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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2003)
november 21.2003 » J m a t rrm'iout Gimme tax shelter To E ditor : n review of the recent court decision in Mass achusetts, I would like to speak (H it and share this thought tor everyone. As we all know, marriage is not something that is stagnant. 1 would appreciate it if we remind ourselves that marriage in the Bible has included polygamy as well as other variations. Marriage once was an issue ot property rights and a means to end clan or tribal wars between rival groups. Those are also a thing ot the past. Even the early years ot church records included services performed tor same-sex couples. The Supreme Court ot this country has ruled more than once that marriage is not to he an exclusive situation. This occurred when it over turned the interracial statutes ot some states dur ing its 1964 mling and again in its 1987 mling regarding marriage for inmates. Marriage is not something that is strictly about raising children and bringing about a meeting of two people. It is the incredible journey that people take as they discover they wish to make a lifetime commitment to another person. As a result of this commitment, the couple discover the ups and downs of a life together and its challenges. 1 have never heard a story in which an oppo site-sex couple ask to marry each other in order to pnxrreate, provide tax shelters or develop kin ship for medical benefits or other issues in their life. When two PEOPLE discover they are ready to make a commitment to each other, then that is a marriage in fact as well as name. So why are we trying so hard to stop this? We should honor the beauty and love between two people and, through that honor ing, rejoice in the relationship and journey of these two people. Let us seek to celebrate the beauty of their joined lives and not seek to den igrate or diminish their vow. Thank you for listening. the M icheil M ac C utcheon Portland Permanent press stream newspapers" are either obtuse or naive, hut are completely inaccurate. The mainstream media will, indeed, splash a gay scandal across their pages, hut a story presenting a positive gay story? That’s not business as usual tor them. He also makes reference to the early gay press as being “little more than advertising.. .for queer bars and bathhouses,” seeming to gloss over the fact that said ads were the vehicle by which any form of gay press was published. Just because the announcement of a rally or support group was surrounded by ads doesn’t negate the announce ment. Mr. Beck’s callous remark belittles the achievement of our early activists— people with out whom he might not have his position. I was there; 1 remember. He later remarks that “fluff” and “style” can be found elsewhere, never acknowledging that media such as Just Out carry hard news and pol itics as well— news items that simply are not carried anywhere else liKally. He then makes the outrageous statement that the gay media need to “start talking to everyone— and tor everyone”— amazing since his column usually makes no attempt to do either. Mr. Beck lives in a particularly singular world and has said in the past that his column reflects his own views and experience; he then denies that same freedom to other writers. Mr. Beck does not attack any of the media based on race or religion, but only on the so- called “pink press," which smacks of an assimi- lationist attitude. Never have a media dedicated to all human issues (and rights) as seen from a particular point of view been more important than in this current political climate— if for no other reason than to open a debate and present a second point of view. I, for one, will continue to read Marty Davis’ biweekly efforts with interest and attention— while 1 continue to shake my head at Mr. Beck's weekly wrongheadedness. D onald F inch Portland 20/20 revisionism To the E ditor : To the E ditor : was glad to see a 20-year retrospective ot Just bought you might he interested in this let Out (man, 1 feel old!), hut I must correct Tat ter I sent to Willamette Week regarding Young’s revisionist take on the KBCX) show Byron Beck’s Nov. 5 column: Queers vide, a comedy and news program I creat Byron Beck continues to he one of the worst ed and co-hosted with Michele Lenguabush [“Memories and Milestones," Nov. 7|. voices for gay people everywhere, let alone in Portland. His recent column regarding the gay Ms. Young implies the show was a flash in press is no exception. the pan, folding several months after its con His remarks that “we no longer need the troversial debut. In