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What's going down in community goings-on? We've got a few tidbits by Inga Sorensen
R e g is t r y P l a n
o, how do people feel about a domestic part
nership registry?
During her Jan. 28 State of the City address,
Portland Mayor Vera Katz revealed the city’s
intentions to move forward with such a plan.
The registry, which would be Oregon’s sec
ond, would give same-sex couples an opportuni
ty to register their relationships at the municipal
level. It will likely be a joint registry with Mult
nomah County.
Since the announcement, the mayor’s office
has received an estimated two dozen calls, let
ters and e-mails on the topic, says Sam Adams,
Katz’s chief of staff.
“There’s more negative than positive feed
back,” Adams tells Just Out.
He says some of the negative criticism stems
from people’s religious viewpoints regarding
homosexuality, as well as concerns about the use
of taxpayers’ dollars to fund such a program.
According to Adams, new initiatives often
generate responses from the public, and, gener
ally speaking, the feedback comes from naysay
ers.
“It’s not uncommon. It isn’t just the registry,”
he says.
In other words, perhaps it’s human nature,
1 -
speaking out when you’re opposed to something
and staying silent when you’re content.
Some Pride Northwest board members circa August 1999 (clockwise from top left)
“I think the response has been typical of
Kristan Aspen (who is no longer on the board), Norm Costa, retiring chairman
most things like this,” assesses Maura Roche of
Christopher Webster, Carmella Fttinger and Jes Nelson
Basic Rights Oregon, a statewide gay and lesbian
political organization. “What we likely have
here is a small minority of people who have mid-January, 16 gay and lesbian couples had reg
Webster, who has served as board chairman
strongly held anti-gay views and are letting istered with no public brouhaha in sight.
for the past several months, resigned Feb. 12.
those views be known.”
“I’m leaving for personal reasons,” Webster
For her part, Roche would like to see registry ■ Want to let Portland officials know how you feel says. “I need to deal with some other issues in my
supporters contact public officials and express about a domestic partnership registry? If so, give life right now.”
M ayor V era K a t z a buzz at (503) 823-4120.
their sentiments.
This year’s pride event, to be held in mid-
“Our people should be reminded to be vocal You can also check in with Portland City Commis June, would have been Webster’s fourth with the
too,” she says. “It’s a nice thing to say thanks to sioners Dan Saltzman at 823-4151, Erik Sten at organization. In the past he served as treasurer.
823-3589, Jim Francesconi at 823-3008 and
“I became involved in Pride Northwest
the mayor.”
because I enjoy production, and that’s what our
According to Adams, Katz has no intentions Charlie Hales at 823-4682
work should be about—producing a great com
of backing away from pursuing a domestic part
munity-wide event.”
nership registry.
“We’re moving ahead on this," he says, B o a r d S h u f f l e
This past August, Just Out reported on some
of the challenges facing Pride Northwest—
adding that a more detailed plan should be ready
fter nearly four years on the board of Pride namely, how the board was struggling to attract
for viewing in early April. “We’re excited about
Northwest Inc., the group that produces a broader cross section of the queer community
this.”
Ashland approved a registry for same-sex Portland’s annual pride parade and festival, to get involved in the group and the orchestra
tion of pride weekend.
couples that took effect in November. As of Christopher Webster is saying goodbye.
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Meanwhile, over the past few months, board
makeup has changed a bit, with some folks leav
ing and others signing on, and there has been
some shifting in committee assignments.
Throughout, the board has also pondered
visions and ideas for this years event. The float
ed concepts include Pride Northwest securing a
headliner to perform at Pride 2000.
“This is a very big community,” says Pride
Northwest hoard member Norm Costa. “There
are a lot of different tastes, and I’ve heard a lot
of people in the community say they’d like to
see different types of entertainment on stage.”
Costa acknowledges that not every idea will
resonate with everybody. But, he says, it’s
important for Pride Northwest to be a responsi
ble and responsive organization. Still, he notes,
growth and change can sometimes cause dis
comfort.
“Out of chaos comes change—which is usu
ally good,” he says. “We’re going to prevail.”
D o n e D ea l
orthwest Christian College’s new master’s
degree program in school counseling has
been accredited by the Oregon Teacher Stan
dards and Practices Commission —despite the
fact that the Eugene-based school asks its stu
dents to support a code of conduct that deems
homosexual behavior as unacceptable.
Some critics had expressed concerns about
the college’s code of conduct, saying students
who abide by it may have difficulty being sensi
tive to the concerns of the sexual minority
youths they may someday counsel.
Basic Right Oregon, a gay and lesbian rights
group, called upon its supporters to contact
David Myton, executive director of the state
Teacher Standards and Practices Commission.
The commission, whose purpose is “to
ensure that every student is provided with a
competent and ethical educator,” establishes
rules for licensing, issues teaching licenses and
takes appropriate disciplinary action against
teachers in violation of Oregon statutes or per
formance standards.
Despite BRO’s call to action, the commis
sion accredited Northwest Christian College’s
two-year master’s program in school counseling
on Jan. 14-
Just Out made several calls to Myton. He did
not respond to our inquiries.
N
■ For questions or comments about Just O ut’s
Northwest, national or world news coverage, please
send an e-mail to News Editor I n g a SORENSEN at
inga@justout. com.
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