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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1996)
2 ▼ d « c s m b « r O, 1 9 0 6 ▼ ju s t o ut just out s ince 1 9 8 3 steppin* out PUBLISHER AND EDITOR contents VO L 14 NO. 3 DECEMBER 6,1996 Renée LaChance COPY EDITOR FEATURES Kelly M. Bryan REPORTERS Hawaii: It’s a go! Inga Sorensen Bob Roehr Rex Wockner The decision is in our favor, but don't mail those invitations yet, as long court battles are still ahead CALENDAR EDITOR Kristine Chat wood (P- 23) PHOTOGRAPHER Linda Kliewer Here come the brides OFFICE MANAGER Two Portland lesbians beat the system and marry legally Cory Murphy (P- 19) ADVERTISING DIRECTOR DEPARTMENTS Meg Grace ADVERTISING REPS World news C. Jay Wilson Jr. Marty Davis Siberia sees its first lesbian and gay film festival CREATIVE DIRECTOR (P- 4) E. Ann Hinds National news GRAPHIC DESIGN Rupert Kinnard FORMATTER Christopher D. Cuttone TYPESETTER Christopher D. Cuttone DISTRIBUTION Kathy Bethel Rachel Ebora Daria Moyer-Sims Donald Rogers Megan Weber CONTRIBUTORS Christopher D. Cuttone Lee Lynch Jeffrey L. Newman Will O’Bryan Dale Reynolds Richard Shumate Daniel Vaillancourt C. Jay Wilson Jr. Just out is published on the first and third F riday of each month. C opyright © 1996 by Ju st ou t No part o f J u s t s u t may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. T he subm ission of w ritten and graphic materials is welcomed. Written material should be typed and double-spaced. Just s u t reserves the right to edit for grammar, punctuation, style, liability concerns and length. W e will reject or edit articles or advertisements that are offensive, dem eaning or may result in legal action. Ju st SUt consults the Associated Press Shlebook and Libel M anual on editorial decisions. Letters to the editor should be limited to 500 words Deadline for submissions to the editorial department and for the Calendar is the Thursday before the first and third Friday for the next issue Views expressed in letters to the editor, columns and features are not necessarily those of the publisher. The display advertising deadline is the M onday after the first and third Friday for the next issue. Classified ads must be received at the Just ■Ml office by 3 pm the Monday after the first and third Friday for the next issue, along w ith paym ent. A ds will not be taken over the telephone. Ad policy. No sexually exploitative advertising will be accepted Compensation for errors in. or cancellation of. advertising will be made with credit toward future advertising. Subscriptions to Just s u t are available for $17.50 for 12 issues First G ass (in an envelope) is $30 for 12 issues. A copy o f J u s t s u t is available for $2. Advertising rates are available on request. The mailing address and telephone numbers for Just SUt are PO Box 14400. Portland. OR 97293-0400; (503) 236-1252. The phone number for the advertising department is 236-1253. Our fax number is 236-1257. Our e-mail address is JustOut29aol.com. guest editorial God rest ye , m e rry legislators The departure this session of sympathetic lawmakers in both parties leaves national sexual minority rights groups with some hard choices Kerry Lobel takes the lead at NGLTF; an FDA panel deadlocks on approving a new AIDS drug (PP- 5-12) Local news An anti-hate conference's location is shifted due to prejudice; Julie Davis bids adieu to Basic Rights Oregon (PP- 13-17) COLUMNS Stonewall baby Life with “Mr. Xm as” means big changes (P- 41) by Bob Roehr esbians and gay men may soon look back at the departing Republican Congress with fondness: The next one has the potential to be much less friendly to their concerns. The Senate has been the more amicable cham ber. But some of the most supportive Republican members will not be there come January, people like Mark Hatfield, Bill Cohen, Nancy Kassebaum and even Bob Dole. While Dole certainly was not a champion of sexual minority rights, he showed little inclination to advance the gay-bashing social agenda of the religious right as the business of the Senate. His successor, Trent Lott, has shown no such reticence, having appeared in an anti-gay video. And the new Republican sena tors are on the whole more socially conservative than those they replace. The situation in the House is, if anything, more discourag ing. Newt Gingrich tended to limit anti-gay activities because he saw them as distracting from his principle concerns, which have an economic and libertarian bent. He also had the able counsel of Steve Gunderson (R-Wisc.) both to alert him to anti-gay implications of bills and argue for a different course of action. Gunderson will no longer be there, and it is questionable whether Gingrich will remain as Speaker due to unresolved ethics charges. Believe it or not, Gingrich was a moderating voice among House Republican leadership. Any successor team would likely be more amenable to the programs of social conservatives. Gunderson’s retirement takes away one of the most effec tive voices on gay and lesbian issues in the Republican caucus, on the floor of the House and in building ties with Democrats. He will be sorely missed. So too will the retiring Gerry Studds (D-Mass.), another effective advocate who could work with Republicans on some issues. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) remains as an openly gay member of the House, one of its most facile debaters on the floor. But his strength and temperament is that of a highly partisan Democrat, not a bipartisan consensus builder. The other remaining openly gay member is the newly outed and acknowledged Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.). His past record and legislative interests do not encourage one to believe that he will fill the existing leadership vacuum on gay and lesbian issues. Compounding these losses is the increased polarization of the two parties along geographic and philosophical lines. House Republicans have become even more dominated by social conservatives from the South. Two years ago, when Republicans won control of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades, most liberal and sexual minority groups practiced what many called denial: They decided to “tough it out” until this aberration passed and Democrats returned to power. Their strategy in 1996 was not to play the interest group game of contributing to candidates of both parties but to place their financial and organizational support overwhelmingly behind Democrats. They lost the bet, however, and now must face the increased irritation of the Republicans. Perhaps one can “tough it out” for two years, but not forever. History tells us that the party of the president suffers its greatest congressional losses in the second mid-term election, after he has been in the White House for six years. Thus it seems almost inevitable that Republican control of Congress not only will be maintained in the 1998 election, it will be strengthened. Our national organizations claim to be nonpartisan or bipar tisan. In truth, they have worked primarily with Democrats. That will not be enough these next four years. Their options are stark. One is simply to put the national legislative agenda of the lesbian and gay community on hold until Democrats regain Congress. The other is to become truly bipartisan, with a balanced approach representing the interests of the gay and lesbian community before both parties. It is a daunting challenge, perhaps even more difficult than it would have been two years ago. But there is little choice. The community can demand no less. Amazon trail Queerdom comprises not only the brave (p. 42) ARTS Television Patrick Bristow is out— and working—in LA . (p- 31) Music k.d. lang on the life o f a lesbian poster child; rediscovering Strayhom (PP- 33, 37) Books Dancing Around the Volcano seeks to heat up gay male sex (p. 35) Theater Quilters and Tuna Christmas expose Middle America (p. 38) Entertainment Rhodessa Jones tells "Blue Stories ” at PICA (p. 39)