l’in uuivi Sinews
“The Gill Foundation is committed to
addressing the needs of organizations in rural
and nonurban communities, where resources
often are not available to LGBT residents,”
Pease said. “LGBT people live in communi
ties of all types and sizes. In order to ensure
our full civil rights, it is important that work
is done in all parts of our country.”
The Oregon organizations are:
• AIDS Support and Prevention of
Josephine County (Grants Pass): $6,000 gener
al operating support.
• Equity Foundation Inc. (Portland):
$42,500 program support over two years for the
OutReach program and for capacity building
support.
• Western States Center (Portland):
$45,000 program support for the Fair Workplace
Project.
• Deschutes County Coalition for Human
Dignity (Bend): $2,500 program support for
community outreach work.
don’t want to make any public comment about
it—even to cancel it,” said Scott Seomin, Gay
and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
entertainment media director. “Paramount
Television Group executives are scrambling to
salvage what remains of their reputations, and
a cancellation announcement will result in sto
ries about how they botched every step of their
ill-advised relationship with Schlessinger."
Further evidence of cancellation continues to
mount. On a recent radio show, Schlessinger
returned to her most vitriolic tone in months,
with angrily bitter attacks on the American
Library Association and on school programs
that, in her words, “advocate moral acceptance
of various forms of sexual behavior generally
considered not too acceptable by religious types.”
She also began encouraging contributions to an
anti-gay group called Pacific Justice Institute,
which opposes laws that prohibit harassment of
gay students and teachers and which recently
tried to block a gay-straight alliance from form
ing at El Modena High School in Orange, Calif.
“This is the most vicious version of Laura
we’ve seen in a long time,” said Cathy Renna,
etition argets
GLAAD news media director. “The renewed
rans vent
mean-spiritedness in her tone suggests...Para
n Oregon woman has organized a petition
mount has finally and completely lost what
to protest Esprit, an annual weeklong ever control it had over her.”
event for members of the trans community, from
gathering in Port Angeles, Wash.
top the OCA
“Every May, upward of 300 transvestites and
other sexual deviants assemble from all over
he Rural Organizing Project and Basic
North America,” Sarah Mackenzies petition
Rights Oregon are teaming up to ensure
says. “Needless to say, the convention has the Oregon Citizens Alliance doesn’t get an ini
harmed the town and the region in general by
tiative on the ballot in 2002. The two groups
exposing impressionable children and youth to will launch the “Decline to Sign” campaign dur-
this sort of cultural pollu
tion.”
The Web petition re
ceived only 14 signatures,
some from as far away as
Florida, but 709 messages
were left on the Internet site.
Although many espoused dis
dain and even hatred for the
trans community, many chal
lenged those notions. Ac
cording to the Internet site,
the petition was submitted
March 1 to Port Angeles
Mayor Larry Doyle.
Esprit will attract 170
people between May 14 and
20 to the small coastal town.
The annual event, held at
the Red Lion Inn, is spon
sored by trans organizations
in Portland, Seattle and Van
couver, British Columbia.
For more information
visit the Internet site
www.espritgala.org. To view
the petition and comments
visit the Internet site
www 2 .e-thepeople. com
and type in “transvestite”
under the keyword search.
P
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lthough Paramount denies it, Dr. Laura
Schlessinger’s television talk show likely
has taped its final episode.
It began an indefinite hiatus Feb. 9, which
the studio claims will last only two or three
weeks, although it has set no date for produc
tion to resume. Insiders report the "extended
hiatus” is likely Paramount’s way of canceling
the program without fanfare or criticism.
“People close to the show say that Para
mount is so embarrassed by Dr. Laura that they
A
ing a caucus and strategy session March 24.
Materials will be available to anyone who
wants to participate starting in April. Because
the vast majority of signatures are gathered in
churches and neighborhoods, “Decline to Sign"
strategies will include creative ways to combat
the OCA by talking to friends, family and
neighbors in every community.
To reserve your kit call 503-222-6151 or send
e-mail to BROnerissa@aol.com.
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Esprit, an annual weeklong event for members of the trans
community, is the target of a recent Web petition
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Continued on Page 8