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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2004)
february 20. 2004 rTîïïTTTÏÏT'RTïnewsbrie/s P ortlanders R ally for M arriage E quality D. Fulps/George Kettner Herzog-Meier 503-644-912 1 »cars @ herzogmeier.com Drivers wanted Health Care You Can Trust M on. thru Sat. & evening appointments O C O M Acupuncture & Herbal Clinic Oregon College o f Oriental M edicine Appointments: 503-253-3343 ext. 550 w w w .o c o m .e d u 10541 SE Cherry Blossom Dr., Portland (by Mall 205) Serving M id-County Sin ce 1968 International 30 Years C o llisio n •( !® Satisfied Customers Repah^ar gift certificates available breast forms, bras & more! • Cinchers • Gaffs • Padded Panties trans friendly susan johnson owner/fitter 2041 ne Burnside, gresham 501/491-5110 ~ www.shopitsme.com fear lo n e lin e s s druqs * No Shop Tries Harder To Make The Repair Process Easier For Its Customers" ove Makes a Family held its sixth annual Freedom to Marry Day Celebration on Feb. 12 at Portland City Hall. T he event was one of dozens held nationwide to call atten tion to the growing movement for marriage equality. Among the speakers was attorney Rick Fer nandez, chairman of the American Friends Services Committee’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual &. Transgender Issues Program, who recently cele brated his 18th anniversary with partner Henry Miller. He had strong words for anti-gay Massa chusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. “It’s shameful to see the governor of Massa chusetts— who is a Monnon and who should know hetter, since his own church was forced to give up its particular religious beliefs on marriage as a result of the hostile oppression of the major ity hack in the 1800s— to see him campaigning so forcefully in defiance of his own Supreme Court’s clear decision on marriage,” Fernandez said. “He, like |Alahama’s] George Wallace before him, will he remembered in shame as the governor whit stixxl at the dixirway of the schixilhouse, denying access to those of his citi zens who he saw as less equal than others.” A ll Makes “The Florida law was passed to punish gay people, hut the sad, harsh reality is that it harms the 4,800 children who are languishing in Florida’s foster care system and waiting to he adopted into permanent, loving homes,” said Howard Sim on, A C L U o f Florida execu tive director. “While Florida claims the law is justified because children should he with mar ried mothers and fathers, these children don’t have any permanent family. For a court to accept this justification flies in the face of our Constitution.” The A C LU brought the lawsuit in 1998 on behalf of four gay men who wanted to adopt in Florida hut were preventing from doing so by the adoption ban. The law was passed 27 years ago in response to Anita Bryant’s infamous anti gay campaign. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the 11 th Circuit issued a decision upholding the law Jan. 29. While the state will not let gay people adopt, it does rely on gay people to be foster parents. Am ong the plaintiffs in the case are Portlanders Steven Lofton and Roger Croteau, who are raising five children, includ ing three foster kids from Florida. Although the Florida children— two 16-year-olds and a 12-year-old— have never known any other family, the couple cannot adopt them because of the anti-gay law. • A ll M odels R e c o m m e n d e d B y A ll M a jo r In s u r a n c e C o m p a n ie s I n s u r a n c e C la im A s s i s t a n c e C ourt A sked to R econsider F lorida A doption D ecision ttomeys have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta to reconsider its recent ruling upholding a Florida law that excludes gay people from adopting. “The appeals court completely mis understood the Supreme Court’s ruling in Lawrence vs. Texas, which says that states can no longer make up reasons to discriminate against gay people,” said Matt Coles, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. “Sexual orientation has nothing to do with a person’s ability to parent, and this law has nothing to do with child wel fare. For the sake of the thousands of children in Florida in need of a home, we hope the court will reconsider.” In a motion filed Feh. 18, the court was asked to reconsider the ruling. The three-judge panel that issued the decision could agree to reconsider the case, the full court could decide to do so, or the court could decline to rehear the case at all. Y outh M obilize A gainst HIV/AIDS ore than 600 people came to Portland from as far away as Alaska and Puerto R ico for the 11th annual Ryan W hite National Youth Conference on HIV and A ID S. The gathering, which was held from Feh. 13 to 16 at the Hilton Hotel, consisted of numer ous institutes, workshops and panels aimed at developing and supporting youth leadership to defeat the epidemic. Organizers also set up a col orful “activism rix>m" where youth could write letters to Congress, create art and read informa tion posted on the walls: • “ 51 percent of all new cases are among people younger than 25.” • “Many sexually experienced teens have not been tested for HIV, so the actual number of poz youth is considered to he much higher than the reported number.” • “D>n’t preach to the choir...chill with Republicans, schmmzc with frat hoys, drink with N A SC A R dads.” The closing keynote speaker was U.S. Sen. B ta lK n c È Rick Fernandez (left) and Bonnie Tinker speak up for marriage equality Feb. 12 at Portland City Hall
