november 3. 2000
tyBWl o u t
Fire- Grilled Hanger Steak •
^
Thanks for the memories
To the E ditor :
to
So
ro
&
So
I have had a wonderful relationship with Just
Out. My first impression was admiration for
Renée LaChance and Jay Brown and their
courage in the enormous task of publishing a
newspaper, much less one for our community.
T hat first copy was a joy to read, and that
feeling has continued with each edition. My
admiration continues for all of you on staff.
Just Out is the best! I learned so much from
reading your newspaper.
You stim ulated my im agination, and at
tim es I disagreed with you, but I always was
grateful to all o f you on staff for each issue.
You all deserve a m edal for doing such a great
jo b for all o f us.
I know Just Out is the only contact some
women and men have with our community. 1
hope and pray you continue for many more years
with the quality of reporting you have presented
to us in the past.
A special thank-you to Oriana Green for all
she has done for our 50+ lesbian group. We
thank you for your efforts and interest.
A fter living happily in Portland since
1978, becom ing an active member o f our
com m unity and enjoying our city, the time
has com e for me to get to know my children as
adults. We have not lived near each other for
alm ost 24 years.
1 will he m oving to C olorado Springs,
C o lo ., becom ing an active member o f the
com m unity, volunteering at the community
center, learning the art o f patience with the
large com m unity and C hristian right-wing
organizations and transfering my membership
from the M etropolitan Com m unity Church
o f Portland to the M etropolitan Com m unity
C h u rch o f Pikes Peak.
W ith m uch pride, affection and sadness, 1
leave you. I am taking nothing but fond
m em ories.
I experienced much joy and am honored to
have been a part of our community in Portland.
Thank you, Just Out, for the contribution you
have made in my life.
M ay the universe bless all o f us. I will he
back every Jun e for our gay pride celebration;
see you then!
M ary B rady
during the crucial decision-making process on
redistricting.
H is opponent, Lynn Snodgrass, is acerbic,
uninform ed and determ ined to enshrine
right-wing Republicanism into our system.
Please support Bradbury.
Thanks, and please vote.
G eorge E ighmey
Portland
An urgent appeal
To the E ditor :
I am writing today first and foremost to sup
port A1 Gore but also, with much respect, to
appeal to our friends who are thinking o f sup
porting Ralph Nader with their vote.
From the environment to a woman’s right to
choose to basic civil rights, we believe great
harm— in fact, severe harm— will come with a
George W. Bush presidency. With much respect
and humility, we are appealing to Nader voters
in Oregon and across the nation to reconsider
their vote.
We acknowledge that Nader has raised
important issues. We also know that more dis
course is healthy in any democracy. But there
hasn’t been a race this close since 1960, when
John F. Kennedy won with an average of one
vote per precinct.
And we stand at the precipice of major set
backs in so many key areas; we submit that
empowering Bush will dash even the most mod
est dreams of Gore and Nader supporters alike.
We are asking with urgent respect that the
Nader supporters not deliver the Supreme Court
and the nation into the hands of Bush.
I head the Human Rights Campaign, the
nation’s largest gay advocacy organization. The
stakes are profound for every gay person in the
United States. I can assure you Mathew Shepard
would have known the vast difference between
Gore and Bush.
People my age in the gay and lesbian com
munity lived through a time— the Reagan/Bush
years— when in the midst of the most horrific
epidemic of our time, our government turned
away in stony silence. We do not want to return
to that era.
Our dreams— the real possibilities we have
worked toward— will be put on hold for years to
come.
Portland
E lizabeth B irch
Please vote
To the E ditor :
So
®Q
BRID G EPO RT
t ALE HOUSE f
3 6 3 2 S E H aw thorne B lvd.
www. bridgeportbrew . com
T his is, like all elections, a crucial one. It
might he more significant than others only
because the differences between the major can
didates are so vast.
It should com e as n o surprise to you that I
support A1 G ore for president. His vision for
the U nited States is based on realistic ideas
and achievable goals. I hope all o f you will
vote for G ore.
I also know Hardy Myers and Kevin Mannix,
candidates for Oregon attorney general. Myers
has done an outstanding job as our attorney gen
eral and has earned our support.
M annix is a loose cannon waiting to go off.
He already has announced he will not move
aggressively to uphold Oregon’s Death with Dig
nity Act.
