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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2002)
match 1.2002 * Iß *« o « 17 it 'm m ew s heriff’s deputies arrested the chair man of the Oregon Citizens Alliance after a dramatic court- rtxim appearance Feb. 20. Lon Mahon will sit behind bars for six months or until he agrees to par ticipate in hearings seeking to collect more than $ 40 ,0 0 0 owed to photojournalist Catherine Stauffer. The settlement stems from a 1991 assault on the lesbian during an O C A event. Mahon refused repeated requests to par ticipate in the hearing, instead demanding a signed contract guaranteeing a fair trial. Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Ronald Cinniger then proceeded without the anti-gay crusader, whose constant out bursts fell on deaf ears. As Mahon was handcuffed, his supporters stormed out of the courtroom, bemoaning the perceived miscarriage of justice. “This is treason!” one man shouted. Mahon was unrepentant as he was escort Lon Mahon’s bloodshot mug shot ed away: “I fought for this country, and I The affidavit explains the Mahons’ ongoing fought for the constitution. I can handle jail. dispute with the oath taken by most Oregon Mahon’s wife, Bonnie, also was found in con tempt of court hut was given an extra 10 days of judges. Because the words “and impartially” are missing, the couple say courtrooms statewide are freedom to take care of financial matters. C in filled with impostors. niger is fining the O C A $1,000 a day in addi But the document goes a step further than tion to the jail time. past arguments, attempting to retry the origi But during a hearing Feb. 28, Bonnie Mahon nal case. “Samuel J. Imperati ordered the evi finally agreed to comply with the court in order dence o f Catherine Stauffer’s criminal tres to avoid the slammer. A judgment debtor hear pass suppressed, so that Scott Lively’s lawful ing was scheduled for March 5. affirmative defense against the common law complaint o f ‘battery’ never reached the jury,” n between court dates, Bonnie Mahon the affidavit says. made the most o f her time at O C A head Bonnie Mahon also forwarded an e-mail to quarters in Brooks. She e-mailed an “A ffi supporters Feh. 21 in which a person named davit of Fact and Truth” to supporters Feh. 22 Rick Jones (“one of the men whom the Lord and had a flier placed in the Portland Tribune has used to help us in our attempt to defend that same day declaring her husband a “polit ourselves in the court system”) levels charges ical prisoner.” o f an an ti-O C A conspiracy. He says the “totally bogus and co n trived lawsuit” was designed to “chill" the couple’s co n stitutionally pro tected rights. “Two months be fore the alleged ‘battery’ of avowed lesbian Catherine Stauffer, in A.D. 1991, Lon received a phone call from an individual, who only identified him self as part of the Bonnie Mabon seeks justice at the Multnomah County Courthouse Go Bonnie Mabon said no such letter was sent. When asked about the accusation that the court is full of accomplices to militant homosexuals, she changed the subject. “I think I saw the letter, but I don’t remem ber reading that in the letter,” she said. “How ever, you’re getting away from the main issue here. The main issue is the oath." Patrick also denied any knowledge of the let ter. “Well, I’m not aware of that, but if some body wants to send me money, then I’m more than willing to take it.” TO J AIL Go directly to ¡oil. Do not pass judgment, do not collect $1,000 a day. by Jim Radosta Portland homosexual community,” Jones writes. “The individual told Lon, ‘We are going to change our tactics with you; we are going to bleed you dry with lawsuits.’ ” The Tribune advertisement urges supporters to express their outrage to Oregon’s governor, state legislators and congressional delegation. U.S. Sen. Gordon Sm ith’s Portland office received “just a handful of calls,” press secretary Joe Sheffo said. ahon’s arrest received widespread cover age in Portland publications, and the story later was picked up by the A dvocate. But the mainstream media failed to address a con tinuing conundrum: How can the couple keep attempting to amend Oregon law when they knowingly violate Oregon law on a reg ular basis? “W e will do according to the law when we find a judge that is constitutional and does according to the law,” Bonnie Mabon said. “If the legislators would do their job, the initia tive process wouldn’t be necessary.” M U nlike the Feb. 20 hearing, Bon nie Mabon had legal representa tion Feh. 28. Frank Patrick said he is serving as her attorney in a limited capacity. "People are raising money to pay for the counsel, so I’m appreciative of that,” Bonnie Mabon said. “There are people out there that realize that this is a lot bigger issue than just this judgment.” T he money is being raised by the C om m ittee for C onstitutional Courts, which sent an inflammatory letter to supporters begging for co n tributions to “help us free Lon and strike a blow against the tide of evil that is sweeping this state.” T he cor respondence, which Just Out has acquired, was written by Jeremy Bowen, president of O C A Under ground, which rallies young people to join the cause. “This could be a great victory for the sodomites,” he wrote. “1 can assure you they see it as another opportunity to mock God.” T he letter referred to “militant homosexu als” as “the most powerful and dangerous group in the state.” Apparently, they must be: Bowen claimed that gay men and lesbians have “accomplices in the court system” and that “the major media is operating as a whol ly owned subsidiary o f the rich sodomite lobby.” She said her failure to pay the settlement had nothing to do with Stauffer’s sexual orientation. “It’s because we have no money and the judg ment was fraudulent from the beginning.” WTien asked how it felt to be brought down by a lesbian, Bonnie Mabon bristled at the notion. “Are you asking us to go bankrupt.7" she responded. “Our fate is not is their hands," she said. “Our fate is in the Lord’s hands." 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