Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1997)
6 ▼ ju ly 3 . 1 9 9 7 T j u s t o u t A M M IS i l l Offering a zvide selection o f custom and imported rugs... 9 Braided Colonial Rugs ❖ Ferrucci ❖ Corinthian ❖ Louis de Poortere 9 Missoni ❖ Custom Designing Available C O R IN T H IA N RUG COMPANY Showrooms: 140 NE Broadway national news Bowers gets another victory [and a little egg on his face) The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals re cently struck a major blow to equal rights advo cates in a case involving lesbian attorney Robin Shahar. Shahar had interned in the offices of Georgia state Attorney General Michael Bowers and been offered a regular job there. That offer, however, 287-6989 SMUT! COMIX! WEIRDNESS! That’s right, kids, you won't find any books filled with big words here at CounterMedia. Too hard on the brain! What you will find is Portland's best assortment of: o Old gay physique mags and nudie mags o Gay photo and art erotica o Hard-to-find gay mags (T*R*A*S*H, STH) o Erotic gay fiction and non-fiction Plus, of course, the usual stuff on (yawn) body piercing, serial killers, drugs and freaks. CounterMedia: One-stop shopping for Portland’s depraved! 927 SW Oak (half a block from Powell's). 11-7 M-Sat, 12-6 Sun. New listings: Four Bedrooms 2 Fireplaces New Kitchen 3 1/2 Baths Re-finished Hrdw Floors 2 Car Garage Alameda English $589,000 2 Bedrooms 1220 sq.ft. Refinished Floors New Landscape j Full Basement New Paint In & Out Heavenly Bungalow $139,000 Tim Walters 5 0 3 - 287-8989 ext. 127 Pager: 503-301-7009 Platinum Club Member t=j IQ U * 1 M O U * **C o m o m u il» f t m R F Alton* High court to address same-sex harassment The U.S. Supreme Court said June 9 it would decide whether a federal civil rights law covers sexual harassment in the workplace by supervi sors and co-workers of the same sex, according to a Reuter report. The high court is responding to a Justice Department recommendation that conflicting ap peals court rulings warrant a review, and that the law should be interpreted as providing protection for all employees, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. A decision is expected during the court’s 1997- 98 term, which begins in October. The Supreme Court has never ruled on whether the 1964 law prohibiting racial and sexual dis crimination applies to same-sex harassment cases. Frank moves against military ‘ hypocrisy’ was withdrawn in 1991 after Bowers learned of Shahar’s plans to hold a private religious wedding ceremony with her longtime partner, Fran Greenfield. Bowers— who successfully defended Georgia’s sodomy law before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986— felt that Shahar’s “open defi ance” of the law would create public confusion were she to be employed in the state’s Law Department. On May 30 the full appeals court ruled 8-4 that the withdrawal of the job offer was not an illegal act. It also affirmed Bowers’ authority to reject any employee whose actions he reasonably be lieved “were likely to cause the public to be confused and to question the Law Department’s credibility.” The American Civil Liberties Union will soon decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court. In an ironic twist. Bowers, who resigned his post effective May 31 in order to seek the Repub lican nomination for governor, admitted in a June 5 Associated Press interview that he had had a decade-long adulterous affair while serving as attorney general. Adultery is considered a misde meanor under Georgia law. Straight ex-Marine sues museum for anti-gay bias Mark Markell, 62, a retired Marine Corps officer, filed a lawsuit June 6 against the Smithsonian Institution claiming that guards there discriminated against him when they arrested him last year in connection with a case of alleged child molestation. According to the lawsuit, Markell entered the museum about an hour after the alleged sexual abuse was reported and was almost immediately apprehended by guards, who he says physically restrained him and called him a “fucking queer” in front of thousands of bystanders. The suit contends Markell had been targeted not because of a physical description of him by the alleged victims, but because he fit the officers’ profile of a gay man—and therefore of a child molester. “The Smithsonian resorted to two discrimina tory stereotypes of gay men in arresting my cli ent,” says attorney Mickey Wheatley. “First, they believed they could tell if a man is gay solely by his appearance. Second, they believed that a gay man will be a child molester. These assumptions demonstrate that the Smithsonian treats perceived gay patrons in a discriminatory manner.” A Vietnam veteran and father of three chil dren, Markell resides in Hawaii with his wife of 45 years. Human rights activists are applauding a bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) that would decriminalize consensual sexual ac tivity between adults in the military. The bill, known as the Anti-Hypocrisy Act of 1997, was crafted in response to a series of recent highly publicized adultery cases involving mili tary figures. The measure seeks to alter the Uniform Code of Military Justice so that no one would be pros ecuted for adult consensual sexual behavior that does not impact military order and discipline. ‘This bill would treat all such private behavior equally,” says Human Rights Campaign legisla tive director Winnie Stachelberg, who points out that undercurrent military law, any private sexual behavior by a lesbian or gay service member is illegal. United Airlines vs. San Francisco: the saga continues Responding to United Airlines’ apparent about- face regarding the city’s domestic partner ben efits law, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously supported a policy change June 2 that would bar city employees from flying on the no alternative carrier is available. According to the Bay Area Reporter, the entire board cosponsored the legislation, which was introduced by Tom Ammiano and Leslie Katz. The proposal would apply only to city funds spent on air travel by city employees or agents. While negotiating a multi-million dollar lease at San Francisco International Airport in Febru ary. United secured a two-year exemption from the domestic partner benefits law, a statute that took effect June 1 and requires all businesses contracting with the city to provide equal benefits for married and registered unmarried partners. United and a conglomerate of other airlines, under the aegis of the Air T ransportation Associa tion, filed suit in federal court on May 13 claiming the law should not affect them because the na tional air transportation system is governed ex clusively by federal law. “United is in a unique position, because when