iustnrn
newsmagazine
the in publication for the out population
Founded 1983 • Jay Brown and Renée LaChance
A House divided
Vol. 22 No. 18
Speaker Karen Minnis is serving herself, not her state
t’s a warm and sunny morning, the first in some time. As 1 drive
down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 1 notice Latinas minister­
ing to the day workers who cluster on the corners and streets of our
inner Northeast neighhorhixx!, waiting and hoping for employment
opportunities. The women stand out; they’re well-dressed, overdressed,
one in a long velvet skirt, holding a Bible flat and outright in her open
palm. Tdie men appear respectful yet disinterested at the same time.
They can listen, they can walk away, they can share their own views.
These men and women, in this street forum, they are on equal ground.
Drive 45 miles south to Salem and you’ll find another woman
involved in her own unique form of personal political ministry. This
one, however, is an elected official, and her forum is the Oregon House,
where she is attempting to restrict the equality of her constituency.
Through manipulation and abuse of authority, Speaker Karen Minnis,
R-Wixxl Village, has vowed that Senate Bill 1000 will not come to a
vote in her chamber this session. Openly vowing to stall the bill, she
has gone to the extreme measure of closing down the House for two
three-day periods, allowing the work of our paid elected officials to go
undone.
With many detractors questioning her motives and abilities,
including those on the political encyclopedia Web site
dKospedia.com, where Minnis is reported to be “viewed by many as
being emotionally unstable,” the speaker absolutely has to be brought
back under control. She and her staff must clearly receive the message
that her job is to serve at the will of the people. And it is the will of
the people of Oregon that this bill be brought before rhe House. You
must call her office, 503-986-1200, where a staffer will acknowledge
that he or she appreciates your call. And then you call again. The
2005 legislative session is winding to a close; we must not allow these
stalling tactics to be successfill.
I
homas Bruner, executive director of Cascade AIDS Project, will
not be a candidate for rhe Multnomah County Commission seat
held by Serena Cruz. In an e-mail sent July 8 to Cruz, and copied to
friends and supporters, Bniner acknowledged that he would indeed be a
great candidate for the seat, a candidate who would run a top-notch
campaign and do a bang-up job if elected. But, he continued, “I don’t
want to run for office for the next 18 months of my life.” With the clos­
ing thought that perhaps one day he’ll consider a run at an elected posi­
tion, Bruner admits that, for now, “1’11 leave that to folks with more fire
in their belly for electoral politics.”
Cruz faces tenn limits for her position and is not eligible to run
again. She previously announced that she will not challenge Multno­
T
July 15,2005
FEATURE
mah County Chair Diane Linn for that position.
Is there another person in the sexual minorities community who
might step up and nin for this office or, for that matter, any other? With
the 2006 midterm election on the horizon, who can we groom and sup­
port for elective office, be it a county, city or statewide position? Who
does have the “fire in their belly"? Which progressive candidate will
step up to replace Karen Minnis and those like her who serve them­
selves and not the state and citizens they represent? In our nonsmoking
backroom conversations, whom should we be talking about? Toss us
some names. Maybe yours?
n his previously mentioned capacity as Cascade AIDS Project execu­
tive director, Thomas Bmner comes across my desk yet again, this
time in the fonn of a request that Just Out deny placement of an adver­
tisement from an adult store. The ad in question references the store’s
selection of “bareback” videos. Bruner is passionate and respected in his
role as educator and proponent of safe-sex techniques for men who have
sex with men. 1 know that he knows of what he speaks, and 1 know that
his concern is genuine. And if Bruner were elected to the Multnomah
County Commission, he’d have even further access to the health
department and all of its alarming statistics showing the rise of sexually
transmitted diseases. Much of the spread of these diseases can be traced
back to people engaging in unprotected sex.
This request, however, leaves me to grapple with the issue of morali­
ty vs. legality and the censorship of one business not in sync with the
message of another. As a publisher and proponent of free speech, I feel
compelled to deny Bruner his request and, as such, let these two fight it
out themselves. Let CAP take its message directly to the adult stores as
it works to continue to spread safe-sex techniques.
