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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2003)
aprili 2ÛÛ2* pt • I ¡1 i\ [ v i g l i n e • The hardest questions: identifying the most difficult questions posed by those who believe war is the answer. • Strategies for developing our message: how to find common ground with people who oppose us, using our own experiences, connect ing an emotional appeal with hard facts, identi fying the most effective facts. • How to reach people: finding speaking opportunities, using talk radio, writing for print media, television news opportunities. • Building a team: speakers for different audi ences, radio callers, writers for periodicals, resource material researchers and writers, schedulers. This workshop originally was developed to help grassroots activists respond to anti-gay ballot measures in Oregon and elsewhere. It has been presented in 12 states during the past 10 years. The event was made possible by McKenzie River Gathering Foundation Peace Action Fund. Donations will be accepted. OCA L oses A gain A fter almost two years of legal actions, a Multnomah County court March 28 found Lon Mahon, the Oregon Citizens Alliance and several other entities he controls personally liable for the fraudulent transfer of more than $30,000 in funds. In 1992, lesbian photojoumalist Catherine Stauffer won a judgment against the O C A after she was assaulted during a Ballot Measure 9 event at Portland Foursquare Church. Since then, Mahon has gone to extensive lengths to avoid paying this debt by shifting assets to enti ties he thought were Jbeyond her reach. At one point, the O C A was found guilty of contempt of court after it returned donations in an effort to keep funds from Stauffer. In 2001, she sued Mabon individually, as well as the O C A and related entities he con trols, for fraudulently transferring money. Despite claims that Oregon courts lacked juris diction over the O C A , Judge Ronald Cinniger ruled in her favor. “These folks have created this sort of con stellation of organizations that they move money around and around in, in order to avoid paying their legal obligations,” attorney Mark Johnson told Just Out. “The purpose of this law suit was to get the court to say, ‘These are all really Lon and Bonnie Mabon putting on different hats and claiming to be different people.’ ” Attorneys are in the process of finding and taking the Ma hons’ assets, which in clude the O CA head quarters in Brcxiks. But the couple seem to be up to their old tricks again: They recently trans ferred ownership of the property to “a fellow out in Bend who is apparently an insider.. .but we don’t know in what capacity,” according to Johnson. "The Mahons seem to be holding out hope that God is going to save them,” Stauffer says. “I just think they should get a lawyer.” I i S aving SMYRC T he Sexual Minority Youth Recreation C en ter has several difficult months ahead of it because of state budget cuts. But newly hired development director Ashleigh Flynn is submit ting grant requests and considering several options to help preserve the facility, which pro vides queer kids with a safe space to hang out and be themselves. 9 To register contact Cecil Prescod at cecilprescod@hotmail.com or Bonnie Tinker at 503-228-3892 or bonnie@LMFamily.org. Ashleigh Flynn has three months to raise thousands of dollars for the Sexual Minority Youth Recreation Center “We are l(X)king for others to share the benefits and also some of the costs associated with the space," she told Just Out. “The range of what could happen there is pretty wide open right now. We just need to begin holding the conversation on a wider scale and get a sense of who’s interested in what.” SM YRC drop-in hours are 4 to 8 p.m. Mon days and Wednesdays and 4 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. The rest of the time the space goes unused, so Flynn would like to make it available to other groups. The facility includes a kitchen, computer room, resource library, meeting area and stage. According to Flynn, it could be used for art, music and multimedia performances; alcohol, drug and mental health support group meetings; HIV counseling and testing; and community organizing. “Every queer adult knows what it’s like, obvi ously, to be a queer youth and how hard it can be,” she says. “That’s what this space is for— it’s a safe space for queer youth and also for queer adults, if they so ch(x>se.” SM Y R C administrative parent Cascadia Behavioral HealthCare, which laid off more than 100 people last October, already is renting out offices in the building to Project Quest, an alternative health center for people with HIV, A ID S and cancer. It’s a “win-win situation” for both agencies, Flynn says. She also wants to increase visibility and awareness within the sexual minorities commu P lay I t SAFES nity about SMYRC. She especially is excited about its new mentor program with the Portland Area Business Association. “Cascadia and all of the staff are very com mitted to preserving the services,” Flynn says. “There are worst-case scenarios and best-case scenarios, and we’re really looking at all of them. It’s doubtful that the services are going to go away, because I think there’s just too much internal community support at this point.” Interested organizations should cal! 503-238-0769, ext. 131 , or e-mail ashleighf@cascadiabhc.org. Donations can be sent to 2100 S.E . Belmont St., Portland, OR 97214. U sing W ords to B uild a P eace M ovement L S urvivors Advocating for an Effective Sys tem— a queer-run nonprofit organization committed to building a compassionate, effec tive, restorative criminal justice system— will meet from 7 to 8:30 p.m. April 10 at Horn of Africa Restaurant, 3939 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. SA F E S is inviting crime survivors who would like to connect with others in similar sit uations and who are fed up with ineffective “tough on crime” rhetoric to come and enjoy good food and casual conversation. Attendees will discuss how they can help champion a crim inal justice system that reflects their values. For more information contact David M. Baker at 503-274-2139 or lotusvotary@hotmail.com. S igns ove Makes a Family will hold a workshop to practice nonviolent communication and public speaking skills on the subject of war, peace, Iraq and the Middle East from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 12 at Ainsworth United Church of Christ, 2941 N.E. Ainsworth St. Organizers also will set up the structure for a public outreach campaign. The workshop, which will be led by Cecil Presaxl and Bonnie Tinker with input from other peace activists, will cover: • Speech as nonviolent action: learning to use speech effectively to create political change. of L ife P ortland Com m unity College has decided not to ax its American Sign Language Interpreter Training Program, which had been on the chopping block because o f a funding shortfall. Trevor Blake, a bisexual hearing first-year stu dent, credits the deaf community, both on and off campus, for successfully convincing the board of directors not to drop the 20-year-old program. The only two-year interpreter training program between Seattle and Southern California, it has Continued on Page 10 Mention this ad and get a 10% discount. “SAM E D AY S E R V IC E ON M O S T R EPAIR S” Repairs of All Makes & Models f r .f V i jJ y J Am erican • European • Im ports Cars • Trucks • RVs We Fix It Right the First Time From Oil Changes to Overhaul. 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