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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2005)
may 6-2005’ JttSt OUtg nTTTTTOETïlne ws briefs P owerful T estimony for E quality the Oregon Revised Statute to include sexual orientation and gender identity wherever the law prohibits discrimination against people based on race, class, creed, color, gender, etc. Thus it would bring all of Oregon’s laws in line with a nondiscrimination policy mirroring what the states largest employers, Nike and Intel, already have codified in their policies, and what some communities in Oregon (such as Portland and Bend) have codified in their kx:al law. Oregon’s first lady, Mary Oberst, made her first appearance before lawmakers to testify in favor of the bill. “In effect, without Senate Bill 1000, we are telling these citizens that they can give but not receive,” she said. “They can give Ore gon their tax dollars, they can give Ore gon their votes...but they cannot depend on receiving equal treatment.” Although speak ers in support far out numbered speakers in opposition, the testimony from those opposed was vitri olic. If there was any doubt in the minds of the assembled that homophobia is alive and well (and well spoken) it was dis pelled. Just Out will pro From left, Liz Cahil and Diane Groff, both teachers from Milton- vide ongoing cover Freewater, join Roey Thorpe of Basic Rights Oregon in testifying in age of the legislative favor of Senate Bill 1000. More than 350 supporters of Senate Bill 1000 gathered May 4 in Salem, and many stayed until midnight in order to give testimony before the committee chaired by Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown. • The bill that is before the Democrat-con trolled chamber has two parts. The first would extend to same-sex couples the same rights under civil unions that married couples get through marriage. The second would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in matters of employment, hous ing and public accommixlation. The second provision of the law would affect progress of SB 1000. To read the text of the dix:- ument, visit www.leg.state.or.us. C ascade AIDS P roject N ets $600,000 at A ri for L ife In a spectacular show of support from the art and philanthropic communities, Art for Life netted $600,000 April 9, setting a new record for H1V/A1DS fund raising in Oregon. The event raised $395,000 in 2004, and Cascade AIDS Project had budgeted to raise $415,000 this year. The event could not have been so successful if it weren’t for co-chairwomen Mary O’Connor and Kathleen Lewis, Andy Davis and the entire Art for Life steering committee. In addition, adulation is due to honorary chairmen Craig Hartzman and Jim John, producing sponsor Howard Hedinger, contributing artists and gal leries, corporate sponsors and the events staff team led by Roma Peyser. Executive director Thomas Bruner noted: “Art for Life ’05 was our greatest success because it brought over 2,000 people—from beautiful drag queens to handsome guys and gals to hun dreds of dedicated art lovers—together to sup port the work that CAP does every day to pre vent H1V/AIDS and to support those who are affected by the epidemic. We couldn’t be more thrilled, because that support is absolutely cru cial to underwrite such key activities as our men’s program and the HIV/A1DS hot line.” C areer M oves : O regonian L ands NPR F ellowship University of Oregon senior journalism stu dent Doug Hopper became the envy of his peers when he scored a Kroc Fellowship with Nation al Public Radio. He was one of three selected from 300 appli cants. When asked how he stixxl out from the competition, Hopper gandered it might be his sexuality. “They thought my queer experience was actually an advantage because of the perspective it’s afforded me. 1 think it says something about the values at NPR,” said Hopper. This realization was reinforced when Hopper volunteered for a photography project in Kenya, documenting the humanitarian work of Watoto Wa Dunia, a nonprofit focused on feeding the hungry, addressing AIDS and creating a com munity leadership structure. “My experience being queer has motivated me to use the media to create space for people to be heard. Being queer and feeling silenced and marginalized growing up in the Midwest inspired me in some ways to do the work 1 did in Kenya. The people I met there were classic examples of marginalization,” he said. Hopper’s experience in Kenya, combined with a stint as a photojoumalist with Just Out, shaped his passion for communication. Hopper is among the inaugural fellows. The program was created recently after a sizable donation to NPR from Joan Kroc. “It’s pretty extraordinary to even be able to apply for such a fellowship. 1 feel really lucky we’ll be setting a stage, and NPR will kx>k to our successes as a measurement of the fellowship,” he said. The fellowship will afford Hopper opportu nities to work in all aspects of public radio jour nalism—writing, reporting, pnxJucing and edit ing, for both radio and the Web. He will begin working Aug. 15 for one year at the NPR head- Continued on Page 10 Esquire Motors, Inc. Complete Foreign < Car Repair & Service • Quality Services Guaranteed • Servlmi Dowrtown Portland Sime 1468 503.226.6269 www.esauiremotors.com 1853 SW Jefferson • Portland LINNTON FEED & SEED NOT THE MALL C°JTrolect t We carry multi-pure water systems 10920 NW St. Helens Rd Portland, OR 97231 Phone: 503.286.1291 When you buy or sell a home with me, you'll know your dollars are helping support a greater cause. 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