The movies, as viewed by current standards, might be considered
“wrong,” but they are not illegal. Also, many of these videos, filmed
prior to the AIDS epidemic, are viewed as classics, a fact that sets forth
a different standard for evaluation. While 1 hold the right to set stan­
dards and guidelines for what I will accept for sexually explicit advertis­
ing, I am also very aware of the burden of censorship and projection of
differing values onto others. While I would not accept an ad showing
the actual act of bareback sex, 1 can’t deny the mere acknowledgment
that bareback videos exist and are available. Hyptxzritical of me? Nope,
merely drawing a line and standing finn.
I
he Just Out office will be closed the week of July 18. We’ll return
your phone calls and e-mails on or around July 25, and we’ll see
you next in print Aug. 5. JH
T
22 REPEAT OFFENDERS
Sissyboy celebrates its first anniversary with
the trial of the century
NEWS
8-16 NORTHWEST
SB 1000 passes the Senate; the climate for gay
teachers in Portland; Pride Northwest regroups;
the 'Couve, alive with Pride; hate crime figures
steady for 2005; AIDSWalkO5 set for Sept. 25;
broad coalition of Oregonians calls for
consultation and consensus in response to
Justice O’Connor’s retirement; Eugene/
Springfield Pride set for July 23
17-19 NATIONAL
United Church of Christ votes to support
same-sex marriage; National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force announces formation of host
committee for the 2005 Creating Change
conference; calling all concerned Democrats!;
UCC church torched in hate crime
20-21 WORLD
Full text of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s
defense of same-sex marriage; Vietnamese prime
minister: We have few gays; Uganda bans
same-sex marriage; Poles protest U.S. gay
chorus; anti-gays march in Fiji
ARTS AND CULTURE
34 MUSIC
Cole Porter festival comes to Eugene
35 ART
Photographer flexes his finger in Portland
debut exhibit
37 THEATER
Oregon Shakespeare Festival celebrates
gay playwright Christopher Marlowe
39-41 FILM
Happy Endings and Last Days
42-43 DIVERSIONS
Men on the Verge 2 (The Self-Esteem Files);
Tartufi and The Secrets of Family Happiness
COLUMNS
33 MS. BEHAVIOR
Addicted to love
38 EPIQUEEREAN
Moseying Mississippi
REFLECTIONS
• The bar association in Macedonia (formerly part of
Yugoslavia) voted June 7 to ban homosexuals and alcoholics
from becoming lawyers, reported the newspaper Dnevnik. It
said the public doesn't trust them.
• About 200 gay and lesbian organizations received dona­
tions totaling more than $100,000 from the Pride Network,
a long-distance telephone service provider serving the gay
and lesbian community.
• Portland lesbian activist Donna Red Wing has been
appointed acting executive director of the Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation. She has been GLAAD’s
national field director since October 1993. Red Wing pre­
viously was executive director of the Lesbian Community
Project.
• Citing the lack of inclusiveness on a transgender
health panel at the National Lesbian and Gay Health
Conference, activists seized control of the podium and
opened participation to all transsexuals and transgender
people who wished to join them, according to a press
release. Spearheading the takeover were Portlanders
Rachel Koteles and Margaret Deirdre O'Hartigan.
• Right to Privacy will hold its fourth annual Garden
Party on July 30. The event will be held in Sher­
wood and will feature guest speakers Portland
Mayor Vera Katz, U.S. Rep Elizabeth Furse and
state Reps. Gail Shibley and Chuck Carpenter.
• An estimated 175 people attended Phoenix Rising
Foundation's inaugural Lesbian and Gay Pride Dinner
on June 15 at the Portland Hilton. The event celebrat
ed the life of Jack Abele, who helped found Phoenix
Rising, one of the few counseling centers nationwide
specifically designed to serve the needs of sexual
minorities. Abele died in January.
• Bonnie Tinker, executive director of the Portland-based
Love Makes a Family, says her group is a local affiliate of
Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE),
an international club for children of lesbians and gay men.
• Don’t miss Girls’ Nite Out at the East Avenue Tavern.
Hosted by DJ Mel, tonight's show features Laura Kemp,
Kaia Wilson, Lisa Enterline (with Elizabeth Deal) and Jackie
Randall
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45 JIM’S CLOSET
Reality bites
PUBLISHER & MANAGING EDITOR
Marty Davis
NEWS EDITOR
Sarah Dougher
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
Jim Radosta
STAFF WRITER
Jaymee R. Cuti
ART DIRECTOR
Bonnie Barrett •
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Ramey Holsman
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Larry Lewis
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