Just out., April 21, 2006, Page 5, Image 5

APRIL 21, 2006 lustput
to any campaign to defeat any anti-gay ballot meas­
ures, including rhe recent Measure 36 campaign.
Wheeler does have a record of offering domes­
tic partner benefits at his company. This is
respected but does not in itself demonstrate a
clear record of support for GLBT issues. If he
would have been able to show a history of broad­
er support on these issues, I’m sure BRO might
have had a tougher time justifying its decision.
Weighing the records of the two candidates on
GLBT issues shows a clear and significant differ­
ence between Linn and Wheeler. Using the word
“supportive” for Linn’s record doesn’t begin to give
it justice. Whether or not you agree with every­
thing she has done as county chair, you can cer­
tainly say her support for equal rights for all citizens
of Multnomah County has been groundbreaking.
She is the only candidate in this race who deserves
an endorsement and a green light from BRO.
Its decision to not give her opponent a green
light is not a slam against him. It only reflects what
his current record shows.
anti-gay ballot initiatives? Neither his time nor his
financial support was there. Nothing in his
record—from his professional career to the anti-
gay/anti-progressive recipients of his family foun­
dation—shows he will support our community.
National leaders around the country are
supporting Diane in her re-election campaign.
People like Elizabeth Birch, Judy Shepard, David
Mixner, Ambassador James Hormel, Bruce Bastian
and Human Rights Campaign co-chairman Mike
Berman, all seasoned political strategists who
understand the national implications of this
election, are supporting Diane in this campaign.
If we don’t support Diane with everything we
have now, why would other politicians go out on a
limb for us? I urge the Multnomah LGBT commu­
nity to stand up and get behind Diane, who has
done so much to advance our cause in Portland and
across the country. During tough political times, we
must not abandon our best friends in elected office.
Together we can show Oregon and the country we
support those who stand up for us. Please, stand
with me now and support Diane.
K evin R eedy
Portland
T erry B ean
Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors
A Ripple Across the Nation
To the E ditor :
1 was disappointed when 1 read the last publi­
cation of Just Out. While the paper endorsed a
personal friend and hero of the entire LGBT com­
munity, Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn,
everything pointed to the contrary—from the
open attack by Commissioner Maria Rojo de
Steffey, to Brian Wilson’s ill-informed criticism of
Diane and Basic Rights Oregon, and the lack of
attention given to this paper’s endorsement. It is
nearly impossible to overstate the importance of
this race and why our community must so strong­
ly work for Diane’s re-election with all we have.
Very few elected officials have stood with us in
such a courageous way. Even fewer have done so
when the political risks were both unknown and
potentially career-ending.
Diane has led with courage and commitment
to the LGBT community during her term as chair.
She led the effort to protect county workers with
a nondiscrimination ordinance covering sexual
orientation and gender identity, has spearheaded
efforts to combat HIV/AIDS infection rates in our
community, worked to increase funding for
HIV/AIDS education and worked diligently to
curb crystal meth addiction in Multnomah
County. And yes, she made the amazing decision
to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex
couples, moving public approval of our marriages
from 33 percent to 44 percent, no small feat in the
lifetime of a movement.
This is an election being watched by our friends
and enemies everywhere. The outcome of this race
will send a ripple across this state and the country.
Call it a second referendum on gay marriage. Will
an elected official outside of San Francisco be able
to survive a decision like Diane’s? It’s an important
question for our movement, and the answer we
give—with our financial support now and vote on
May 16—is even more important. A victory for
Diane on Election Day will be a victory for equali­
ty. If she wins, it will embolden others in the state
and around the country to stand up for equality.
Ted Wheeler has done nothing for.our commu­
nity. Where was he during the past two decades of
Van Sant Postures for Oscar
To the E ditor :
1 was so incensed by the editorial earlier this
month in The Oregonian about its homophobic
pontificating about the Best Picture Academy
Award that 1 prepared and forwarded a letter to
them. Of course, that letter died, and The
Oregonian never published any responses from any­
one about its outrageous stance in a matter that
overruled even its own film critic.