reality, the show was a queer press,” that “Newsweek and People can | huge hit, lasted a year and a half, garnered a [write] tor us now” and that “stories about gay lot of notoriety and set a KBCXY record for issues freely spill across the front pages of main on-air donations for a half-hour show. IH Q i ^ou fee^ ^ recent v^ eilt attacks on queers * i indicate the start of a violent backlash to our escalating fight for equality, or are these ju st exam ples of everyday prejudice? U ntil we vote out the present Washington administration, the attacks on minorities will continue. Let’s get behind one Democrat and get rid of George W. Bush. B ob A nders Largo, Fla. 9 9 9 I know that it is backlash, or at least some of it is! I unfortunately have contact with religious big ots— I was Kim into a family of them. My father belongs to the Oregon Citizens Alliance and ran as an OCA-hacked politician a few years back when Measure 13 was going on. The rest of my family is homophobic, only less intense about it. All they ever talk about is how “attacked” they feel by the “liberal, left-wing, socialist, homosexu al agenda.” They can feel a shift in our society, and it scares them to death. The scary thing is, they seem to support the lashing out at gays as a way to “protect" themselves and their rights as breeding, heterosexual, God-fearing folks. Scary, Isn’t it? I unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on how you kx>k at it—can see how the religious bigots really feel, and it is plain ugly, let me tell you. J ess B runelle Portland 9 9 • • • 1 think we might be in for more due to the recent things that have been happening around us. This seems to be bringing more atten tion to our cause and is going to upset more peo ple, and the only way they know how to react is how Christianity has taught them to—get rid of that which you don’t like. L arry G oodwin Portland 9 I 9 M ark E fimoff N o, I believe that two trends are playing out simultaneously. One is acceptance and the other is denial. Ultimately acceptance will prevail. In the meantime there will always he destructive people and groups of destructive people who are playing out their ill will. WcKxlbum • 9 9 A little bit of both. N eill F ishman R ichard W ilde Portland Portland Do you feel the legalization of sam e-sex m arriage in n e x t l î T I Ï Ï I Massachusetts will be a positive or negative step for the sexual minorities community? Will it expedite equal rights, or will it ensure passage of the anti-gay Federal M arriage Amendment? (P lease see related item mi Page 1.) Respond at www.justout.com. (D on't forget to include your nam e, city and daytime telephone number.) The best part of the whole Queersville experience, however, was knowing we were reaching closeted homos of all ages who never had the nerve to pick up a Just Out or anything remotely gay. From the letters and phone calls we received, it was clear we made •fir HALF-PRICE ROOM SPECIAL! (Nov I-March 18, Sun-Thun. exceptions apply.no holidays) <@ > Taste of Italy. Forget Olive Garden— here’s some real Italian beef! Superb new foto bk $30. ( © > Woof! How to train and care for your human dog. Now start humping my leg! $15. <@)77mmy. He’s just a kid new to the ways of the world. X-rated comix from Handjobs. $20. 3106 NE 64th • Portland, OR 97213 DOWNTOWN @ 927 SW OAK • 226-8141 • • feel the recent violent attacks on queers are violence inspired by President Bush and his administration’s public hateful, anti-gay propa ganda. I get the impression the Bush administra tion doesn’t even see us as human beings but as criminals or something less. I feel a lot of people see the president’s attitude toward homosexuality as a nod of approval to prejudice. President Bush is not with us in the fight for equality. 1 find it disturbing that religious values are being used as the basis for new anti-gay laws. We criticize Muslim countries for combining church and state, yet a similar movement is afoot here in America—allegedly the land of the free and home of the brave. The true heroes here are those risk ing life and limb fighting the battle for equality. a difference with our irreverence. H owie B ackjaix ) nutz Portlarul Continued on Page 6 SHAMROCK LODGETTES EVERY BOOK OF GAY EROTICA ALWAYS IN STOCK! ««>{5 O cen n fron t • L o g C ab in s • Room s Wood Firp filacps • Kitchpnpttps 5 R p au tifu l Acrps * 1 9 Llnitps • Ppts Yachats Oregon 800-845-5028 • 541-547-3312 www.shamrocklo<lgettes.coni à * ADVENTURES * m t o w m f>r * m tC M T r o m m PLom t Adventure Club for Women Activities Include: Hiking. Biking. Kayaking. 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