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may 19.2000 * f u s t o u t
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Text of the OCA’s
so-called Student
Protection Act
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Basic Rights Oregon prepares to battle the Oregon Citizens Alliance
even before the group qualifies its ballot proposal by Jo n a th a n Kipp
ike a recurring bad dream for Ore
gon’s sexual minority communities,
the Oregon Citizens Alliance has
reared its head from relative obscuri
ty, intent on bringing yet another
anti-gay initiative to the state ballot for voters to
ponder.
Since last September, the O C A has been
collecting the 66,786 signatures needed to qual
ify its initiative for the November ballot.
Jaime Balboa, executive director of the queer
political organization Basic Rights Oregon, says
BRO expects the O C A to acquire the needed
signatures by the July 7 deadline.
The 12-year-old O C A , still under the com
mand of Lon Mabon, sponsored Measure 9 in
1992 and Measure 13 in 1994. Oregonians
voted down both anti-gay initiatives after oppo
nents spent a combined $3.9 million to defeat
the OCA-sponsored proposals.
But this time the O C A has help. The C he-
gonian recently reported that the state chapter of
the Christian Coalition stepped forward to help
the O C A gain enough signatures to qualify the
"Student Protection A ct"— the provocative
name the O C A has assigned the proposed
statute.
The Christian Coalition is “fighting to pro
tect our kids from the homosexual agenda,” Lou
Beres, executive director of the Oregon chapter,
told The Oregonian.
The initiative would essentially prevent pub
lic schools, including community colleges, from
presenting any information about homosexuali
ty or bisexuality “in a manner which encour
ages, promotes or sanctions such behavior.” The
proposed statute also outlines the consequences
for schools crossing the line— the withholding
of state funds.
Balboa says the language in the initiative is
so “wide and ambiguous that they’d be able to
drive a truck through it." The initiative does not
define “encourages, promotes or sanctions” and
does not address anti-gay speech or information.
Balboa believes the consequences of the initia
tive would be far-reaching and devastating.
“It’s clearly destructive to all Oregonians,” he
says.
arly on Saturday, May 13, 65 seem
ingly diverse people gathered on the
downtown campus of Portland State
University for Oregon Bi Conference
2000, a day of workshops and social
izing put on by the Portland Bisexual Alliance
with the assistance of PSU ’s Queers & Allies.
They came to the event from Newport and
Corvallis, Ore.; Seattle and Olympia, Wash.;
Vancouver, British Columbia; and, of course,
Portland. What brought them all together was
an affinity with PBA’s mission— to build a sense
of community among bi people and to secure for
everyone “the freedom to follow love."
Workshop titles and presenters included:
“Understanding Your Bi C hild” by Ileana
Strauss, board member of Portland PFLAG;
“Intro to Bi Political Issues” by PBA President
Sven Bonnichsen; “Queer Youth Speak Out!";
“Short Survey of American Polyamory” by
Laury Weiss of Bisexual Community Forum; and
“How to File a Successful Discrimination Com
plaint” by Margaret Deirdre O ’Hartigan, acting
director of the Filisa Vistima Foundation.
“In the closing ceremony, people talked
E
An old fashioned idea
about future comfort.
J 'M n y p , ^
Perfectly good teachers who identify
as sexual minorities could and would be
fired if the initiative is made law, Balboa pre
dicts. Books and materials written by queers— as
well as those touching on homosexual ideas and
culture or famous gay people— would be
removed and banned unless they specifically
condemn gays, BRO literature says. Counselors
and support groups for sexual minority students
also would be prohibited.
Equally disturbing to Balboa is that HIV and
A ID S education would likely he curtailed. The
idea that the O C A and the Christian Coalition
are putting public health and safety at risk in
order to advance their ideology is appalling, Bal
boa says.
Jaime Balboa,
executive director
of Basic Rights
Oregon
BRO has been gearing up for what is expect
ed to be a short hut dramatic fight. The organi
zation will have to wait until July 7 to learn
whether the O C A has qualified its initiative for
November’s general election. But Balboa and
company are not waiting around for the official
word to come.
“We need to hit the ground running,” says
Ron Glanville, who is on the board of governors
of the Human Rights Campaign.
HRC, based in Washington, D.C., is the
largest lesbian and gay political organization in
the country.
