ju st ou t ▼ Septem ber 2 0 . 1 0 0 6 ▼ 7
Are you ready for
H
o n est
A
n sw ers
about protecting your financial future?
Nine arrested protesting
DOMA
The gay and lesbian community is rising to
protest passage of the anti-gay Defense of Mar
riage Act. The response is coming from individu
als and organizations usually not heard from,
while leaders of the traditional political organiza
tions are often remaining in their offices.
The Rev. Mel White and eight supporters were
arrested in front of the White House on Sept. 13
while urging President Clinton to change his
mind and veto DOMA.
“One of the reasons I am here is because of
David Mixner,” said White. “He reminded me of
the words of Gandhi: ‘If they ask you to postpone
justice, and you do it, they will only ask you to
postpone it again.’ ”
White began a fast and vigil at the Capitol
building on Sept. I in an attempt to influence the
Senate vote. After that, he moved his vigil to
Christian Coalition that we are not what they say
we are,” said Asher, quickly adding, “Well, some
of us might be.”
Perhaps he was referring to the Lesbian Aveng
ers, one of whose members was dressed as Christ—
with a loincloth, a crown of thorns and trickles of
painted blood. Rainbow triangle pasties covered
each nipple. She carried a 6-foot wooden cross
from which hung a poster with the word “Dyke.”
At the other end of the spectrum was the elderly,
diminutive Sister Mariah, dressed in her habit.
“We are taught not to judge,” she said. She had
taken her vows as a woman who had been raised
a Baptist, married and widowed.
Tlie group was led by “the DOMA 9,” those
arrested the previous day at the White House for
protesting DOMA and urging President Clinton
to veto the bill. It was led by the Rev. Mel White,
Justice Minister for the Metropolitan Community
Church.
The protesters marched up Connecticut Av
enue to the Washington Hilton, where the Chris
tian Coalition was holding its annual “Road to
Victory” convention. “Anti-lesbian, anti-gay,
born-again bigots go away,” “Separate church
and state,” were two of the more popular chants.
At the hotel they gathered on one side of the
street, shouting “Have no fear, Jesus loves us
when we’re queer.”
A bevy of Coalition members on the opposite
sidewalk responded with “God made Eve, not
Steve.”
Last year the Human Rights Campaign rented
a meeting room at the hotel, and executive direc
tor Elizabeth Birch gave a speech to try to open a
dialogue with the Coalition and begin to break
down stereotypes and hate. This year HRC was
absent both inside and outside the building.
I've worked with many organizations in our
community to chart a course for their future.
I can do the same for you.
Whether you're single, or in a partnership,
we can work together to find better ways to
manage your money now, while planning
for a better future.
Call far a free consultation.
Waddell & Reed
FINANCIAL SERVICES
ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE
500 NE Multnomah, Suite 278, Portland, Oregon 97232
M ed ical M alpractice
&
Personal Injury
A tto rn e y
Free Consultation
No Fee Unless You Recover
295-1940
12th Floor, 621 SW Morrison
Protests of DOMA
cross the nation
Rev. Mel White
Lafayette Park, across from the White House. He
had planned to continue until Clinton either signed
or vetoed the bill. But plans changed when the
timeline became muddy. Congress may not actu
ally transmit the bill to the White House for some
time, perhaps weeks. The president then has 10
working days in which to take action.
“We thought it would be better to make our
statement now than to stand here and watch our
physical and mental health go down the tubes
while we waited,” said White. “We don’t need
martyrs, we need workers.”
Steve Michael of ACT UP was among those
arrested.
“There comes a time when a president should
show some courage. Bill Clinton is sufficiently
ahead in the polls where he can show some cour
age. Congress may even be out of session by then
[so a veto could not be overridden],” Michael said.
Christian Coalition, DOMA
target of D.C. rally
Lesbians and gay men rallied on Sept. 14 in
Washington, D.C., against the Christian Coali
tion and the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.
“Pride, Faith, and Anger” brought together the
communities of faith, PFLAG, the Lesbian Aveng
ers and the sexual minority youth group SMYAL.
The Washington Post reported 600 protesters. It
was the largest, most spirited action in the com
munity in recent years.
“We take pride in ourselves and in the unity
within our richly diverse neighborhood,” said
organizer Frank Asher. “We make it clear that the
Christian Coalition does not speak for all people
of faith. We take anger at the injustice shown
towards us.”
The group assembled at Dupont Circle.
“We are going to make it very visible to the
In San Francisco, 60 people rallied the evening
of Friday, Sept. 13, at Harvey Milk Plaza. Tommi
Avicolli Mecca hosted the event, which featured
a “rice toss”—the traditional symbolic act of
good luck and fertility at weddings— in blessing
the assembled couples and in protest of DOMA.
Organizer Michael Petrelis urged people to write
President Clinton urging him to veto DOMA, and
include rice in their letters.
▼ ▼ ▼
Seattle activists also used the rice-toss idea
and implemented it first with a demo on Thurs
day. It drew 30 people and good TV coverage.
Organizer Jeff Harris condemned liberal Senator
Patty Murray for her vote: “A friend does not
betray friends by voting for a bill whose only
purpose is to encode as federal law second-class
citizenship for lesbians and gays.”
▼ ▼ ▼
The rector of an Episcopal Church in Provi
dence, R.I., Jan Nunley, said she would continue
to bless the Christian relationships of couples of
any gender. But she is “no longer going to sign
marriage licenses or act in any way as an agent of
the state for mixed-gender couples until same-
gender couples are respected on an equal footing
in both federal and state law.”
“As a priest of Christ’s Church, I will not act
as a legal representative of government in per
petuating policies that are discriminatory, im
moral and unjust. And as a citizen, I must protest
when my partner and I are denied the equal
protection of the laws guaranteed to us in the
Constitution.”
Nunley sees this as “an opportunity to teach all
couples about the covenantal nature of Christian
marriage, which transcends the contractual as
pects of a legal relationship.”
Reported by Bob Roehr
503-238-6036
800-684-5245
E ric D . B ro w n
C A S C A D E A ID S P R O J E C T
ÎÛth A N N U A L
/
' * / '
/
/
r
/
'7)y { / /.
/
:
J'ff f f
/
/
? f J
;
/ 1 f r
Sunday
September 22nd
9:00am
Pioneer
Courthouse
Square
■
A 5K & I0K Pledge Walk for AIDS (registration begins at 8:30am)
followed by a F R E E “ C e le b ra tio n of Life!” starting at I 1:30am
Featuring:
Allen Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Gospel Choir
Pink Martini
Del Rubio Triplets
Surf Sounds
Prizes, Food and Fun for Everyone!
For more info call 223-W A LK
frontier
ocMaia
just out