OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
APRIL 17 2009
PAGE 3
3
bp Mart/ Davis
Full steam ahead
VOL. 26 NO. 12
Victories for marriage equality, a request for
submissions, and a special thank you
APRIL 17. 2009
INSIDE»
»Feature
re you, or is someone you know, plan
ning to go to college or career training
in the fall? Did you know Just Out offers
scholarships to gay, lesbian, bi, and trans
identified students, and/or to the children
of gay parents? Working with Equity
Foundation, Just Out accepts applications
A
and awards scholarships annually to de
serving undergraduate students. To learn
more about qualifying, please visit www.
equityfoundation.org. The deadline for
submissions is June 30, 2009.
One of the primary sources of funding
for our scholarship program is Just Out's
Gay Skate Nights at Oaks Park. Gay Skate
benefits the community in many ways:
funds for scholarships, food donations
for Esther’s Pantry and by creating a safe,
energetic, fun, family-friendly venue for
everyone to attend. The next Gay Skate is
Monday, April 20. Map and details can be
found at www.justout.com. Hope to see
you there. Seriously, we play ABBA and do
the Hokey-Pokey. Don’t even think about
missing this.
Just Out is also currently accepting sub
missions for our annual Amateur Photo
Contest. I wrote about this in the last issue
and sent you to the website for complete
details. You didn’t find them there, did
you? It seems there was a slight glitch in
posting—the glitch being that I forgot to
do it. This has been corrected, and all the
info, including categories, is or will soon
be available at www.justout.com. The key
points to remember are amateurs only; no
digital submissions; prints required; photos
not returned. The deadline is May 29. You
submit a picture, we’ll find a category. Priz
es? Of course, there will be prizes—good
ones, too.
n the slow news week category, a small,
fussy storm breezed about Portland on
April 15. Pink Martini bandleader Thomas
Lauderdale petulantly announced that he
was miffed at Mayor Sam Adams and his
plans to demolish the Memorial'Coliseum,
replacing it with a tee-ball court, or some
such thing. Lauderdale expressed concern
that Adams “wasn’t listening” to concerned
I
Portland citizens. Guess what, Thomas?
Adams doesn’t have to listen. You yourself
assured that course of action when you
stood on the steps of City Hall, insisting
loudly and proudly that Adams was above
reproach and accountability to the people
of Portland. You gave him a free pass,
Thomas. Now you expect him to listen?
n this space in the April 3 issue, I stated
that I was closing the door on the prob
lems of 2009’s first quarter. I was putting
these difficult months behind us and start
ing the New Year over. I’m holding myself
to that statement-with one exception.
Lost in the media flurry over the March
departures of a few Just Out staffers was
one important acknowledgment. Yes, lost
in the blog posts and news reports was any
mention of the staff who stayed and did not
quit. Lost, overlooked, was any reference to
the tenacity and strong character of those
who did not depart when times got tough.
I owe a tremendous thank you to Larry
Lewis, Lynda Wilkinson, Justin Taylor,
Chris Kramer and Li Li, the staffers who
stayed when others didn’t. I thank them all
profusely for their efforts and hard work,
for banding together as a team—a team
determined to ride out the rough times as
one. Joining us since is Amanda Schurr,
whom you met last issue, and Laura At
kinson, who appeared as if from nowhere
and became our Just Out miracle worker. I
anticipate being able to add another staff
writer to the mix fairly soon.
That is my closing for this issue, then, to
offer the biggest and most heartfelt thanks
possible to the Just Out staff, for a dedi
cation to this paper and the community.
Thanks to them, we’re heading into the
2009 Pride season with energy, ideas and
enthusiasm. It is, indeed, a happy New
Year.
w
THE GAYS ARE
GARDENING
jo’s resident
“sassy
gardener”
LeAnn
Locher talks
to green
thumbs in
Portland’s
GLBT
community
I
»News
; 5
QfiA WITH BASIC RIGHTS
OREGON’S JEANA FRAZZINI
j 7-11
NORTHWEST BRIEFS
A timely symposium on same-sex
marriage; Red Cross and Q_Center
team up for a CPR class; Black/
African-American PFLAG makes its
debut; Portland authors explore their
Mama issues
: 12-13
POORING OVER IT:
REPORT EXAMINES
POVERTY IN THE GLBT
COMMUNITY
| »Arts 6 Culture
i 19-22 OUT 8 ABOUT
j 26
FILM
Three worth checking out at the Salem
Film Fest.
i 27
DANCE
James Kudelka choreographs “Hush”
for Oregon Ballet Theatre.
BLAINE TRUITT COVERT
irst there were none, then there
were two, now there are four.
Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Vermont and Iowa: These are
America’s Fab Four. These states, com
monwealths, lead the nation in the ongo
ing quest for marriage equality. In all four,
same-sex couples now enjoy equal, legal
marriage rights and protections. In our
own backyard, Washington State passed a
measure on April 15 to expand the state’s
domestic partnership law to include “ev
erything but marriage.” The bill would
give additional spousal rights and benefits
to domestic partners, including same-sex
couples and unmarried senior heterosexual
couples.
On April 16, on the heels of momentum
in Washington, New York Governor David
Paterson (D) proposed new legislation in
his state, advocating for same-sex marriage.
Paterson stated, “Marriage equality is about
basic civil rights and freedom. That is why
we stand together today to embrace civil
rights for every New Yorker.”
Today there are four; soon there will be
more.
And the game plan in Oregon? What’s
the strategy for dealing with the results of
Ballot Measure 36, the passage of which
resulted in a constitutional amendment
effectively banning same-sex marriage in
Oregon? How do we work around that gi
ant boulder in the road? Turn to page 5 to
see what Basic Rights Oregon Executive
Director Jeana Frazzini has to say.
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JUST DUCKY: A PORTLAND
INSTITUTION’S COLORFUL
HISTORY
»Columnists
25
LIVING OUT LOUD
Kathryn Martini considers the “B”
in GLBT
30
REMEMBER TO BREATHE
Nick Mattos on a City of Transplants
37
MS. BEHAVIOR
Sink Your Teeth Into Compassion