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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1996)
j u s t o u t ▼ ju ly 1 9 . 1 9 9 6 ▼ 9 “This was a plan by the right wing to distract and divide us,” Furse told Just Out, adding she had previously spoken with the Human Rights C am paign about the issue, and claim s the national gay rights group gave her the go-ahead to “do “Sure, this may be a wedge issue, but there com es a time when you have to follow w hat’s in your heart,” says U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, a Springfield/Eugene Democrat who was the only mem ber o f O regon’s congressional delegation to oppose the measure. “This is a hateful and dangerous precedent to set,” he says. “ I’m sure some legislative careers were ended over the [ 1964] Ci vi 1 Rights A ct... and I feel that if my actions backing civil rights mean the end o f my [congressional] career, well then that’s a pretty good way to go.” “ HRC did not encourage legislators— even with a quiet wink and nod on the side— to vote in favor o f the Defense o f M arriage Act,” says HRC spokesm an David Smith. “I talked with our politi cal people who work with the Pacific Northwest, and they sim ply d o n ’t understand how any congressperson could have walked away from a conversation with us with the impression that it was OK for them to vote yes.” Furse, clearly angry with our persistent ques what it takes” to get re-elected. She faces what is expected to be a tough race in November against Republican contender Bill Witt. Last election, she defeated him by a mere 300 votes. tioning, said, “W hat I do support is the right o f states to deal with the marriage issue.” She declined to answ er when asked whether she would therefore support a state’s push to, for “W edding A nnouncem ent” section. W hen the women inform ed The Oregonian they were a same-sex couple, they were told that the paper only publishes “legal m arriages.” Linebarier says while Oregonian em ployee Marty Prunty told her it was a “free service” to the com m unity, it was solely available to heterosexu als because they are the only people who can be legally married. "The Oregonian has steadfastly maintained for years that its W edding Announcem ent section is a free community service. It needs to provide that service in a nondiscrim inatory m anner,” says the couple’s attorney, Renée Jacobs, o f the Port land firm Crispin & Associates. Linebarier says a letter was sent to The Orego - nian — prior to the filing of the lawsuit— request No " I d o " fo r you In the recent U.S. House vote on DOMAy DeFazio is the lone Oregonian to stand up for same-sex civil rights ▼ by Inga Sorensen he hostility was palpable. Funny thing is, it w asn’t coming from gay men and lesbians, but rather from the congressw om an herself. “Listen, I’m not in favor o f a 14- year-old m arrying an adult,” snapped U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Furse when Just Out asked the Oregon D em ocrat w hether she supports, on moral and ethical grounds, equal m arriage rights for gay and lesbian citizens. The question came on the heels o f Furse’s surprising vote in favor o f the Defense o f M ar riage Act, a bill approved by the U.S. House that defines m arriage— for the first time in federal law— as a formal union between a man and woman. The m easure, approved July 12 by a 342-67 m argin, allow s states to disregard same-sex m ar riages perform ed in any other state, and precludes spousal benefits, typically afforded partners in a heterosexual union, that are distributed by a range o f governm ent program s from Social Security to veterans services. W e spoke with Furse and U.S. Rep. Earl Blum enauer, a Portland D em ocrat, one day after they cast their ballots favoring the discrim inatory legislation. The two, who have been considered allies o f the gay and lesbian com m unity, popped in at the Right to Privacy’s Garden Party on July 13. RTP, O regon’s largest gay, lesbian and bisexual rights organization, had invited Furse to the fund-raiser as a featured speaker. W e caught up with Furse and Blum enauer at the event, and the duo served up rationales that som e critics say sounded like prepackaged estab lishm ent gobbledygook. Lesbian couple sues Oregonian over discriminatory policy A Portland lesbian couple has filed a lawsuit against The Oregonian, claim ing the new spaper’s refusal to print their w edding announcem ent vio lates city and state laws prohibiting discrim ina tion in public accom m odations. The lawsuit was filed July 17 in M ultnomah C ounty D istrict C ourt. T he co u p le, Sandra Linebarier, 45, and her partner, C harlene Morris, 44, o f Southeast Portland, say they contacted The Oregonian in early July to arrange for the publica tion o f their w edding announcem ent in the paper’s Iti Clark Comity 127 have died o f AIDS. In the U.S. 315,809 have died. ing that the newspaper voluntarily end its dis crim inatory policy. “Not only did they say they w on’t do it, they even threatened us with sanctions if we continued with the process,” she tells Just Out. Linebarier adds, “There is this misperception that gay people don’t have long-lasting, perm a nent and valid relationships. That simply isn’t true. I had hoped The Oregonian would have recognized this and would have made this service available to the entire com m unity, not just hetero sexuals.” An interesting note: Linebarier, who will be wed in early August during a cerem ony in a Portland public park, says the city parks and example, reinstate legal prohibitions on interra cial marriages. Pressed for her personal feelings about same- sex marriage, Furse retorted sharply, “ 1 don’t know.” Blumenauer, meanwhile, offered political ja r gon about safe streets and jo b security. “ Do you have a statem ent? I’ll get you a statem ent,” he said to me as an aide attempted to jam a prepared statement into my hands and scurry away with the representative. “ I want to know why you voted for this mea sure,” I responded. Finally, after fumbling for a few minutes, Blumenauer, who does not face a difficult race and represents perhaps one o f the politically saf est districts in the nation, said: ‘T h e picture of marriage that I have in my mind is of a man and a woman. T hat’s where I’m at in my head. This isn’t a political thing with me.” “We are baffled by B lum enauer’s vote,” says HRC’s Smith. “We feel he’s in a very safe district. We just d on’t understand it.” HRC, which contributed $7,500 to Furse’s and $2,500 B lum enauer’s recent cam paigns, says the m arriage vote w ill be in cluded in the organization’s report card, which rates legislators based on their votes on selected gay and HIV/ AIDS-related measures. Smith applauds D eFazio’s negative vote: “Some, like DeFazio, are profiles in courage. Some, like the president, are not.” DeFazio adds, “W hat do you expect when the president throws in the towel from the outset?” referring to Bill C linton’s eager pronouncement that he would sign the bill into law (despite tagging the measure as “gay-baiting”). Furse, meanwhile, told the Garden Party crowd she could have “been a heroine” by voting down the bill, but opted instead for political survival. She received a polite round o f applause in an act one observer described as “the most self-loathing thing” he had witnessed “ in quite some tim e.” RTP co-chair Lisa M axfield says she’s gone from “feeling heartsick to having steam come out o f my ears.” “ It’s a devastating feeling,” she says. W hen asked why R TP chose Furse as featured speaker, M axfield said, “W e choose speakers that are gay and speakers who may be straight who ‘get it.’ ” Does Furse still get it? “ I d o n ’t know anym ore,” M axfield responds, som ew hat mournfully. recreation departm ent is charging her and M orris the “wedding rate” fee to use the space. “ I asked them if it made a difference that it was a same-sex couple’s w edding,” she says. “They said no, it’s still a w edding.” Despite the grow ing list o f mainstream papers that print same-sex couple’s announcem ents, The Oregonian, which failed to respond to our in quiry, has held fast to its discrim inatory policy. O ther couples who believe they have faced similar discrim ination by The Oregonian are en couraged to immediately contact M aura Coffin at Crispin & Associates, 1230 SW First Ave., Suite 300, Portland, OR 97204; phone 224-2007; fax 224-0517. 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