T h is is the sam e m an who introduced legis
lation to prohibit women from receiving sperm
insem ination. We can ’t risk electing M annix.
Myers fought the tobacco com panies,
defended all o f our laws and is a fair and impar
tial attorney general. Please vote for him.
Bill Bradbury also has been outstanding since
his appointm ent as secretary of state. He will
serve us well in the next four years, especially
Human Rights Campaign executive director
No on 3
To the E ditor :
I am an attorney with the Anim al Legal
Defense Fund (www.aldf.org), a national non
profit organization com m itted to improving the
lives of anim als through the legal system. I was
unaware that Just O ut made election endorse
ments and was disappointed to discover our
community paper had com e out in favor of the
so-called Property Protection A ct [Oct. 20].
Measure 3 is a constitutional amendment
that might sound appealing on the first read.
However, upon closer inspection it reveals itself
as a poorly drafted solution to a problem that
does not exist here in Oregon.
In addition, it brings with it a host of unin
tended consequences, namely its detrimental
impact on thousands o f abused and neglected
animals across our state. For these reasons,
almost every newspaper and humane society
across the state, together with a host of national
animal protection organizations, have come out
in opposition to it.
T h e problem ignored by M easure 3 is that
under today’s laws, the an im als who live with
us are classified as property, just like a televi
sion, chair or car. T h e act would prohibit
forfeitures o f any property before a criminal
conviction.
A lthough most o f us realize anim als are dif
ferent from other kinds o f “property," the peo
ple who wrote M easure 3 did not consider this
fact or just did not care. Because it fails to dis
tinguish anim als from other types o f property, it
would prohibit anim als who are removed from
abusers from being placed into permanent, lov
ing hom es until after the anim al cruelty case is
over— a process that can take many months or
even years to conclude— even when a court
finds sufficient evidence o f mistreatment.
Tragically, cruelty cases o ften involve
hundreds o f an im als, an d providing their
necessary care is e xp en siv e. W ithout the
ability to find p erm an en t h om es for these
an im als until after e ach crim in al case is over,
these costs easily cou ld bankrupt m any o f our
shelters an d h u m an e societies.
Measure 3 has some other drastic and absurd
results when applied to animals. For instance, it
might force shelters into auctioning off rescued
animals to the highest bidder, instead of being
able to place them in the best new homes, then
direct that 75 percent o f these auction proceeds
go to drug treatment facilities.
Regrettably, the most likely result if Measure 3
passes is shelters might be forced into reconsider
ing rescuing abused animals at all because of the
large financial costs of providing their necessary
care throughout a protracted criminal case and
the uncertainty of whether any of these costs ever
will be reimbursed later by the defendant.
These three Web sites further discuss why
Measure 3 is bad for our state in general and for
anim als in particular. Please take a few
moments to review this important information:
• www.voteanimal.com (a W eb site devoted
n o ta b le s
Robert Maxwell, 1969-2000
R
obert Jam es Maxwell, aka Lovey Howell
aka A nnell Storm , Princess 21 o f the
Raintree Empire, died of A ID S com plications
O ct. 18 at Southwest W ashington M edical
Center. He was 31.
He was bom Jan. 29, 1969, in Salt Lake City.
He moved to Vancouver more than a decade ago.
He enjoyed performing, sewing and crafts
but most of all loved to entertain friends in his
home. G ina Hoggan, Imperial Sovereign Court
of the Raintree Empire Ixiard treasurer, said he
was a kind and sensitive person who will be
missed by many for his bright smile.
M axw ell also will be remembeted for his
radiant spirit and his great talent for m aking
people feel good about themselves. He loved
the beauty o f life.
He was preceded in death by his longtime com
panion, David William Howell. He is survived b
his brother, Richard; sister, Claire Walker; parent«
Claude and Jane; the family he made with David
Gretchen Gonzales and Judith, Henery, Steven
Gery and Karen Gillispie; and Robert and David'
only adopted child, Miss Margaret, their dog.
A memorial service was held O ct. 20 at Ever
green Memorial Gardens. A brunch potluck wa
held Oct. 21 at the Northbank Tavern.
In lieu of flowers, his family is seeking dona
tions to help cover the cost o f the memoria
service. To contribute, send e-mail to Jsphsethi
cs.com or write to Joseph Daniel, 1516 Kaufmat
Ave., Vancouver, WA 98660.