20
FTÌTTPTTTÌTI news
ARKANSAS
1 Dorado Police Chief Don Tate was fired
j Nov. 22 for, among other criticisms, accus­
ing two city aldermen of having a gay affair.
According to a Nov. 24 Arkansas Democrat-
Gazette report, the city’s civil service commis­
sioners voted unanimously to dismiss Tate, effec­
tive immediately.
“He’s burned too many bridges,” Mayor Mike
Dumas told reporters. “It kind of shocked me
trying to figure out why he would make such a
comment.”
spokesman Michael Bustamante said the change
does not mean Davis supports adoption by gay
and lesbian couples.
Said Bustamante: “The previous administra­
tion took a position on adoptions. This admin­
istration is not. This governor has made the
determination that the professionals, not the
state, are best suited to decide” which couples
are appropriate adoptive parents.
All California adoption agencies and county
welfare directors have been informed of the pol­
icy change.
7 hen voters go to the polls in March, they
will find on their ballots an initiative that
would ban recognition of marriages between
same-sex couples.
The Knight initiative— named after its spon­
sor, state Sen. William “Pete” Knight, R-Palm-
dale— would ensure that same-sex marriages
performed in other states are not recognized as
legal in California.
W hile many religious establishments,
including the Mormon Church, have con­
tributed to the pro-initiative campaign, none
has been so generous as the Catholic Church.
In a Nov. 19 story, the Los Angeles Times
reports that donations from Catholic dioceses
throughout the state have totaled $310,000.
The amount is nearly 10 percent of the initia­
tive’s war chest, according to campaign fund­
raising reports.
Even more money is expected from
Catholics, as four of the 12 dioceses in Califor­
nia have yet to
make their contri­
butions.
Many
within
the
Catholic
Church have taken
issue with the
church’s funding of
the initiative. Gay
C atholics
have
threatened to with­
hold money from Sunday collections in protest.
San Francisco Archbishop William Levada
defended the contributions in his column in the
diocesan newspaper Catholic San Francisco.
Levada wrote: “It would be wrong to suggest
that anyone who supports this initiative is guilty
of discrimination against gays or lesbians or is
anti-gay. Are Bill Clinton, A1 Gore and Bill
Bradley ‘anti-gay’ when they say the definition
of marriage should not be changed to include
homosexual unions ?”
Opponents of the initiative say it is not
needed because same-sex marriage is already
illegal in California. They argue that the effect
of the measure is to foster anti-gay sentiment.
w
68 NE Ivy
“Penthouse Style"
Old Portland 1905, located in NE Boise
Elliott Area, 1600 sq. ft. remodeled to peri­
od, but with new amenaties, family room
with loft, private park-like yard with deck,
creativity galore. $152,520
Gnju%|
Richard Voss. GRI
Associate Broker
2 8 6 -5 8 2 6 Office
PENINSULA REALTY INC.
8 0 4 -9 4 2 4 Cell/VM
According to the newspaper, Tate was talk­
ing to Alderman Mike Meadows about one sub­
ject during a meeting in October when he sud­
denly switched the course of the discussion, say­
ing: “I heard about you and [Alderman] Larry
Combs’ sexual orientation and your sexual
activities.”
Tate, meanwhile, “told civil service commis­
sioners that he made the comment as a comic
illustration of how rumors work, and that he
may have told Meadows he did not believe the
rumor about him and Combs to be true.”
Said Meadows: “I really didn’t know what to
say, so I didn’t say anything. But what went
through my mind was: ‘This guy just called you
a gay. He just accused you and Combs of sleep­
ing together.’ T hat’s when I paused. Everybody
paused.... We were kind of frozen there, and I
thought, ‘W hat in the world is going on here?’ ”
Combs added: “For the record, 1 am not a
homosexual. 1 have never been a homosexual. I
have never thought about being a homosexual.”
CALIFORN IA
A
-H o lid a y ö a lle ^ y
o í (S la yw o ^ks
December 2-24
n 1995, then-Gov. Pete Wilson issued an
order requiring the state Department of
Social Services to oppose any adoptions by
unmarried couples. Now the door may be open
again for adoptions by all unmarried couples.
In November, the administration of Democ­
ratic Gov. Gray Davis rescinded Wilson’s order
after determining the policy “did not go through
the proper legal process,” says Department of
Social Services spokeswoman Sidonie Squier.
In a Nov. 18 Associated Press story, Davis
I
10:00am - 5:00pm Daily
A rt Factors
7035 SW Macadam Avenue
Portland, Oregon
(503) 892-2883
Lyn Sed lak-Fo rd
O p e n in g C e le b ra tio n & A r t is t Recep tion
D e c e m b e r 4 th 6-9pm
WOODSTOCK
m (UMc
77)-m0
Near SAFEWAY
The -K
Hollywood
Vision Center
284-2000
Near the Ffollywood Theater
FREE Exam for Cans of Food
New Patients in December Only
g a u r fe v OREGON FOOD BANK