tuly 16.2004
Guide Dog
Gift Annuities
In c re a se y o u r in com e
AN D m a k e a m ea n in g fu l g i ß
to o u r d o g s a n d p u p p ie s
1ÉLJL
• Lock in a guaranteed
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B en efits when yo u donate
$ 1 0 , 0 0 0 FOR A GIFT ANNUITY
Age
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Annual Income*
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$ 670
$ 830
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Contact Judy Lawrence
at Guide Dogs for the Blind:
32901 SE Kelso Rd, Boring, OR 979009
(503) 668-2100 • jlawrence@guidedogs.com
Visit us for one of our monthly
public graduation ceremonies!
Find the dates online at
www.guidedogs.com
H ie last battle
To
the
E ditor :
hen conservatives took over the GOP in
* the early ’90s, they declared a cultural
war in name of Judeo-Christian tradition and
values. They admitted losing many battles, hut
they are now poised to fight what they call the
last battle of this war: gay marriage. They are
willing to force an amendment to our Constitu­
tion to prevent it, and they will do anything to
win this battle.
Unfortunately, it has been hard to tell these
people apart from our “friends” the Democrats. In
1994 Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage
Act because he believed in the sanctity of mar­
riage. In 2000 A1 Gore agreed with presidential
candidate George W. Bush that marriage should
he for straight people only because it was sacred.
In 2004 John Kerry, John Edwards, Hillary
Rodham Clinton, Howard Dean and others said
marriage shouldn’t he a civil right available to
gays and lesbians because of its sanctity. (Do the
top Democratic leaders really believe we are
impure, evil entities?) Kerry criticized Bush’s call
for the Federal Marriage Amendment because
he says it should he a state issue, hut Kerry has
also supported an amendment to his state’s con­
stitution banning gays from civil marriage. It’s
really hard to tell the difference.
Democrats are outraged because Republicans
are forcing them to go on the record about gay
marriage. Ten years ago Republicans did the
exact same thing with DOMA and many
Democrats voted for it. (Kerry voted against it.)
We already know Republicans hate us (or, as
they say, our “sin”) and want us hack (and
kx:ked) in the closet. We don’t know, however,
if Democrats don’t want to go on the record
because they don’t want to lose the votes of
“moderates” or because they agree with Republi­
cans that we are entitled to fewer rights than
n o ta b le s
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When an ordinary
Realtor simply
won’t do...
dimbatree.com
_
H ©
3144 SE Belmont
Portland, OR 97214
office: 503-238-7617
M
I
.s- a M i
i.
After 10 years of commitment, Terry
Clarke (left) and Ryan Duncan were married
March 5 at a friend’s home in Portland. After
a two-hour wait in line with their closest
friends, they rushed off to the Rev. Eric Tor-
rell’s home and were wed within 15 minutes.
Clarke manages two contemporary furni­
ture showrooms, P.H. Reed and P.H. Reed
Bedroom. Duncan works as a special educa­
tion instructional assistant for the Beaverton
School District.
“We were so happy and proud to be a part
of this moment in history,” the couple told
Ju st Out. “ It was a moment that none of us
will forget anytime soon. Thanks to all that
made this possible for us.”
D id you know Just Out
publishes free wedding
announcem ents ?
Subm it your story and photo
at www.justout.com!
straight people because the Bible says so. Person­
ally, I’d like to get their vote, on record, again.
The Democratic Party does have a better
record on gay issues than the GOP. But we have
been reminded that they are not our natural
electoral choice. Still, let’s consider the alterna­
tive: four more years of hkxxJy Crusades abroad
and greedy feudalism and ruthless Inquisition
within. (Yes, we have regressed a few centuries.)
Marriage is a basic civil right issue supported
by the notion of equality of the Constitution;
civil rights shouldn’t he up for debate. However,
gay marriage might he just the first civil and con­
stitutional right to go if this regime continues.
Many of us have been t(X ) indifferent to the
electoral pnx:ess. This has to change. We can­
not afford extreme liberal positions, we cannot
afford Ralph Nader, and we cannot afford in­
difference. We have to ensure that this adminis­
tration and its counterparts in Congress are
crushed in November.
And our vote is not enough. We need to he
active and get all votes we can get. And for that
we need to work together. We must join the
campaign to rid us of Bush. And we need Just
Out to work toward this goal.