Recently, Brian Libby interviewed Gus Van
Sant, who was asked his opinion of the Oscars, and
the best feeble response that Van Sant could come
up with is that the choice for.Best Picture was
“clumsy.” What was clumsy, if not downright
insipid, was Van Sant’s response to outrageous
homophobia animating the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences. Van Sant probably does
not want to rock the boat that could conceivably
bestow an Oscar on him, I guess. 1 quite frankly am
not inclined to take it from the academy, and a
rather bogus one at that, and then meekly and
quietly purse my lips.
F loyd M. Z ula
Portland
Big Eden Outshines Brokeback
To the E ditor :
1 think Jim Radosta and the rest of the critics
significantly overrate Brokeback Mountain in the
context of a neglected film that deserves all the
praise that Brokeback received: Big Eden [“The
Brokebacklash,” April 7J.
Now, I approve of the masculinity of the
Brokeback characters. It’s very liberating to tell the
tmth that gay men conform to no stereotypes. And
yes, masculinity is not only good and powerful—it’s
very sexy. However, the Brokeback cowboys are
ultimately crippled by their crude notions of
masculinity. They lack both enough courage and
imagination to make a strong man’s choices, and
they suffer for it.
Big Eden, by contrast, shows ordinary men
developing enough courage and imagination to be
truly open to love. If Brokeback Mountain is
ultimately about macho losers, Big Eden is about
the triumph of the pure heart. But more than that,
it offers a very radical vision of an alternate world:
a life without imposed homophobia. We don’t need
Brokeback Mountain to tell us that homophobia
hurts, but we need Big Eden to inspire us to imag­
ine a sane world.
M itchell S antine G ould
Portland
Democrat Today
To the E ditor :
I’m Lee Coleman, and I’m the Oregon
Democratic Party’s candidate for the Oregon
House of Representatives District 26, which
includes Wilsonville and parts of Forest Grove,
Hillsboro and Aloha.
Some folks might remember that 1 used to be a
Republican, but 1 have converted! Why? Because
the Democratic Party cares about people and does
so responsibly and with compassion.
My campaign includes promises for 1) econom­
ic relief (including tax reductions through a “Family
Tax Relief Act” and a completely new and different
mode of taxation of business entities so they can pay
their fair share, 2) social justice on a broad range of
subjects including civil rights and adequate funding
for education and health care, 3) creation of new
jobs through new transportation and highway
initiatives (including a “Northwest Passage” high­
way from Wilsonville to Scappoose) as well as
through leadership in development and use of alter­
native energy options and 4) control of predatory
businesses such as “payday loan” companies.
1 am running so that this state can move
beyond the train wreck that is the history of the
Oregon House of Representatives during the past
several sessions. The current Republican leadership
engineered that train wreck, and they deliberately
derailed equal treatment for gays and lesbians, the
education budget, the health care budget, adequate
funding for necessary police protection for the
people of Oregon, adequate protection for working
families and a whole host of other areas. We can do
better than that. See www.friendsofleecoleman.org
for more information about me and to support the
campaign.
I used to be a Republican, but as 1 began to think
about rhe true role of government, I looked at the
statements made by the founders in our
Constitution’s Preamble. They wrote the
Constitution in order to establish justice, ensure
domestic tranquillity and promote the general
welfare. Those must have been very liberal ideas in
1787, and they are despised as liberal ideas today by
my former associates in the current Republican
leadership. But they are ideals that are to be hon­
ored, not despised. That’s why I’m a Democrat today.
ROSE CITY
VETERINARY
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809 SE POWELL BLVD
232-3105
L ee C oleman
SeM
Aloha
CORRECTION
The April 7 article “Women Warriors” incorrectly
stated that the Portland Shockwave's April 29
game against the Redding Rage of California would
be played at home. The fixitball team’s first home
game is actually vs. the Eugene Edge 6 p.m. May 1 3
at Lincoln High Schixil, 1600 S.W. Salmon St.
Tickets are $3-$7.
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