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M r . S mith
C omes B ack
from W ashington
Left-leaning fund raiser and gay Portlander Terry Bean (left) rubbing elbows with
Oregon’s Republican Sen. Gordon Smith
E nigmatic
E ugene
Continued from Page 1 1
Continued from Page 9
he initiative, which snagged the
endorsement of the Oregon Republican
Party earlier this year, says sexual orien
tation is a “divisive subject matter not necessary
to the instruction of students in public schools.”
It seeks to change state law, not the Oregon
Constitution, and thus requires fewer signatures
to qualify for the ballot.
As for Sm iths relationship with the OCA,
in May 1996 he squished O C A head Lon
Mahon in the GO P primary.
“For a long time I thought the best thing I
did for the gay community was beat [Mabon] by
something like 80 to 8,” laughed Smith, who in
a more serious tone acknowledged the potential
explosivity of the O CA ’s new initiative.
Former state Rep. George Eighmey, pressed
Smith: “A word from you could go a long, long
way, senator.”
But Smith, who repeatedly dubbed himself
“old-fashioned regarding sex education,”
warned: “This could boomerang on you because
it involves children.”
Smith waxed on other matters as well.
O n sin: “I was counseled not to talk about sin
today.... 1 will not stand here as U.S. senator
and tell you what is or is not a sin.”
O n the Mormon church: “My church never
tells me how to vote.”
he way gay people create community is
exactly the opposite of every other cul
ture on the planet, Wixman sa''s.
“Gay culture [everywhere] is invented by the
youth. In all other cultures, the whole generates
the direction of the culture,” he says. “W ith peo
ple from 17 to 25 inventing a culture, it’s a cul
ture about sex...which is why there’s a very
severe ageism, especially in Eugene. There’s an
extreme bias with younger gays, almost con
tempt.”
He adds: “Eugene chased away the middle-
aged gay.”
Wixman also acknowledges the transient
nature of the student population.
“It’s a four-year community here. You get
criticized for putting down roots here,” he says.
“My mother had a saying about Eugenians: ‘You
write the name in pen, but you write the address
in pencil. You start getting holes in the paper
from all the erasing though.’ ”
Wixman says those who seek happiness by
immersing themselves in a bigger gay scene will
be pretty much out of luck in Eugene.
“Watch out if you’re going to dive in, it’s not
very deep,” he quips, adding, “There’s a lot more
to being gay than being a fag. The people who
find happiness are people who find that being
gay is only a small part of who they are.”
T
T
O n hate crimes and Matthew Shepard:
“Matthew Shepard should not have died in
vain.”
O n building bridges: “I reach out to this
community...because I can help you on most
issues.”
O n the Republican Party: “I want to keep it
centrist and right leaning.”
O n his critics: “My biggest critics don’t nec
essarily come from the left but from the right.”
O n marriage: “I believe it is a special right for
man and woman.”
Bento • Sandwiches
Espresso
As for domestic partnership, Smith said that
since his stance against same-sex marriage is
solid, he’s having to reassess his thoughts about
domestic partnerships.
His primary concern, he said, has been for
taxpayers who are forced to “pay for people’s pri
vate sexual choices.” (The fact that gay and les
bian taxpayers contribute to the financial bene
fits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples did
not seem to factor into the philosophical equa
tion.)
Still, he noted: “I’m open to discussion.”
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