F rank O ’N eill
Portland
An open letter
to Gordon Smith
To the E ditor :
s an openly gay, GcxJ-fearing man, I’d like
you to tell the rest of the Senate that 1 per­
sonally welcome any heterosexual married cou­
ple or family “that is without sin” to cast the
first constitutional amendment. Then please
tell the noisy hyp<x:rites to shut up and stop
pointing their hyfnxritical fingers at everyone
else and work a hit harder on their own families
and relationships.
Why did 1 choose “terrorism" as the topic for
this e-mail? Because that’s exactly what this so-
called Federal Marriage Amendment is: terror­
ism from religious fanatics against another group
of people— attacks from a group of people trying
to “terrorize" a group of people who they don’t
even know and have never met.
That is supposedly only one of the absurd
reasons the United States of America went to
war with two countries— to combat religious
fanatics who were imposing unjust and
unfounded demands on people. Why is it
acceptable to “liberate” some people suffering
from religious tyranny, when you and others are
so quick and willing to impose religious tyranny
on your own people?
We don’t need to worry about non-Ameri­
can terrorists trying to destroy our country— not
when hyp<x:risy and arrogance from within
America is doing such a gcxxJ job of it already.
The rest of the world just needs to he patient a
little longer and watch us self-destruct by turn­
ing against ourselves.
A
voted for a Republican by voting for Sen. Smith.
I feel bamboozled and made a fool of. I can only
say that 1 would try anything once, and as far as
voting Republican, once and once only is more
than enough.
F rank M arshall
Portland
Control the population
To the E ditor :
or this year’s World Population Day on
July 11, it is imperative that we recognize
the critical connection between population and
family planning.
As our world population soars beyond 6.4
billion people, many women around the world
are faced with few choices regarding their repro­
ductive lives. A Mother’s Promise campaign,
along with one of its co-sponsors, Population
Connection, works to strengthen the connec­
tion between population and family planning.
A decade ago, the nations of the world—
including the United States— gathered in
Cairo, Egypt, to make a promise to mothers
around the world: that they would find solutions
to problems faced by millions in ptxir countries
trying to make a better life for their children.
They drafted the Cairo Program of Action, a
road map to help nations address a broad range
of issues, from women’s health and girls’ educa­
tion to environmental protection and economic
security— issues cmcial to safeguarding the lives
of people everywhere.
As stated in the activist kit for A Mother’s
Promise: “The ultimate shape of global popula­
tion will depend on the availability of informa­
tion, access to family planning services and the
individual decisions of every person on earth.
Those cho es will depend in part on whether
nations fulfill their commitments to the Inter­
national Conference on Population and Devel­
opment Program of Action.”
Ten years later, the problems addressed in the
Program of Action are still crucial, hut we have
not met our promise to face them. I am writing
in honor of World Population Day to urge con­
tinued support of A Mother’s Promise campaign.
Joining the campaign is easy. Visit www.amoth-
erspromise.org and sign the petition. And then
tell someone else to do the same. Most impor­
tantly, tell your congressperson that you believe
in the promise of Cairo and that if women and
girls and families are going to be healthy and
strong, we as a nation must keep our promise to
help them have a better life.
Show the world that we know we are part­
ners in the care of all people and our planet.
A great nation keeps its promises.
F
A lbert K aufman
Portland
Legal eagles
To the E ditor :
K urt D onald K oester
Portland
Fool me once...
To t h e
E d it o r :
t was just announced on the evening news
how our two senators will he voting on the
so-called defense of marriage initiative. Ron
Wyden, Democrat, will vote no. Gordon Smith,
Republican, will vote yes.
Sen. Smith reached out to the gay commu­
nity during his last re-election campaign in what
can now be seen as a carefully contrived play for
the gay vote. When it came right down to it, he
voted the party line.
It particularly hurts as I for the first time ever
I
ast fall, we turned to the Just Out pages to
t. find an attorney. We found David W.
Owens, P.C. & AsstKiates, Attorneys at Law.
We want your readers to know that Mr.
Owens and his staff are super. They are friendly,
respectful, highly competent and sensitive to
our special needs and provide the highest-
quality service. They provided various legal ser­
vices for us— some quite complicated— expedi­
tiously as we were pressed to move to the Unit­
ed Kingdom for a while. We enthusiastically
endorse your readers to consider contacting this
firm when legal issues arise.
M ichael F armiloe
P hillip C lifford
Henstead, Suffolk, United Kingdom