Just out., October 20, 2000, Page 19, Image 19

October 2Q. 2000 *
Ä lrt 19
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J ust S ay N o
7,5 0 0 people pack Pioneer Courthouse Square
by Jon ath an Kipp • P hotos by M arty D avis
n estimated 7,500 people poured
into Portland’s “living room”
Oct. 19 and showed their opposi­
tion to the Oregon Citizens
s Measure 9. Politicians,
clergy, businesspeople, parents and even chil­
dren cued up to take their turn at the micro­
phone interrupted only by an occasional chant
of “No on 9” by the multigenerational crowd at
Pioneer Courthouse Square.
The No on 9 Campaign said the race is a “dead
heat.” Luring undecided people to vote no is a pri­
ority its Election Day lixmis. In fact, because of the
vote-by-mail system, Oregonians are expected to
start casting votes as early as Oct. 21.
The initiative seeks to prohibit public
schools from promoting, sanctioning or encour­
aging homosexuality. “Measure 9 is perilous to
our schcxils, to our beloved students and to Ore­
gon,” Portland Mayor Vera Katz told the crowd.
Gov. John Kitzhaber said he wanted to make
his opposition crystal clear. “As a physician, a
governor and as an Oregonian,” he said.
Kitzhaber warned the crowd about the dan­
gers of bigotry. “We can’t allow an extreme
group like the O CA to get a foothold in this
state of ours,” he said.
Kitzhaber said he is concerned about the
elimination of HIV education and the increas­
ing risk of gay youths committing suicide.
“What we fail to teach our children can literal­
ly kill them,” he said.
State Rep. Deborah Kafoury admitted she j
was angry. “We have better things to do than
fight the O C A ,” she said. "How many times
must we tell them no?”
Buckman Elementary School student Bri Jar-
cho, surrounded by teachers, other students and
their parents, addressed the crowd. “I have two
moms,” she said.
Jarcho said she would be afraid to go to
school if Measure 9 passes because her family
would he discriminated against. “Then I don’t
know what I’ll do,” she said.
Hearing those words tore at the heartstrings
of many. One man, a state politician, looked
down as the girls spoke, tears flooding his eyes.
Bri’s friend and fourth-grade classmate, Mor­
gan Castleton, said, “I can’t believe they call it
the Student Protection Act."
Cleveland High student Victoria Conrad
said she was chased, harassed and even beaten
by classmates in an Oregon public school when
they learned of her bisexuality. She warned that
some sexual minority students would drop out of
school if Measure 9 passes.
“A lot of us are afraid,” she said. “I’m afraid.
“Youth are fearful because we have no con­
trol. You do,” Conrad said in a plea to the adult
voters.
Joe D’Allesandro of the Portland Oregon Visi­
tors Association said he is worried about econom­
ic consequences as well. If Measure 9 passes, the
state would have a difficult time competing for
business, he said, naming other examples of boy­
cotts that followed anti-gay and racially charged
controversies across the country.
D’Allesandro said Oregon could be known
as a progressive place where people get along or
as a place where neighbors discriminate against
each other. Measure 9’s passage would mar the
state’s image, he said. “Oregon cannot afford to
be put on boycott lists,” he warned.
Geri Washington, No on 9 deputy manager,
said a message needs to he sent to Lon Mahon,
O C A executive director. “If he takes one of us
on, he takes all of us on,” she said.
At this rally, that simple statement received
the loudest and most telling applause. j n
To make a donation or volunteer for the
N o on 9 C ampaign , call 503-232-7176 or visit
the Internet site wtvw.mxm9.org.
W elcome B ack
Gail Shibley says "n o " to the OCA— again
A
vacationing Gail Shibley, Ore­
gon’s first openly gay or lesbian
state legislator, spoke out
against Measure 9 during the
downtown rally.
She said she was volunteering her time to
make certain that the progress made during the
past eight years under the Clinton administration
doesn’t take a step back. She was appointed to the
Oregon Legislature in 1991 and later was elected
to serve two more terms in 1993 and 1995.
Shibley worked to oppose the Oregon Citizens
Alliance’s previous anti-gay efforts, 1992’s Mea­
sure 9 and 1994’s Measure 13. “We are here to
take a stand against Measure 9—again,” she said.
Today, Shibley is one of 150 openly gay and
lesbian members of the Clinton administration.
She said it is the most diverse, most inclusive
administration in history.
Shibley initially was appointed to a commu­
nications director position in the Transportation
Department but more recently took on a senior
adviser role in the Labor Department. She also
just completed a graduate fellowship at the Har­
vard Graduate School of Design.
Shibley’s future is uncertain. If Texas Gov.
George W. Bush wins the presidential election,
she’ll be out of a job. Whatever the future,
though, she said she’ll have her hand in poli­
tics—something she’s done since fourth grade.
Shibley said there is no question where her
heart is: Oregon. She hopes her future will
include her native state.
As for a future in politics, Shibley said: “1
can’t imagine not. I’m just not sure what form it
will take.” j n