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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2000)
October 20.2000 rTìTTnTFTRnneius R ainbow C onnection Communities of color speak out against Measure 9 ix community leaders o f color joined forces and formally denounced the s" - Oregon Citizens A llian ce’s Measure 9 during a press conference Oct. 12 at Lutheran Inner City Ministries in Northeast Portland. Speakers addressed com munity members and 20 minority youths as well as members o f the media. Measure 9 seeks to prohibit public schools from encouraging, promoting or sanctioning homosexuality or bisexuality. T h e penalty for violators would include withholding state fund ing from local school districts. Cecil Prescod, Portland N ew Party chair, described the consequences he fears should Measure 9 pass during N ovem ber’s general elec tion. He said it would create a climate that would stigmatize children based on who they are or who people think they are. “Classroom s must be safe places for all children.” O f particular concern to Prescod is the potential for A ID S prevention efforts being eliminated from schools in the wake o f M ea sure 9 s passage. He said children and people of color are at increased risk for H IV transmission. More than 50 percent of new H IV transmis sions are occurring in people younger than 25, Prescod said. “Measure 9 will put a gag order on teachers and counselors who want to give HIV prevention info.” State Sen. Avel Gordly, D-Portland, has a 34- year-old gay son who grew up in Portland, attend ed Benson High School and served in the U .S. ' , by Jonathan Kipp Navy during the Persian Gulf conflict. M ea sure 9, she said, would make the state a dangerous place for him and for others. “It saddens me great ly that we have an O C A measure again.” Gordly said the message the measure sends to children is that it is OK to he a minority but not O K to be a homosexual. “The message is clear and devastating to our kids. It does nothing more than create a climate of hate.” Am ara Perez, Sisters in Action for Power director, said her organization, which seeks to empower young minority women, has been focusing on issues of safety in schools. She said divisive initiatives like Measure 9 have negative consequences and create an atmosphere that is particularly harmful for girls. Perez said intolerance results in increased pregnancy rates and young women entering and staying in abusive relationships. These issues divide communities, she said. Rom aine Fredricka of the Rural Organizing Project, a network o f citizens committed to social justice, said the O C A thinks it can own rural Oregon. She said 45 groups throughout the state are committed to saying, “No, stop, that is not going to happen.” About 5 percent of the members are people o f color, Fredricka said. She said the group is dis tributing 30,000 N o on 9 brochures throughout rural Oregon. Fredricka also is concerned about A ID S education. S h e said that H IV is being con trolled in com m unities o f color because of From left: Amara Perez, Cecil Prescod, State Sen. Avel Gordly and Miriam Calderon unite against Measure 9 good outreach in schools and that M easure 9 would shut that down. G enaccion, a new organization o f 120 young Latino voters, broke with its internal policies to speak out against Measure 9. Co-chair Miriam Calderon said that the issue was an important and timely one, which led the group to partici pate in its defeat. Genaccion, a Spanglish word, roughly trans lates to “generation action.” The group will partic ipate in the N o on 9 postcard campaign designed to reach out to voters in minority communities. T he cards, paid for and authorized by the N o on 9 Cam paign and Basic Rights Oregon, provide voters with a list of community leaders of color who have come out against Measure 9. Calderon also expressed concern about new sta tistics recently released about suicide rates among gay and lesbian students. Gordly admitted some might say her com ments are em otional and out o f place. But she said she wanted to speak to area church leaders. Gordly thinks clergy have influence over the community. She called for pastors to speak out against Measure 9 and to help communities understand the dangers o f the initiative. “We need a quality of leader that we see at a level nationally,” Gordly explained, citing the Rev. Jesse Jackson as an example. “We need to see others. We need to embrace our brothers and sis ters for who they are— G o d s children.’ ’ in Log Cabin Republicans of Washington have voted to endorse the following candidates for the November 7th, 2000 General Election Columbia County’s Premier Real Estate Resource. W e encourage you to support them when you step into the voting booth Country living only 20 minutes from downtown Portland. FEDERAL & STATEWIDE CANDIDATES - • Senator Goiton has repeatedly expressed his opposition to employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and has continually supported AIDS funding, notably through his co-sponsorship ol the Ryan While CARE Act. - • John Carlson, Governor 3ohn C.Scoff f t REAL ESTATE w w w .c o lu m b ia c o u n ty h o m e .c o m jenniferpugsiey@johniscott.com 503-543-3751 (o) 503-313-8130 (c) John Carlson will consider state employment non-discrimination legislation, supports a hill which would encourage local school districts to develop harassment policies, and supports continuation or expanded funding of AIDS/HIV research, prescription drugs and primary medical care. - • Slade Gorton, US Senate Sam Reed, Secretary of State Sam Reed served as Assistant Secretary of State tor ft years, has served five terms as Thurston County Auditor, and is a long-time suppoder of equal rights for gays & lesbians. He has been endorsed by nearly every county auditor (C) or R; in the state. Call today for a free qualification over the phone - Doug Sutherland, Public Lands • Doug Sutherland has served as county executive. Sea-Tac City Manager, and Mayor of Tacoma during his 25+ years in office. As mayor of Tacoma, he supported adoption of their employment non-discrimination ordinance. LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES - • Self-Employed ♦ Complicoted Borrowers Don Carlson tias been a long-time supporter of equal rights for gays S lesbians. Ha supports a slate employment non-discrimination bill, supporls encouraging local school districts to develop policies to deal with the harassment of students, and supports continued or expanded funding for HIV/AlDS care service programs. - • u u jrc i i Don Carlson, State Senate, 49th District John Pennington, State House. 18th District John Pennington supports employment non-discrimination in government employment, supports encouraging local school districts to develop policies to deal with ttie harassment of students, and supports continued or expanded funding for HiV/AIDS care service programs. Paid for by the Log Cabin Republicans of Washington p.O. Box 1802, Seattle. Washington 98111-1802 LCRWA&hotmail.com www.LogCabinWA.com Bankruptcies & Foreclosures ♦ Credit Probien Investment Properties ♦ Pre-approvals 10 0 % Financing Programs “ When we learned the landlord was selling our house, we called Christine in a panic. Being Christine C. Hall self employed, we thought it might be impossible Mortgage Broiler President's Club to buy, hut Christine came to the rescue. She made the extra effort to get all our paperwork in order and the loan approved. - ” Patti & Joy, R ita 's Flowers 503-624-1513 8 0 0 -3 4 5 -9 / 9 0 503 301-1941 - Pager (21
