Just out., January 08, 1999, Image 1

JR COLL
J96
RODUCINGl JUST FRIENDS FREE VOICE PERSONAL ADS!
»
inside
January
Screening of documentary
about female impersonators
in Havana will benefit CAP
1999
iw f*e 2fi
P o r t la n d , O r e g o n
V o l u m e 16 ♦ N u m b e r 5 ♦ J a n u a r y 8 , 1 9 9 9
Resolution
for a New Year
Portland City Council
approves a proposal aimed
at curtailing gender identity
discrimination
by I n g a
S orensen
t’s two days before Christmas, and
the temperature in Portland hovers
in the mid-20s. Winter snow is on
the next day’s agenda, adding to
the existing adrenaline surge that tra­
ditionally accompanies the advent of
a holiday week.
At City Hall, spirits are high. By
9:30 a.m., the lower level of the coun­
cil chamber is nearly full and chat-
filled. Mayor Vera Katz sits front and
center, shimmering in black and gold.
Before commissioners consider
other business, they take a few
moments to recognize one of their
own: Gretchen Miller Kafoury, who is
about to step back into the role of pri­
vate citizen after more than two
decades of public service.
A knockout bouquet is presented,
not to mention a few smooches and
hugs. A forage through the mayors
basement turned up an extra-special
tchotchke to honor the outgoing
commissioner: a campaign poster of
Robert Kennedy, a candidate for
whom both Katz and Kafoury hit the
pavement 30-odd years earlier.
As we now know, the duo, famous
for their head-butting proclivities,
would go on to serve together in the
Oregon Legislature, where, recounts
Katz, they “really kicked you know
what” for women’s rights. The two
would eventually land in city govern­
ment, and, during this Dec. 23 coun­
cil session—Kafoury’s last as a com­
missioner—they would again move
jointly in the realm of civil rights.
“The city has a long history of pro­ I <r
tecting the rights of its citizens and I
employees,” says the mayor, later <
adding, “It is appropriate and right
that we do this.”
Continued on page 6
FREE
From cyber chats
to sex clubs
S i •‘J * * * ^
to personals,
Just Out ponders a
few queer venues
tor meeting and,
just maybe, mating
(soul or otherwise)