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.
Volleyball, Snowshoeing,
and a lot more
C all Nikki Becker, owner
E ast Bank Commerce Center
1001 SE Water Ste 220
503-233-4567
» w missfitadventures com