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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2004)
8 J U S t O U t ' October 1.2004 D [ 1 1 ; 11 : l VI inewsbriefs HOYT STREET Winter '04 completion date. Chic urban sophistication meets distinctive Northwest Portland charm. One of the many children who participated in A lD SW alk04 holds a sign for loved ones $3 6 5 .0 0 0 - $6 7 5 ,0 0 0 Continued from Page 7 or her foreign-bom partner for U.S. residency. Binational same-sex couples have no such legal protection. The MacNaughton Group at Realty Trust I daho C ourt R ules A gainst G ay D ad 5 0 3 .2 9 4 .1 1 0 1 R ealty T rust www.hoytcondos.com ■■“ D avid W. O wens ■■■ P.C. & ASSOCIATES serving the community since 1975 A ttorneys at L aw Serving Oregon & Washington 503 224°3100 ° ♦ FAMILY LAW ❖ WILLS & TRUSTS • Probate & Trusts • Conservatorships & Guardianships • A dvance Directives • Dom estic Partnerships • Formation & Dissolution • A doptions ❖ • Corporations, Partnerships, LLCs & LLPs • Com m ercial Collections of large accounts ♦ BANKRUPTCY ♦ REAL ESTATE • Home Purchase Reviews • Advising Businesses & Individuals SOCIAL SECURITY <• BUSINESS FORMATION & LITIGATION • Divorce & Visitation ❖ TAX ISSUES & APPEALS w w w o w en s-law co m « 1 0 1 SW M AIN , SUITE 700 • Portland, O regon 97204 • Parking V alid ated A Elise Campbell, GRi, abr It's that Sim ple! Home Selling Tip # 2 Call Today! 503 - 307-1353 EliseC@CompassRealty.com www.EliseCampbell.com Set the right mood for buying. Open the doors between rooms, turn on all the lights, raise all the shades and turn on soothing music to give your home an inviting feeling. For more tips on getting your home ready to sell, please give me a call. he Idaho Supreme Court ruled last month that courts in the state cannot base child custody decisions on a parent’s sexual orienta tion, but denied visitation rights to a gay father. It was the high court’s first decision involving a gay or lesbian parent. Writing for the majority, C h ief Justice Linda Copple Trout stated that a parent’s sex ual orientation “cannot he the basis for award ing or removing custody.” She continued, “Only when the parent’s sexual orientation is shown to cause harm to the child, such that the child’s best interests are not served, should sexual orientation he a factor in determining custody.” The court also ruled that custody decisions must consider the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence vs. Texas, which held that same-sex couples have a constitutionally pro tected right to enter relationships. However, the Idaho court denied a petition from gay father Theron McGriff, who sought joint custody of his two children. McGriff, whose wife left him in 1997, shared custody of the children until his former wife petitioned for sole custody, after she learned that McGriff had become involved with another man. A trial court granted McGriff’s former wife full custody of the couple’s children in 2002, and ruled that Theron could not visit his children if his partner lived with him. The Idaho Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s decisions, ruling that the lower court based its decision on factors other than sexual orientation, such as McGriff’s alleged inability to communicate with his former wife and ten- siim between his partner and his former wife. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Wayne L. Kidwcll stated that McGriff’s sexual orientation “was wrongfully taken into consideration by the lower court. This should not he the law in Idaho and is undesirable public policy.” Kidwell wrote, “If Theron’s sexual orienta tion is not a factor, it is disingenuous that Theron may only exercise his visitation rights if he does not live with his male partner." The California-based National Center for Lesbian Rights provided assistance to M cGriff’s attorneys. T CROUP. 1ST “We applaud the court’s holding that sexual orientation should not be a factor in child cus tody, an unprecedented and enormously impor tant ruling in the state of Idaho,” said Kate Kendall, the center’s executive director. "Never theless, we are distressed that this important principle was not applied in this case. The fac tual record did not support denial of custody to Theron McGriff, and it is clear, as Justice Kid- well noted, that the lower court decision was based on Theron’s sexual orientation. By failing to correct this injustice, the court has allowed the children in this case to suffer by being deprived of contact with a loving and devoted father.” AIDSW alk 04 R aises R ecord A mount his year’s AIDSW alk raised a record $260,000 for C ascade A ID S Project, according to C A P ’s special events manager, Roma Peyser. About 8,000 people participated in the five- kilometer walk Sept. 26 at Pioneer Courthouse Square. T hat’s about double the number of peo ple who walked last year, Peyser said. Although the amount of money raised fell short of C A P ’s goal of $280,000, Peyser said it’s still a 13 percent increase from last year. “We were going for a pretty hefty increase, so we’re thrilled.” Participants in AIDSW alk03 raised about $230,000, she said. New to this year’s walk was the Take-Action Room, which displayed a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Participants could also make buttons, cre ate banners, view H IV /A ID S media and con tact state and local politicians. T he tent was run by C A P ’s Teen to Teen program, made up of high school students who do peer preven tion education. All of the money raised supports local out reach programs and services provided hy CAP. Now in its 18th year, the AIDSW alk has raised more than $2 million to date. T L atino Q ueer C onference P lanned for S eattle eaders in the Latino queer community are -✓ planning a dialogue on the closing of the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Traasgendcr Organization, the only queer Lati no group in the United States, and focusing on the next steps at several events around the country. I
