e 3
iustout
by Marty Davis
J
Salem Needs You
VOL. 24 NO. 11
NEWSMAGAZINE
APRIL 6, 2007
Speak in support of equality legislation
olks, it’s time to head to Salem again. The Oregon House Elections,
Ethics and Rules Committee has set rhe date for public hearings on
both the Oregon Equality Act, Senate Rill 2, and the Oregon Family
Fairness Act, House Bill 2007. These hearings are scheduled for
April 9, starting at 5:30 p.m. The location is Hearing Room E at the
Oregon Capitol in Salem.
To recap, Senate Bill 2, an anti-discrimination bill, has already passed the
Oregon Senate and now needs to be brought before the House for a vote.
House Bill 2007 sets into place civil unions for same-sex couples in Oregon.
At some point in the days after the public hearings, the House will open a work
session. Here the legislators will debate and discuss the bills among them
selves. The work session is also where members consider amendments to both
bills. The optimum outcome of the work session is that the bills are sent to
the House floor for a vote.
e public hearings are crucial to the process. Because both bills will be
addressed, my guess is that the opponents to this legislation will be out in even
greater force than they were for the Senate hearings on Senate Bill 2. And there
were a lot of them there that night. The hearings are conducted in a fair and
balanced manner, but they can only stay balanced as long as there’s an equal
amount of people speaking in support of the bill.
The earlier hearings were well attended by representatives from the Russian
community. These are the people Lon Mahon is now rallying in support of his
efforts. Their presence was dramatic, many speaking through interpreters and
rendering heartfelt testimony of what they view as threats to their way of life.
Fathers, mothers and teens spoke of how they came to the United States to
escape religious persecution and how now, as Christians, they feel they will
become the targets of attack by gays gone wild. Apparently their entire belief
system can be torn asunder by the notion that they might have to hire a gay
man to work in their church.
1 don’t mean to make light of their fears and concerns, but seriously, folks,
unless I’m missing out on something, 1 simply do not see busloads of gays and
lesbians ready and waiting to seek employment in Russian churches in the
Willamette Valley. There will be no invasion of their homes, their communi
ties, their jobs.
And yet they fear us.
Isn’t it amazing what a lack of understanding can do to people? They don’t
know us, we don’t know them. We will cross paths only in a hearing room.
We’ll never speak to each other, we’ll never sit at the same table, never bring
our families together. We come together only long enough to air differences,
never to find commonality.
And this is why you need to be present at this hearing. Not only is your
voice needed, but it’s also.important for everyone to see and understand who
speaks in opposition to our very basic civil rights.
F
ducation can be a powerful t<x)l to creating better understanding. And that’s
one of the reasons for the existence of the Just Out Scholarship Fund. We are
now approaching the deadline for applicants for the 2007 funding cycle. Complete
details on the scholarship program can he found at www.justout.com. In brief, eli
gible applicants must reside in Oregon or Southwest Washington (Clark, Cowlitz
and Skamania counties) for at least one year prior to submitting an application.
Scholarships are not limited to recent high schcxil graduate». Candidates
must be pursuing education beyond the secondary level as an undergraduate at
a college, university, trade or technical schixd. Applicants must be accepted or
have acceptance pending for enrollment in an accredited educational program
with evidence to successfully complete the selected program of study.
E
n this issue of Just Out we provide you with information on the funding of
patients at Our House. This article came about as the direct result of a phone
call pleading for assistance for a patient “being kicked out of Our House.” This
situation was resolved, but in its wake we realized that we didn’t really have a clear
understanding of the funding policies of this valued institution. To clear up mis
conceptions that might have resulted from these calls, we simply went directly to
Our House, where we were given responsible answers to respectful questions.
I
any years ago I found myself being sent to Portland for the purpose of attend
ing Bible college. That didn’t work out really well for me, and 1 never became
the great Christian educator that others had hoped I’d be. 1 took a rather
different path. But years of church training left their mark. To this day I harbor
a deep-seated notion that drive-in movies are bad and evil and that if I ever
were to go to church again it wouldn’t be in jeans. Wrong, wrong, wrong!
On a positive note, 1 always get the Bible questions right on Jeopardy!
