nTiTînTTOnTïnewsbriefs
W o r k s h o p S trate gize s
o n M arriage E q u a l it y
ove Makes a Family, a nonprofit agency that
supports queer parents, is organizing a work-
shop to help people practice nonviolent com
munication and public speaking skills on the
subject of same-sex marriage.
“Engagement! Strategies for Talking About
Same-Sex Marriage" will he held from 10 a.m. to
3 pan. Jan. 17 at Ainsworth United Church of
Christ, 2941 N.E. Ainsworth St. Attendees will
hear inspirational stories from friends, families and
even church officials who have changed their
minds and now support full marriage equality.
T he workshop will help people talk to their
relatives, co-workers, neighbors and classmates
about the freedom to marry and practice how to
conduct this dialogue in a way that transforms
the community. Using a process created for
grassrixits education during Oregon’s numerous
anti-gay ballot measure campaigns, leaders will
explain how to respond to difficult questions
and calmly discuss the issue with those who
adamantly believe that marriage only should he
between a man and a woman.
Workshop organizers named several reasons
why same-sex marriage will he a hot topic in 2004:
• Massachusetts will make same-sex mar
riage available by May.
• President Bush has hinted at support for a
federal constitutional amendment limiting the
special rights of marriage to heterosexual couples.
• Many gay and lesbian couples have already
gone to Canada to he married and will he
demanding recognition of those unions in the
U nited States.
• Some churches and synagogues already
provide spiritual marriage celebrations for same-
public on hate crimes and to achieve gay and
lesbian equality.
“Our mission is to educate people and replace
hate with understanding, acceptance and compas
sion," she says. “1 feel Matthew with me every day,
or I would not be able to do this. We just hope
we’re doing what he would want us to do. We real
ize that we must use the voice his death has given
us. 1 realize that what I can try and accomplish is
to make people aware. We get so complacent in
our lives that we forget not everyone is safe, and
frequently it is our children who aren’t safe."
Her talk, sponsored by Students Organized
for Activities, is free and open to the public, yet
a ticket is required to attend the event. A limit
ed number of tickets are available through the
Lewis & Clark College Btxikstore.
For more information call 503-768-7122.
HRC R allies S u p p o r t
Judy Shepard joined U .S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., in February 2001 for the Oregon Hate
Crimes Conference
sex couples. These congregations believe all
couples should have access to the full rights,
responsibilities and obligations of civil marriage.
for
Jan. 22 in Agnes Flanagan Chapel at Lewis &
Clark College, 0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road.
M atthew Shepard, a gay U niversity of
Wyoming student, was savagely attacked Oct. 6,
For more information amtact Cecil Prescod at
1998, after two men lured him from a bar, drove
503-228-3892 or cecillyresc(xl@hotmail.com.
him to a remote field, beat him with the butt of
a gun, tied him to a fence and left him to die in
near-freezing temperatures outside Laramie, 30
miles northwest of Cheyenne. He passed away
J udy S h e p a rd t o S peak
six days later at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colo.
A b o u t C o m b a t in g H ate
In December 1998, Judy Shepard and her
udy Shepard will speak about the life and
husband, Dennis, started the Matthew Shepard
legacy of her son Matthew and on the lessons
Foundation. She serves as the organization’s
of her ordeal during a presentation 7:30 p.m. executive director and works to educate the
J
S m i t h L e g i s l a t io n
he Hum an Rights Campaign is asking
members to urge their congressional repre
sentatives to support an early HIV treatment bill
sponsored by U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore.
The Early Treatment for HIV A ct provides
states with the option to cover low-income
HIV-infected people through the Medicaid pro
gram. A Senate version of the bill was intro
duced last year, and a House version will be
introduced soon.
Discrimination, lifetime coverage limits and
other practices have served to deny private
health care coverage to people living with
T
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