4 J U S t O U t • april 2 . 2004
r r m
i o
u t
absolutely fantastic, the service was excellent, and
the ambiance was both elegant and homey. The
experience was truly one that fit the occasion.
: To the E ditor :
To the E ditor :
Our waiter, Lon, was especially wonderful.
his
is
a
copy
o
f
a
letter
1
sent
to
The
t seems that Portland has been thrust into the
At one point during dinner he came hy to chat
Oregonian:
firestorm, not hy an angry angel seeking jus
for
a minute, and we intrtxluced ourselves. Lit
I
receive
the
daily
and
Sunday
papers.
After
tice or even a malevolent devil, hut hy Christian
tle did we know that his goal was to find out our
right homophobes and their agendas. All of reading your story asking for the recall of the
names. At the end of our meal, he brought us a
Multnomah
County
commissioners
because
of
,
their uproar and indignation is very perplexing
beautiful (and delicious) candlelit dessert with
the same-sex marriage issue, I have decided to
as I attempt to understand why anyone would he
“Congratulations,
Anne and Tamara” written
end
my
subscription
to
your
paper.
so opposed to the life partner another chooses—
in chocolate syrup around the edge of the plate.
As a gay man who just received a marriage
especially if you aren’t a close friend or family
license, I will not spend my money on a news
We had never been to the Chameleon
member.
before, hut we will definitely go back. Our din
Complete strangers are upset at whom com paper that puts me in a category that is less than
ing experience nourished us in both Ixxly and
plete strangers choose to marry. O f course, their someone else. Please send my final hill to me
and STO P sending the paper. Thank you.
soul. Thank you, Chameleon staff and guests,
argument is that same-sex marriage somehow
for embracing us as though we were dear friends.
undermines opposite-sex marriage. That one
K elly O’S haughnessy
just doesn’t stick with me. How my marriage
T amara O lcott
Portland
affects anyone other than whom 1 am married
Portland
to (and perhaps our immediate families) leaves
me scratching my head every time 1 hear it.
When that argument fails, out comes the
To the E ditor :
Bible and the timeworn verses hateful people
am a volunteer with Love Makes a Family,
TO THE EDITOR:
love to spew. They forgo the loving verses and
and I had the honor of serving coffee, treats
chcxise (or reinterpret) the verses that “support”
t’s March 13, and we have scheduled a I p.m.
and
flowers
to
many
couples
getting
their
mar
wedding
at Metropolitan Community
their argument that homosexuals are a scourge
riage licenses on those first few exciting days in Church of Portland. It’s 12:15, we are in Beaver
on society and cause perfectly normal straight
people to divorce for no apparent reason!
Portland. The weather wasn’t the best, hut
ton and realize it would he nice to have some
everyone’s spirits were so high, and the positive
I am finding that there is just no reasoning
flowers for Cynthia to carry.
with those who have nothing hut hate in their energy and sense of “community” was so strong.
We stop into the Enchanted Florist at
hearts— so I stopped going that route. But 1 will
On March 5 I spent almost four hours at the
6155 S.W. Murray Blvd. and start Itxiking
do this: On behalf of the board of Pride North busy intersection of Southeast Hawthorne
around. The owner approaches Dawn and says,
west, I wish to shout out a rousing TH A NK
Boulevard and Grand Avenue with a large rain “So, you’re going to do it?!” Dawn tells her that
YOU! to the four Multnomah County commis bow pride flag. Vehicles constantly slowed down
we are and that Cynthia needs something to
sioners who have put everything on the line for
to honk their horns, give us thumbs tip and
carry down the aisle.
me and everyone like me. We appreciate the
shout, “Ya-HOOOO!” Straight ally families
The owner grabs a large packed rose bouquet
courage it must have taken to follow the path of stopped traffic because their children wanted to
from a vase, takes them into the hack, wraps
inclusion and equality. As this storm rages on,
them with a ribbon and creates a beautiful bou
give us treats and friendship bracelets.
know that Pride Northwest, the people of Mult
quet of pink and red roses. She also creates a
I just can’t begin to express how incredibly
nomah County and those watching in other
boutonniere for Dawn while we wait. When all
uplifting and encouraging this experience has
cities, counties and states, even around the
is done, she announces that she doesn’t want
been. I have personally witnessed how Kith the
world, applaud you and are behind you. We will
gay and straight communities have come togeth any reimbursement—she’s just happy for us!
all ensure that it is not in vain.
