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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 2001)
may 18.2001 * J u t o at; j 5 müTTTF7nT3neu;s H eroic G estures Former governor addresses Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays by Jonathan Kipp F ormer Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts says every human rights movement has heroes. She has come to admire the parents in the gay rights movement, some who even have become household names across the country. She refers to Dennis and Judy Shepard and Betty De- Generes as heroes. But no matter how many “celebrity” par ents are out fighting for the rights of their kids and the gay com munity, Roberts says the quiet, day-to-day heroes are what the movement needs to he suc cessful. “PFLAG is that, she says. Roberts addressed the Par ents, Families and Friends of Les bians and Gays statewide confer ence May 5 in Eugene. The almost 100 people who attended were moved by her remarks, organizers say. PFLAG/Oregon president Donna Zenobia- Saffir says Roberts was inspirational and helped reinforce the work all chapters do. “She’s so down to earth and believes so fer vently in this work.” Oregon is one of only a handful of states that have a formal PFLAG state council, according to Ron Schlittler, West Coast field manager. Some think Oregon was the first to organize statewide. Oregon has a strong grassroots organiza tion, with PFLAG chapters throughout the state. That strength led to the formation of a statewide organization in 1996 to help chap ters network with each other and build coali tions with other civil rights groups such as Basic Rights Oregon and the Rural Organiz ing Project. PFLAG/Oregon also aids local chapters in tackling bigger issues such as the Safe Schools Bill, which is awaiting a for mal hearing in Salem. But perhaps most im portantly, the state organi zation helps recruit new members and provides cru cial assistance in getting chapters started. Parents of gays and lesbians in small towns especially are lacking support, Zeno- bia-Saffir says. Oregon has nine PFLAG chapters and seven towns with at least one contact person who fields calls. A new chapter is forming in Grants Pass, and “baby steps” are being taken in McMinnville toward a new group. Organizers estimate the state has between 250 and 300 members. “We can do more than just hake cookies and give hugs,” Zenobia-Saffir says. “We’re powerful.” It was obvious that PFLAG needed to net work more efficiently and not just he driven by Portland’s chapter, the largest in the state with 120 members, Zenobia-Saffir says. Schlittler thinks the Oregon Citizens Alliance helped Oregon get a jump-start in forming a statewide organization. “It is really exciting to see that energy here,” he says. But fighting O C A -sp o n so red ballot measures also has been a factor in PFLAG chapters losing momentum. Z e n o b ia -S a ffir says that work is important but has kept other important proj ects from moving forward. Roberts says PFLAG members and all Oregonians, al though frustrated and tired from fighting the O C A for 12 years, are doing work every day that is helping the state move toward a day when the fight will be over. The more people who see the gay and lesbian com munity on a regular basis, she believes, the harder it becomes for the O C A to have any validity. “This is a movement they cannot stop,” Roberts says. “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.” The almost perennial struggle at the ballot box over basic rights is demeaning for the gay and lesbian community, Roberts told Just Out. Not only that, it’s disruptive to the state, expen sive and time-consui ling. But Roberts remains optimistic. Almost 80 percent of U .S. citizens believe in the fair treatment of sexual minorities under the law, she says. She thinks the government should take a lead in making certain that fairness is delivered, whether it be through safe schools or hate crimes legislation or other protection. Some Oregonians think you can’t legislate morali ty, nonviolence and peace, Roberts explains. But she says govern ment has done just that for centuries. “A culture does begin to change by impact of its laws,” says Roberts, adding that laws are a society’s conscious ness. “As soon as you put a law on the hooks you say...w e’re reinforcing you.” And to those who disagree, like the OCA.7 Roberts says the message is different: “You’re out of step with this country.” It is a struggle she thinks the gay community is winning with the help of PFLAG members. When parents and friends of the gay communi ty step forward and clearly say that they support their gay children and friends, she says it makes a difference. In a social battlefield, “every inch you gain matters.’ ’ "We can do more than just bake cookies and give hugs. 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