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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1996)
/ . » just out ▼ august 2, 1906 ▼ 3 letters No affirmative action for queers To the Editor: An ad that recently ran in Just Out with the headline “The City of Portland and Multnomah County are hiring,” contained information about affirmative action that is very misleading to the GLBT community. I decided to visit that office in City Hall after seeing the ad, in which it states: “The City/County Affirmative Action Recruitment Unit actively recruits individuals that reflect the diversity of the City/County workforce for enrollment in the Tal ent Bank.” If, like me, you [take that to mean ] there is affirmative action in city/county hiring for gay men and lesbians, you would be mistaken. I found out otherwise when I went to fill out the affirma tive action paper work, which only has boxes to check for ethnic minorities like African Ameri can, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, etc. There is no place to indicate you are gay, lesbian, bi sexual or transgender. When I asked a person in the office about this, they said while the city and county do not dis criminate in hiring, on the other hand, they could not legally even ask if one is gay or lesbian. Therefore, there is no affirmative action hiring for our community, the person said. Since this is the case, I think the ad needs to be rewritten to reflect this policy. Maybe Just Out could also look into this matter, as the ad misrep resents the facts of city/county hiring policies. David Batterson Beaverton Garvey’s predicament is his own making To the Editor: In response to the guest editorial by the Rev. Roy A. Cole [Just Out, July 5, 1996], I do not agree that the “deafening silence” of the gay community regarding the plight of police com mander Mike Garvey indicates a lack of support and compassion for Garvey. I personally like Mike, who is one of my former students. I hear many gay men and lesbi ans expressing sincere concern for Garvey. How ever, if he is guilty, his predicament is his own making. I believe that most of us sympathize with Mike, but we do not feel a need to defend him just because he is gay. Although many of us do not see the alleged hiring of a prostitute as something so serious that it should destroy Mike’s long and distinguished career, heterosexual as Medical Malpractice & well as homosexual police officers are disci plined and fired for this offense because they have broken a law, while their role is to enforce laws. (Didn’t this just happen to a heterosexual Gresham police officer a few weeks ago?) It would be different if Garvey were a plumber instead of a policeman! This is not about “sexual ethics for gay men,” “anxiety about appropriate sexual activity,” or “cultural confusion.” It is not merely a matter of support and comfort of one of our own. It is about police department regulations and the law. We are not accusing or abandoning Mike Garvey. We are simply waiting to see if he is found guilty of inappropriate behavior and if he will be subjected to the appropriate disciplinary action which would be administered regardless of the sexual orienta tion of the officer involved. If Mike is treated unfairly because he is gay, then we should come to his defense. Results Nora Isacson ThePrudential Performance Group One, Inc. REALTORS* 215 SE 102nd, Suite 300 Portland, OR 97216 (503) 256-1234 VM/pgr 9503) 948-5610 ¿shouldn't Ijoun, Mornq Wonh Jta/ide/i ^Uum Ijou jbo? • Friendly Sales • Fleet Prices • Huge Inventory • Excellent Service • Good Advice Expires 8 /3 1 /9 6 & 1 have chosen to take a more human approach as a Realtor. I build my business on a referral basis and firmly believe that the satisfaction of my client is far more important than my Financial gain. I communicate clearly and openly, and I’m always honest with my clients. I’ll gladly climb a nearby tree to check on a roof or get a bit dirty investigating a craw 1 space or an attic. 1 work mainly in Portland’s close-in Southeast and Northeast neighborhoods and specialize in older homes with character. Whether you’re thinking of buying or selling, please do give me a call. Gregory Franklyn Portland FREE M EASUR IN G FREE IN S TA LL A TIO N Experience 12th Floor, 621 SW Morrison To the Editor: I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I’ve been complaining to you about your lack of coverage of the local gay and lesbian community for years. I complained that you had ignored my achievements in the field of video production, events such as “Peacock in the Park,” and out standing members and institutions of our local community, while focusing a sharp eye on na tional and international news of interest to our community. Over the last few months I ’ ve noticed a marked shift in Just Out, in that you are now mobilizing a lot more of your resources here at home in this community. Your coverage of “Peacock in the Park” was wonderful, as was your feature story last month about the embattled City Nightclub. Your support for Rupert Kinnard was heartwarm ing. You even shared my latest achievement in video production by announcing that I had won the Award of Excellence from the Alliance for Community Media in the Music Video category. I imagine that must have been hard, given how I’ve treated you over the years. For the record, I stand corrected in my doubts about your dedication to this community. Your performance over the last several months has dramatically changed my viewpoint about Just Out. I wanted you to know that I noticed the changes you have made and the efforts you con tinue to make toward being the finest document of our community’s life in the great Northwest. 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