We wanted the community to know that the
er to show support for the couples getting their
The time had long passed that this fight was ’ licenses and for the marriages that happened
Enchanted Florist in Beaverton supports us and
due, hut you brave women stepped up to the
ask that you consider her business when you
right there in front of the Multnomah Building.
plate, and now it is time to reconcile what true
1 haven’t cried that many tears of joy in my have floral needs. She was incredibly gracious
diversity and citizenship mean in this country.
and supportive, and we thank her for helping
entire life, hut then I always cry at weddings.
We can’t continue to call ourselves the land of
My message is to N O T let the negative mes make our special day even more beautiful!
the free and the home of the brave otherwise.
sages against us bring you down or tear our com
C ynthia K ulow
munity apart. We need to stick together as the
T obin B ritton
D awn H utt
“family” we are, and we must remember there
Pride Northwest President
Beaverton
really are a LOT of people out there supporting
and nxiting for us. Congratulations everyone, j
! and best wishes to live “happily ever after” !
The perfect storm
Ju st say no to The O
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Flower power
I
Piece off cake
K urt K oester
To the E ditor :
To
Portland
I
Fantastic ffeast
A
the E ditor :
am ashamed of the Christian Coalition
of Oregon for being the primary organizers
o f the recall of the Multnomah County
commissioners.
The coalition is upset because this change
was done behind closed d(x>rs, and it feels moral
ly against this issue. The actions of our county
commissioners did nothing to affect the lives of
these people in any way, shape or form. This is
no reason to recall any of our commissioners.
If the coalition is unhappy with the perform
ance of our commissioners, then it should find
its own viable candidate to nin against them in
the next election. Not to mention spending
$300,000 or more on a special recall election—
what a waste of my (our) tax dollars.
Coalition members should focus their collec
tive efforts on trying to solve the really important
issues facing our community— i.e., the growing
number of people going hungry in Oregon, the
homeless problem in Portland, cxir rising crime
rate, the plight of our seniors and disabled people
who are going without due to Oregon’s budget
crisis, people living with AIDS or HIV, to name
a few. Where is their compassion and sensibility?
D avid W. H artsook
Portland
To the E ditor :
M
y partner and 1 got married last month, and
laughed and cried and marveled as we felt
the impact of the experience. I’ve been describ
ing it to everyone 1 know. In this letter, however,
I’d like to talk about Chameleon Restaurant and
how its staff and customers generously and
delightfully helped us mark the occasion.
To celebrate the day of our marriage, we want
ed to go out to a special restaurant. We decided to
try the Chameleon upon the recommendation of
gcxxl friends. They had told us the food was excel
lent, hut little did we expect that our dining expe
rience would turn out to he magical.
The staff and customers at the Chameleon
made our dinner into an event to remember.
When we sat down we were greeted hy our wait
er asking, “How are you.7” and we responded
with, “We just got married!” For the next 2 1/2
hours we found ourselves surrounded hy friendly
people congratulating us and celebrating with
us. One couple came up to us to offer their warm
wishes, another bought us a round of drinks, and
a third offered to buy us dessert.
Everything was perfect— the food was
s many o f us rush out to get married
while we can, let us remember to take
our wedding-related business to individuals
who have supported us over the years, regard
less of our legal Status. Case in point: 1 just
learned of dear friends who are getting mar
ried and ordered a cake from one o f Portland’s
well-known bakeries— one that has repeated
ly denied requests for donations for “A Class
A ct,” the annual springtime benefit for the
Bill & Ann Shepherd Legal Scholarship Fund
of Equity Foundation.
Three bakeries have donated thousands of
dollars’ worth of world-class pastries to us over
the decade we have been prcxlucing this benefit.
They are, in alphabetical order, Holiday Essence
Quality Cake Shop, Joseph’s Dessert Gimpany
and Piece of Cake. These businesses are either
gay-owned or have strong ties to (xir community.
I can honestly say that I have made countless
A N D REPEATED phone calls to every other
bakery in town to donate to us, and they have,
just as repeatedly, turned us down. So, please,
everyone— let us eat wedding cake, but let us eat
one that has been made by hands that have
been supporting us for years.
S usie S hepherd
Portland