1 also remember the Beatitudes of Jesus, as found in Matthew 5:3-10. I know
you all remember them yourselves, so I won’t list all the “Blessed Be’s.” Please note,
however, that nowhere it is written, "Blessed are they that sit and wait." Nope, no
bonus points for this behavior. If you want to be heard, if you need attention, if
you’ve got something on your mind, for heaven’s sake, speak up. And if you should
feel you merit attention in the pages of this paper, all you have to do is pick up the
phone, send an e-mail, talk to me, talk to my staff. We’re happy to listen.
M
Finally, don’t forget to start taking those great award-winning photos for the
annual Just Out Amateur Photo Contest. We’re accepting entries through the
end of May. Complete details are available on our Web site. We have finalized
plans with Q Center, and all entries will be on display there in July. As such,
I’m looking for a volunteer curator to set up the artwork and make it all beau
tiful. This can be an intern position or simply a volunteer. You’ll have a very
small budget for the project and will be rewarded with ¿ndless thanks. If you’re
interested, contact me at marty@justout.com.
reflections
• Against a backdrop of noisily protesting anti
abortion and church groups, the Chicago City
Council voted March 19 to extend health benefits
to same-sex partners of city employees.
• The Seattle-based Partners Task Force for Gay
8 Lesbian Couples has produced The Right to
Marry, a new video that examines the many
issues related to same-sex marriage.
20 COME AND GET IT
Q Center celebrates its first year
NEWS
8-15 NORTHWEST
Jeweler carries fine jewels; comfort fixxl gets
mixiem update; business promotes queer
marketing; PGE delivers Diversity Summit;
scholarship benefits law students; gay
seniors get new VIEW; Night of Noise
follows Day of Silence; inside Our House;
MCC beqpfies gay saints; Sen. Smith’s
“mixlerate” stance scrutinized
16-17 NATIONAL
Tax equity bill introduced; gay rights bills
pass in California committee; 500 youth
rally in Sacramento; Florida city elects
HIV-positive mayor; Florida trans city
manager fired; 27 arrested at NYC rally;
fourth New York state gay legislator elected
18-19 WORLD
Broadcaster cleared in hate speech case;
Swedish church embraces marriage;
Euro Parliament, U.S. legislators denounce
Nigerian bill; Muslims understand gay
threat; Canadian court hands gays partial
victory; Latin pop star comes out
ARTS & CULTURE
36 CULTURE
Red Dress Party evokes the glamour
of 1940s HollywixxJ
10 Years Ago in Just Out... volume 14 number 11, april 1997
• Under legislation being proposed by U.S.
Rep. Tom Colburn, R-Okla., states would be
required to alert residents of possible contacts
with HIV-positive people, The Associated Press
reports. The measure, which has won the
endorsement of the American Medical
Association, would also create a national
reporting and tracking system for the virus,
require testing of anyone accused of a sex crime,
allow the disclosure of the HIV status of children
up for adoption and require insurers to notify
applicants of their HIV test results.
FEATURE
lust out
• View the Names Project AIDS Memorial
Quilt at Willamette University's Sparks
Center. This is the only large quilt display
scheduled to appear in Oregon this year.
• Lew Frederick, public relations
specialist for Portland Public Schools,
addresses a public meeting regarding
district policies that allow direct access to
students for groups with partisan or
advocacy positions on religion or
homosexuality.
• Metropolitan Community Church of
Portland hosts the first Shepherd's Award
Dinner. This event will benefit the capital
campaign to improve the church's
facilities. Featuring a keynote speech by
Kathleen Saadat, a video presentation
from former Gov. Barbara Roberts and
a musical performance by Thomas
Lauderdale of Pink Martini.
37 THEATER
Gay director helms Spanish-language
dramedy
38-39 FILM
Blades of Glory flirts with homophobic
concepts; Wild Tigers I Have Known
intimately explores turmoil of queer
adolescence
40 NIGHTLIFE
Sunday, bkxxly Sunday
COLUMNS
33 MS. BEHAVIOR
When to Tell ’
34 EPIQUEEREAN
Welcome to the Fold
35 OUT GOING
Beautiful Dreamer
42 JIM'S CLOSET
Southern Exposure