march 1 7 .2 0 0 0 »
G U EST C O M M E N TA R Y
The
by
IN publication for the OUT population
F o unded
1983
• J ay B
row n a n d
R
en ee
L a C
hance
V o l . 17 N o . 10 M a r c h 1 7 , 2 0 0 0
This time, it's personal
FEATURE
Well-known former Portlander explains why an upcoming march speaks to her
SETTING DOWN AND DIRTY: Whatever your
gardening challenge, professional help abounds
in the queer community
pp 23-27
NEWS
NORTHWEST* Betty DeGeneres to speak at
Linfield College in McMinnville; BRO to
assemble activist network; Oregon queers
lobbying for immigration bill; new substance
abuse treatment program up and running in
Portland; LCP is listening and learning;
monthly column the Queer Profit
pp 6-15
NATIONAL • Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
hosts queer political elite; California voters
approve anti-gay-marriage Knight initiative
pp 17-19
WORLD • Only gay bar in Belarus shut down
after dispute with government; Israel grants
residency to foreign partners of two gay citizens
pp 20-21
E N T E R T A IN M E N T
& CULTURE
TREATER* Jeff Cone costumes the cast
p 35
DOORS* Judith Barrington bares her soul;
Portland author profiles gay screenwriter
pp
D onna R ep W ing
37-38
GROUPS* Forest Group: dykes who hike
P 39
ing for the paperwork to be delivered to the hospital, Annie died. Alone.
n many ways, marches are nothing new to those who have spent
The funeral home would not allow Carol to arrange the funeral. Carol
time organizing for social justice and civil rights. In my younger
was
forced to call Annie’s ex-husband, who graciously arranged the funer
years, I marched for peace. A s an adult, I organized a march across
the entire state of Oregon as part of the efforts to stop anti-gay big al that Carol dictated.
In 1995, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It was dangerous and
otry and discrimination. And I have marched on our nation’s capi
incredibly frightening. The night before I was to be admitted to the hos
tal with hundreds of thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans people and
pital
could have been my last. I wanted to tell Sumitra all the things I
our allies.
needed to tell her. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to spend time with my
I have spent my life fighting for what I believe is right. As part of that
dogs. And I wanted to savor the things and the people
fight, I have marched. And while my commitment to
I loved. None of us knew how I would, or even if I
social justice for our entire community has never
would,
emerge from surgery.
wavered, never before has my marching been so focused
Instead, we spent that last night with our lawyer. I
on my life and the love of my life, Sumitra. This march
had to make decisions about property. Sumitra had no
is different. This time, it’s profoundly personal.
rights as my family or spouse. I had to decide, that
I began to work seriously on the issue of marriage in
night, when and if to stop lifesaving endeavors. I had to
1994, as the national field director of the Gay and
make decisions about my care. And the last thing I had
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. I attended some
to decide was how to dispose of “the body”— my body—
of the first national marriage roundtables, working with
if I died.
extraordinary people like Evan Wolfson, Donald Suggs,
That night, in a most profound and visceral manner,
Jim Key, Billy Kahn and Sky Johnson. It was an issue that
I understood that I was, at best, a second-class citizen.
had, for me, moved from the political to the personal.
And until Sumitra and I had all the rights and respon
A few years before, my partner Sumitra and I met a
sibilities of marriage, we would continue to be treated as
lesbian couple in Oregon. I’ll call them Annie and Carol.
somehow less than.
Together for 15 years, they adored each other. They were
Donna Red Wing
Because I cannot marry the woman I love. Because
older, smart and had the means to develop— with their
lawyers— powers of attorney, living wills and all the things we need to pro Annie died alone. Because our relationships are just as sacred and just as
magical as anyone else’s, I am marching in Washington on April 30, 2000.
tect our rights because we cannot legally marry.
And I’ll be marching with Sumitra.
One Memorial Day weekend, they had driven their new camper to the
mountains. The day after they were to return home, Carol called to say
■ DONNA R ed W in g is the director of the Gill Foundation's OutGivmg
that Annie had died.
Project and co-chair of the Millennium March on Washington's board of direc
They had returned home, flush with the excitement of their camping
tors.
trip. Annie was in the shower. Carol was reading in bed. She heard a
For many years, Red Wing and her partner lived in Portland, where she
crashing sound and ran into the bathroom to see that Annie had fallen.
served as director of the Lesbian Community Project, in 1992, she was named
She was unconscious.
The Advocate’s Woman of the Year, due largely to her work against Ballot
The hospital refused to allow Carol to be with Annie. She was not
family, they said. While Carol was on the phone with her lawyers, arrang Measure 9, an anti-gay initiative that was ultimately rejected by Oregon voters.
I
A R T * Mar Goman has strange angels
p 40
FILMS • Reviews of Erin Brvckovich and new
video release The Brandon Teena Story
p 41
DIVERSIONS • Funny girl Suzanne
Westenhoefer comes to Oregon; get decked out
for the Oscars and a good cause
P
43
CO LU M N S
ROMANCE MflTI EMPRESS M IS IA • Queen of
hearts hands out loving advice
p 33
00TW0RD • Gunning for safety
P 45
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