ni.MJm-t inewsbriefs
don’t know how many decades. People going to
jail, people having to pay their neighbors money
because a fence is in the wrong place, any kind of
dispute that the judges have resolved.... It’s
breathtaking when yiui think about it that way."
F lorida A doption C ase
G ets a B oost from
L awrence D ecision
he American Civil Liberties Union is urg
ing the appeals court considering the fate
of Florida’s ban on adoption by gay parents to
heed the U .S. Supreme C ourt’s ruling in
Lawrence vs. Texas. In a supplemental brief filed
July 21, attorneys pointed out that the decision
further strengthens their argument that the
adoption ban is unconstitutional.
“The Supreme Quirt has now made it crystal
clear that laws that discriminate against gay peo
ple will no longer fly,” the A C L U ’s Matt Coles
said. “The state has no legitimate basis for
excluding such a large number of potential par
ents from adopting and has lust its only remain
ing argument for doing so.”
The Supreme Court stnick down June 26 a
Texas law that made some forms of sexual inti
macy a crime for gay people. It explicitly over
turned its 1986 decision in Bowers vs. Hard
wick, which Florida relied on to justify the ban
on gay adoptions.
The justices said states can’t have laws that
“demean” the lives of gay people and must
respect gay relationships. “The Supreme Court’s
decision to end prejudice against gay people may
very well have the unexpected benefit of help
ing the 3,400 children in Florida foster care who
are in need of permanent homes," Coles added.
i
Bonnie and Lon Mahon consult with attorney Jim Leuenberger (right) after an Oregon Court
of Appeals hearing July 22 in Salem
C learing
the
B ench
on Mahon, Oregon Citizens Alliance chair-
I man, is calling for the impeachment of the
six U.S. Supreme Court justices who supported
the Lawrence vs. Texas decision. The landmark
ruling, issued June 26, overturned sodomy
statutes in 13 states.
“To think that George Washington and Ben-
jamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and James
Madison and the Adams brothers actually
intended to elevate homosexuality and put it
into the Constitution as a protected status is
absurd," Mahon said. “And for then six justices
to say that’s what they intended— and therefore
we're overthrowing the Texas sodomy law— is a
perfect example of judicial legislating.... They
violated their oath and they violated the Con
stitution; they need to he impeached.”
Mahon spoke with Just Out after an Oregon
Quirt of Appeals hearing July 22 in Salem as
part of his ongoing legal battle with Catherine
Stauffer, a lesbian photographer who was assault
ed at an O C A event 12 years ago. He owes thou
i sands of dollars stemming from a 1992 ruling hut
refuses to pay her because the judge’s oath didn’t
match the state constitution word for word.
“The Mahons do not want to pay this judg
ment, and they’re willing to go to any lengths to
avoid paying it," attorney Mark Johnson said.
“They’re basically challenging all of the orders that
i all of the judges in the state made in the hist— 1
Even though the state prevents gay men and
lesbians from adopting, it relies on queers to be
foster parents to children in need of stable
homes. Among the three plaintiff families are
Portlanders Steven Lofton and Roger Croteau,
who are raising five children, including three
foster kids from Florida.
The law that excludes queers from adopting
was passed by the state Legislature in 1977 amid
Anita Bryant’s anti-gay crusade. The bill’s spon
sor in the Senate told a newspaper at the time
that it was intended to send this message to gay
men and lesbians: “We are really tired of you.
We wish you’d go back in the closet."
The A C LU filed the lawsuit seeking to end
the Florida adoption ban in 1998. A decision in
the case, which was argued before the Federal
Quirt of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in March,
is expected during the next few months.
For more information visit u w w .!e thimstay.com.
M ayor ’ s C hief of S taff
A nnounces R esignation
L
ess than a week after the July 23 news that
Portland Mayor Vera Katz won’t seek a fourth
term in 2004, her openly gay right-hand man has
announced his resignation, effective Aug. 15.
“Serving as the mayor’s chief of staff for the
past 10 years has been deeply rewarding to me,"
Sam Adams wrote in a letter. “Regardless of good
or had days, win or lose, right or wrong, 1 have
felt fortunate each day to have had this job. I
have met and worked with some of the best,
smartest people around. I will always treasure the
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