march 5. 2004 » ,
SfMSout
Continued from Page 5
Today a barrier to true justice has been
removed. A barrier removed tor one person is
a barrier removed for us all.”
L inda J. B lomberg
La Grande
Pursue
To the E ditor :
hinking l had escaped the caudillismo and
the dictatorships of Latin Am erica, I
woke up to the news that un-President Bush
has begun a campaign to amend the C on sti
tution in defense of the mythic and founda
tional heterosexual union. In the past,
amendments to the Constitution have served
to broaden human rights and help the dis
enfranchised. This call to arms against queer
Americans will instead infringe upon the
human rights of our friends, our loved ones
and our families. With the auspices o f this
administration, the terror of civil injustice
will he institutionalized yet again.
I urge your readers to contact our local and
national candidates and Congress to halt this
process. Instead of highlighting queer unions,
the coming elections should he about the state
of the union, including the war, the economy,
health coverage, Social Security and education.
I hope we are discerning enough to know that
the call to arms against queers is a ploy to dis
tract voters from the issues of the day and to
empower the already homophobic perverse right
and its minion of voters.
At this juncture in our history, resurrect
ing the Declaration of Independence seems
critical as we begin to think about changing
our governing principles: “T hat whenever
any form of government becomes destructive
of these ends [life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness], it is the right of the people to alter
or to abolish it, and to institute new govern
ment, laying its foundation on such principles
and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their
safety and happiness.”
O scar F ernandez
Portland
No limits on love
To the E ditor :
N
o-talent pop princess Britney Spears
recently celebrated her “out-of-control
joke” wedding for about 48 hours before having
it simply annulled. And yet I, as a gay man, can
not share in the basic rights of celebrating my
love with my partner.
Marriage is about two people in love. I
should have the equal right to celebrate my
commitment to my partner.
If President Bush want to steal this right
away from me with a constitutional amend
ment, then they should add that anyone who
is gay or lesbian never has to pay taxes again.
With his efforts to treat me differently just
because of who I am meant to he with, he is
proving again he is not a president for all
Americans.
I am a proud, respectful, taxpaying gay man.
I am going to work with all my energy to have
the same basic rights as anyone else.
For those who claim marriage should he
legally defined as being between a man and a
woman, I would like them to first define what
love is. If anyone can convince me that what
I feel for my soul mate is not love, then I will
gladly give up my efforts to share the same
basic rights that many straight married cou
ples titke for granted. But since that is impos
sible, with as much passion as I hold in my
devotion to the one who holds my heart, I will
work with all my energy to ensure I am
allowed the same rights and benefits as a
“straight” married couple.
Because I am so vocal about what I believe,
I have been told I am shoving my beliefs onto
people. I apologize to those who cannot
understand that all I am seeking is to he treat
ed with the same human respect as anyone
else who has the courage and faith to love.
How can wanting to commit your life to
someone he a sin?
Being gay is not a lifestyle. A lifestyle is
something you can change or alter, like your
religious beliefs or being narrow-minded. Just
like my black or Asian friends, I was horn gay. I
do not love my partner because of our sex life;
that is no one’s business. I am faithful to my
partner because his heart blends with mine. Our
experiences have created a bond that is
unbreakable.
We should move away from the term “same-
sex marriage,” because it is not about sex. A
same-gender marriage is about finding that per
son with whom you see the future and you share
the truth with.
If I am to he judged, he it not for who I love
hut for my lack of effort in not protecting my
own basic human rights and the rights for all
that G od created. I have great pity for those
who use their energy in exploring ways to
place limits on the meaning of love, instead of
using their own passions to celebrate and
acknowledge that love is alive.
R ic B errong
Portland
Aii ounce off prevention
To the E ditor :
R
egarding a piece in the Feb. 20 issue of Just
Out, “L.A. Officials Ordered to Regulate
Bathhouses,” I wanted to make a clarification.
Once again, I feel as though I have been
misrepresented.
I stand behind my quote, and as I leave my
position here at Cascade A ID S Project, I can
feel free to say that prevention in Portland has
hit a low point. Not entirely due to C A P ’s
efforts, hut also due to a general apathy and lack
of interest on the part of the community.
I resigned my position because I will soon get
my real estate license, and not in any way due to
the “brouhaha” around the Just Out articles. I
wanted to make that clear, as I feel that the way
it was mentioned in the Just Out article indirectly
linked my leaving to the bathhouse issue.
I believe that, in my almost three years at CAP,
they (and Thomas Bruner) have been scapegoats
for a lot of issues around HIV in Portland. The
outreach and prevention department can only do
as good a job as the community allows it to— and
right now, the community is so far removed from
healthy sexual norms that 1 find it very difficult to
continue to work in HIV prevention.
I wish C A P the best in the future, hut this
time as your average gay Portland joe. Thanks.
P hilip K nowlton
Beaverton
The 15th Annual G LA A D Media Awa
and the First
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Vote for your favorite out image of 2003!
And register to win
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B i g 1* 1*
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When you buy or sell a home with me, you'll know your dollars
are helping support a greater cause. I contribute at least 10% of
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^
Millynn Jam es
'W f ®
* ' •d w A gtfV /A ,'/':
Broker. Graduate Realtor Institute
ABR: Accredited Buyer's Representative
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