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“They didn’t know who Esera Tuaolo is,” he
said. “What they saw was an actor."
Sterling Sharpe told HBO that if his Packers
teammate had revealed his sexual orientation
while still in the NFL, “he would have been
eaten alive, and he would have been hated for
it.” The only other professional players who
have come out are David Kopay in 1975 and
Roy Simmons in 1992.
Tuaolo, 34, now lives in M inneapolis with
his partner of 5 1/2 years, Mitchell Wherley,
and their 2-year-old twins. A n accomplished
singer, he has performed “T he Star-Spangled
Banner” on a nationally broadcast N FL game
and has self-released a C D , One M an’s Island.
HRC R eleases
C ongressional S corecard
he Human Rights Cam paign released
O ct. 28 its 107th Congress scorecard,
which is considered a key tool for judging
how politicians vote on gay, lesbian, bi and
trans issues and assessing their level of
support.
The numbers show an encouraging trend
toward more broad-based support for queer
issues on Capitol Hill. T his growth is appar
ent as two key pieces of legislation boast the
highest number of co-sponsorships in history.
In the 107th Congress, the Employment
Nondiscrimination A ct had 194 House and 45
Senate co-sponsors, an increase from the 168
House and 37 Senate co-sponsors in the 106th
Congress. T he Local Law Enforcement
Enhancement A ct had a record 206 House
and 51 Senate co-sponsors this Congress, com
pared to 187 in the House and 42 in the Sen
ate in the 106th.
The scoring process also evaluated office
nondiscrimination policies and important
votes on issues like domestic partner benefits in
the District of Columbia and needle exchange
programs. Here is how Oregon’s delegation
stacked up:
• 100 percent: Democratic U .S. Reps.
David Wu, Lari Blumenauer, Peter A. DeFazio
and Darlene Hooley and U .S. Sen. Ron
Wyden.
• 8 6 percent: Republican U .S. Sen. G or
don Sm ith. He was graded down for opposing
the Boxer Am endm ent, which guaranteed all
federally chartered organizations access to
school facilities regardless o f their position on
sexual orientation. It was introduced as an
alternative to an anti-gay version by U .S.
Sen. Jesse Helms, R -N .C.
• 17 percent: Republican U .S. Rep. G reg
T
Walden. His only pro-gay stance was
his congressional oft ice’s adoption of a
written policy indicating that sexual
orientation is not a factor in its
employment decisions.
PH O TO S B Y JIM
Continued from Page 9
W here ’ s G ordon ?
hen politicians were called to
the stage Oct. 26 at the Human
Rights C am p aign ’s Portland G ala
Dinner, the audience leapt to its feet
for Democratic senatorial and guber
natorial candidates Bill Bradbury and
Ted Kulongoski and U .S. Sen. Ron
Wyden. Republican U .S. Sen. Gordon
Sm ith, who H R C endorsed, was a
no-show.
T he event honored Thom as Bru
ner, C ascade A ID S Project executive
director, for taking the nonprofit
agency “to unprecedented levels of
strength, diversity and effectiveness
and for re-energizing the Portland
metropolitan area around HIV issues
in the process." Equality Awards also
were presented to Ashland’s Abdill-
Ellis Lambda Community Center and
to Lincoln C ity’s G ail Kimberling,
managing editor of the News Guard,
which named two gay men as Couple
o f the Year in April.
W
Terry Bean (center) gets dragged on stage by the Kinsey
Sicks during the Human Rights Campaign Portland
Gala Dinner on Oct. 26; inset, Thomas Bruner and
Gail Kimberling proudly display their Equality Awards
P ortland P lummets
P recipitously
he November issue of Girlfriends stuck a
thorn in the Rose City, ranking it No. 46
on the eighth annual "Best Lesbian Places to
Live” list— a steep decline from Portland’s posi
tions at No. 2 in 2000 and No. 4 in 2001.
Associate editor Jen Phillips, who grew up
in Beaverton and attended University of Ore
gon, attributed the change partially to the
magazine’s new rating criteria. In order to give*
smaller cities a fair shake, queer resources such
as bars, restaurants and help lines now are
scored per capita.
Phillips added: “The economy throughout
the Northwest has just taken a big dive from last
year.... We just want to make sure that women
are going to be able to find jobs and be able to,
you know, have a nice apartment."
W hen asked whether Portland’s quick
drop might be part o f a larger cultural trend,
Phillips agreed. “G ay men tend to go to
urban centers, and lesbians tend to go to
smaller tow ns...there’s definitely evidence to
hack that theory up.”
For all those Portlanders who already are
T
packing their bags in disgust, Girlfriends said
the top spot for lesbians is M adison, Wis.
Here is the rest of the top 10: Bloomington,
Ind.; N ortham pton, M ass.; Ithaca, N.Y.;
La Crosse, Wis.; Denver; Missoula, M ont.;
Cambridge, Mass.; Baltimore; and Santa Fe,
N.M .
ROP R eceives $10,000
he Denver-based Gill Foundation made
grants totaling $2,123,950 to 93 groups
supporting a wide range of gay, lesbian, bi and
trans initiatives and HIV/AIDS programming
during its most recent cycle, including $10,000
for the Rural Organizing Project in Scappoose.
The $260 million endowed organization is com
mitted to securing equal opportunities for all
people, regardless of sexual orientation or gen
der identity.
“We are very pleased to be able to support
such an outstanding spectrum of LG BT and
HIV/AIDS organizations throughout the Unit
ed States,” grantmaking director Anthony C.
Tapia said. “Particularly in these challenging
times for all nonprofit organizations, the Gill
Foundation continues to support organizations
working to eliminate discrimination based on
sexual orientation.” *
The foundation, established in 1994 by
T
software pioneer Tim G ill, is the country’s
largest funder o f sexual minority organizations.
Since its inception, it has invested nearly $40
million in nonprofits throughout the United
States. j n
Compiled by JlM R a d o sta , S arah L eimert and
M arty D avis
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