Glanville says fund raising is more difficult
before the announcement that an initiative has
qualified for the ballot. People are reluctant and
want to wait, he says.
“The O C A has gotten very sophisticated,”
G etting B i
Oregon Bi Conference 2000
explores organizing and issues
by C h risto p h er D . C u tto n e
about how liberating it felt to come and be in a
group where they didn’t have to constantly
explain themselves— everyone just understood
where they were coming from," Bonnichsen
says. “We hope to make this an annual event.
There’s a profound need for bisexuals to get
together and talk with each other."
Another item on PBA’s agenda for the con
ference was dubbed the Oregon Bisexual Coun
cil. The meeting, held on Sunday, represents an
effort to foster more interaction and cooperation
among bisexual groups in the state.
“Sunday we met to talk about how our
groups can better work together,” Bonnichsen
explains. “It was an intimate conversation.
'
(new sect,on):
I
Glanville adds, referring to
the wording of this year’s proposal.
Glanville agrees that the Student Protection
A ct’s tone is softer than the rhetoric of measures
9 and 13, but it’s ultimately not all that different:
“It is still fear-based,” he says.
HRC recently contributed $5,000 to help
BRO begin a counterattack, and Glanville says
H RC will provide a great deal more support if
the initiative qualifies in July.
Balboa’s staff has also been taking action.
More than 30 volunteers recently attended lead
ership training sponsored by BRO and two
national gay and lesbian organizations.
The group worked on building a campaign to
defeat the O CA ’s proposal, but the volunteers
were also building something bigger than just a
campaign, Balboa says. He adds that the trainees
constitute a diverse gathering of seasoned lead
ers and of young people. Balboa says the group’s
intent, in addition to strategizing, was to train
the next generation of Oregon leaders.
BRO estimates that $1.7 million will be
needed to defeat this year’s anti-gay initiative,
should it make it onto November’s ballot.
“Every gift is meaningful and every gift is
needed,” Balboa says.
Only one month into his directorship at
BRO, Balboa says he is not surprised that the
Christian Coalition has jumped in. He says the
coalition’s leaders choose their fights carefully.
“They are watching Oregon. They want an
issue they can replicate,” he says.
“We have to build a fire wall in Oregon that
says, ‘This far and no farther,’ ” Balboa adds.
“We are talking about basic rights— no one has
the right to vote that away.”
Jerry Poirier takes an old fashioned
approach to your future comfort
and peace of mind.
He cares more about your best
interest than making a sale.
Placing your needs and goals above
his own creates happy clients.
Happy clients mean more business for
Jerry — which makes him happy.
Simple, isn’t it?
Call Jerry today, and let him
make you happy.
■ Want to get involved’ Help B a s i c RIGHTS O R E
GON by donating money, volunteering, hosting a
house party fund-raising event, becoming a corpo
rate sponsor, polling or answering plumes. Contact
BRO at P.O. Box 40625, Portland, OR 97240;
Jaim eBalboa@ aol.com ; www.basicrights.org; or
(503) 222-6151.
j Everyone agreed on the need to create a com-
j mon list of resources for bi people. We walked
! away with plans to create a shared Web site and
! a commitment to meet again, bringing more
! people to the table.”
PBA publishes a monthly calendar that com
piles information about its own events and those
sponsored by Oregon’s various bisexual groups.
Organizations now included are: BiNet Oregon,
Bisexual Community Forum, Portland Bisexual
Women and the Bi Women’s Caucus o f Bradley-
Angle House.
Add to that list a new group, Bisexual Unity,
which recently organized in Corvallis, and it
becomes clear that the bi community is more
than just the third letter in “LG BT ”— it’s a
vibrant common cause and political movement
of its own.
Jerry Poirier
Sales Associate
( 503 )
284-7755
pager 909-4964
e-mail jerrypoirier@aol.com
< >
Windermere
Cronin A Caplan Realty Group. Inc.
■ Contact the PO R TLA N D BlSEXUAL A L L IA N C E at
(503) 775-9717; pba@biportland.org; or P.O. Box
412, Portland, OR 97207.
C hristopher D. C uttone is a queer-identi
fied bisexual and Just Out staff ienter.
1607 NE 41 st Ave.
Portland, OR 97232