyle.” And while the response of most Cobb County leaders to the news could be described as defiant but low key, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who represents the county in Congress, assailed the decision by the Atlanta Committee for the Olym pic Games. “I think it is caving in to the blackmail of a handful of extremists,” said Gingrich to a phalanx of reporters covering his appearance at a week end event in his district. ‘There is no question about it— we won,” says Jon-Ivan Weaver, co-chair of the Olympics Out of Cobb Coalition, which was coordinating the protests. “Cobb County will always be remem bered for this. They gave up an Olympic event and now the torch run, all because of this resolu tion.” In July 1994, ACOG pulled preliminary vol leyball com petition from Cobb County after five months of protests initiated by the coalition. At issue was an August 1993 resolution passed by the County Commis sion which states that the “gay lifestyle” is in compatible with com munity standards. At the time the vol leyball venue was moved. Weaver and Pat Hussain, the other coa lition co-chair, thought they had an agreement with ACOG that no other Olympic events would be staged in Cobb County, and they disbanded their group. But ACOG President Billy Payne, asked last summer in a television interview whether the torch would go through Cobb County as it made a planned circle through Atlanta’s suburbs, said, “I don’t know why everybody thinks we wouldn’t do that.” For months afterward ACOG raised suspi cions by refusing to release a final route for the torch run in the metro area. So the coalition, revived by Weaver and Hussain, began encour aging groups around the country to target the torch run with “creative” protest. The decision to bypass Cobb County was announced just eight days before the torch was to land in Los Angeles from Greece to begin its 84-day, 15,000-mile journey across 40 states, ending July 19 at the opening ceremonies in Atlanta. Protests were being organized in Los Angeles and other points along the route, with one of the biggest planned for San Francisco in May. ACT UP groups from around the country had also been invited to come to Atlanta for street protests in July. In the days before ACOG announced that the torch wouldn’t go through Cobb County, Weaver said he received calls from officials at both ACOG and Coca-Cola Co., sponsor of the torch run, who wanted to know about protest plans. By the end of A 331-1125 • 2544 N E B roadw ay Portland, O R 97232 Help stop the spread of HIV. Facilitate discussion groups, outreach about town. Covers HIV basics, gay men’s issues in the epidemic, and program goals. & by Richard Shumate Unique selection of gay books, magazines, calendars & cards Prints from the SOHO Gallery o f S.F. Popular Gay Movie Titles (rental only) • Novelty Items |§ IS SB that week, ACOG announced the pullout in a brief, unattributed statement faxed to news orga nizations— a missive in which the words “gay” or “lesbian” were never mentioned. “The decision is based on the fact that the Cobb County Commission has not changed its nonbinding resolution since July 1994, when ACOG relocated the preliminary volleyball com petition from Cobb County,” the statement read. “It is our goal to make the torch run an exciting and memorable experience. We want to focus on the excitement of the event and not be distracted by other issues.” ACOG also timed the press release for a Fri day when news outlets were awash in news about a huge, controversial spring break street party in Atlanta called Freaknik and commemorations of the Oklahoma City bombing. But it still made front page news and the top of television news casts. While claiming victory, Weaver says he re mains frustrated that ACOG still refuses to address the issue of the unfairness of the reso lution itself. And he believes there was no need for ACOG to put gay men and lesbians through this contro versy a second time. “They only did this because of the threat of force,” says Weaver. “I wish I could be happier about this. But to go through this a second time when it wasn’t necessary was very rough.” In their public state m ents follow ing j ACOG’s decision, the : author of the resolu ■ tion, Com missioner ? • : Gordon Wysong, and Commission Chairman Bill Byme, who voted for it, said loss of the torch ran would not change their positions. The resolution passed by a 4-1 vote, and all four of those commissioners remain in office. But three, including Byme, are up for election in November. Ironically, ACOG’s capitulation came as the debate was getting louder within Atlanta’s gay and lesbian community about the wisdom of protesting the torch run. Rumors swirled that ACOG, with the assistance of some community leaders, was planning to have gay men and lesbi ans run the torch through Cobb County (a sce nario an ACOG spokesman flatly denies). And openly gay Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis was quoted in a local gay magazine, Et Cetera, as saying he wanted to personally run the torch through Cobb County in protest of the resolution. Weaver and Hussain refused to budge. "When we started this, what we said we wanted was for the Olympics to be out of Cobb. We have never compromised on what we said we wanted. And we won again,” Weaver says. This time, though, despite apparent victory, the Olympics Out of Cobb Coalition won’t dis band. “ACOG has given us no reason to trust them,” says Weaver. “We are going to keep our eyes on them to make sure nothing else goes into Cobb.”