Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013, October 19, 2001, Page 8, Image 8

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    g ju s t ou t » October 19 . 2Q01
U m FKm inew s
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bout a dozen protesters held signs and dis­
tributed fliers outside the Butchies concert
O ct. 16 at the B C om p lex to raise awareness
about the rock b an d ’s participation in the
M ichigan W om yn’s M usic Festival. T h e event,
held every A ugust, is restricted to wom en who
were b o m women.
Protester Lisa Zeepp, who identified as a gen-
derqueer fem me, called the policy transphobic.
“ I support safe space for all wom en not based on
anatom y,” she said.
K atie Kaput, a transsexual dyke, said the pol­
icy is no different from one that would exclude
lesbians. “W e d on ’t think that people who co n ­
sider them selves trans allies should be support­
ing them iri helping that policy continue.”
A ce Popsoda, a trans boy who protested o u t­
side the Butchies concert A pril 24 at the C rys­
tal Ballroom , said the band has not responded
despite repeated requests to reconsider. “T here
have been countless attem pts to try to reach the
B u tch ie s...an d nothing has really worked.”
T h e protesters, collectively know n as the
Transformers, hope to raise awareness, convince
the band to reconsider its support o f the policy
and, ultimately, to m ake the festival inclusive.
Popsoda urged the trans com m unity to com e
together regardless o f gender identity.
“People in the trans com m unity who aren’t
trans wom en ignore issues that d o n ’t affect
them ,” he said. “T h at really angers me a lot.”
The Butchies have issued statements saying
they support the trans community but recognize the
continued need for separatist events. The band
pointed out that the festival does not conduct gen­
der checks and that a large contingent o f staff mem­
bers identify as trans, albeit female-to-male only.
“W e d on ’t think that our support o f the trans
com m unities and womyn b o m womyn com m u­
nities are in direct contradiction to each other;
our support o f one does not dim inish the support
o f the other,” the Butchies said. “T h ey are both
equal in our hearts.”
For more information e-mail
transformers@freeze.com or visit the Internet site
ivuw. strap-on. orgjaction. html.
G ood G overnment G roup
C ollects V oter S ignatures
T
he G o o d G overnm ent Initiative likely will
qualify for the M ay 2002 ballot.
C h ie f petitioner R obert Ball, a gay police
reserve captain and real estate investor, told the
Portland Tribune he has collected slightly more
than the 27,095 voter signatures required. T h e
initiative seeks to am end and restate the local
charter to m ake the city operate within a system
o f checks and balances.
“O u r elected com m ission ers supervise city
bureaus, an d with their v otes as councihm em -
bers, they ad o pt o rd in an ces,” B all said. “A s
long as both the law m aking an d the ad m in is­
trative bran ch es are the responsibility o f the
sam e elected officials, there exists a natural
c o n flict.”
U n der the initiative, adm inistrative duties
and responsibilities would be vested in the
mayor, who no longer would be a m em ber o f the
C ity C o u n cil. T h e am en dm en t also would
increase the num ber o f council m embers to
nine; two would be elected at large, and seven
would be elected by districts.
“ P ortlan d is th e largest city in th e U n ite d
S ta te s th at co n tin u es to o p erate under the
co m m issio n form o f go v e rn m e n t,” B all said.
“A s our city grow s an d b eco m es m ore diverse,
it is im p o rta n t th a t w e, as citiz e n s, are
in volved in co u n cil decisio n s. W h e n all c o u n ­
cil m em bers h ave only legislative d uties and
seven district co u n cil m em bers h av e their
offices in their d istricts, P ortlan d c a n beco m e
n o t ju st ‘T h e C ity T h a t W orks’ but ‘T h e C ity
T h a t W orks T ogeth er.’ ”
MCC N orthwest D istrict
H olds F inal C onference
M
em bers o f th e M etro p o litan C o m m u n i­
ty C h u rc h o f P ortlan d ; G e n tle S h e p ­
herd M C C in V ancouver, W ash.; S w e e t S p ir ­
it M C C in S a le m ; an d S iste rS p irit trav eled to
S a lt L ak e C ity from O c t. 5 to 7 for th e fin al
N o rth w est D istrict C o n fe re n c e o f th e U n i­
versal Fellow ship o f M etro p o litan C o m m u n i­
ty C h u rch es. T h re e clergy an d ab ou t 10 laity
atten d ed .
During the next two years the denom ination
will transition into a structure adm inistered by
regional elders, who will replace elected district
com m ittees. O n e last com m ittee was elected
during the conference to com plete the work o f
the district.
M C C Portland m em ber C h u ck H arvey
stepped dow n after a three-year stint as district
coordinator. H e has held other positions on this
body and was coordinator o f the district confer­
ence for several years.