tune 16. 2000 * Ju s t out 17
fruì m; ivi *.i mews
Clearly, the OCA and its allies do not want
to suffer a third loss in their attempt to bring
anti-gay wording to Oregon law books. As in
any campaign in these times, the battle will like
ly play out in the media.
The June 4 edition of The Oregonian printed
a guest column written by the Rev. Kelly Boggs,
pastor of Valley Baptist Church in McMin
nville, and Lou Beres, executive director of the
state Christian Coalition. The men’s commen
tary, reaching out to Christians for support of
the proposed ballot measure, continues an 8-
year-old effort to convince Oregon voters that
public agencies should not he allowed to he
“gay-friendly.”
This time, proponents of the Student Pro
tection Act will attempt to convince Oregoni
ans that their children are unsafe at school as a
result of the promotion of homosexuality by
staff, administrators and students.
“It is inappropriate for a public school to pro
mote sexual exploration, especially homosexual
experimentation,” the men wrote.
Boggs and Beres suggested the church and its
leaders should fervently support this initiative
effort and declared that “the church has a moral
responsibility to remind society of that which is
proper.”
“When a public school conducts a workshop
or distributes literature encouraging students to
experiment with homosexuality, it is endorsing a
less than healthful practice,” according to Boggs
and Beres.
alboa announced to his lunch guests that he
recently received an e-mail from an em-
B
L
ployer in Douglas County who is interested in
signing BRO’s Fair Workplace Pledge.
Douglas County, Balboa pointed out, is
“OCA country”—a largely rural county that is
home to many conservative citizens who tend to
support the OCA and anti-gay initiatives.
If the Douglas County company signs the
pledge soon, it will be the 401st company to do
so. The Fair Workplace Pledge protects some
100,000 workers from discriminatory practices
not covered by state or local laws.
Friedenwald-Fishman’s company, Metropoli
tan Group, signed BRO’s first Fair Workplace
Pledge four years ago.
The afternoon’s keynote speaker, Julie
Jensen, a human resources manager and diversi
ty specialist for Hewlett Packard, made an emo
tional plea for continuing the fight against dis
crimination.
“When we see a teachable moment, a
chance to make a difference, we must seize
that,” Jensen said.
If that chance is missed, Jensen continued,
any individual could remain the one missing
voice that might have made a difference.
“The one voice lacking for an individual, a
group—or the whole world—to change,” she
said.
^
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hen Just Out asked the Rev. Kelly
Boggs, pastor of McMinnville’s Valley
Baptist Church, about the literature distrib
uted in public schools that encourages stu
dents to “experiment with homosexuality”—
which he cited in “Christians Should Support
OCA Initiative,” printed June 4 in The Ore-
gonian—he could neither recall his source nor
find the documents in his office.
“I can’t tell you exactly,” Boggs said, claim
ing that he had them filed away.
But the pastor reiterated his assertion that
he has reviewed literature used in Oregon
schools that encourages homosexual experi
mentation.
With the Oregon Christian Coalition’s Lou
Beres, Boggs co-wrote the guest commentary
calling for Christians to support the Oregon
Citizens Alliance’s Student Protection Act.
He believes that sexual orientation is a choice.
The Texas transplant, in Oregon for just
one year, wasn’t aware that the OCA was the
petition’s sponsor— “The Oregonian edited that
in,” he said—and he maintains that he doesn’t
know OCA honcho Lon Mabon and wouldn’t
recognize him on the street. Boggs also denies
that his church has any affiliation with the
Christian Coalition.
“The Bible has to be our guide,” Boggs told
Just Out.
The pastor said he Isn’t aware of any gay
men or lesbians in his congregation but admit
ted it is “definitely possible."
Boggs said he would sit down and meet
with a congregant who was identified as gay or
lesbian. If the person foiled to move toward
redemption, the congregation would eventual
ly be notified and the individual would loose ■ Reported by J onathan KlPP
his or her church membership.
W
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SE 43rd & Hawthorne
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503 . 977.6545
“When stepping into a church, we have to
have standards,” he explained.
Boggs said he came to the church in his
early 20s, after struggling with alcohol and
drugs. While he has no known contact with
sexual minorities in his church, Boggs has
been close to at least two gay men, one his old
est and best childhood friend. Both died of
AIDS-related illnesses, he said.
Despite his softened rhetoric, relative to
that of the OCA, Boggs is clear about where
he stands on the issue ot homosexuality—par
ticularly in schools. Boggs is concerned that
homosexuality is being promoted to students.
Surprisingly, Boggs isn’t upset if homosexu
als teach in schools, “as long as they don’t pro
mote that lifestyle,” he said.
Boggs added that tolerance, in his mind,
doesn’t mean “accept it and you can’t say it is
wrong.”
“Don't ask, don’t tell—that’s the tolerance
that I go by,” he said.
Sexuality shouldn’t ever be an issue at
schools, Boggs insisted.
“I’d be just as alarmed, and I am, if it were
heterosexual sex being promoted,” he
explained, serving up condom distribution in
schools as an example. “It’s just as wrong.”
Pastor Boggs may have entered into territo
ry that he didn’t expect, backing an initiative
without knowing more about its sponsor. Still,
his congregation in McMinnville asked that
he write the article and that he use the
church’s name. The congregation wants to
take a stand, he said.
“We have extremists on both sides,” Boggs
added. “I don’t see myself as that.”
Boggs explained that he is just an average
Southern Baptist pastor trying to make a dif
ference and stand up for his beliefs. He stressed
that everyone has the right to do so.
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