MAY I, 2009
OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
7
14
NORTHWEST BRIEFS
State University student Tash Shatz for the
program, which focused on House Bill 2599.
Better known as the Safe Schools Act, it’s
now pending a Senate decision.
Shatz spoke poignantly of the bullying and
intolerance he faced, and the extreme mea
sures many take in response: According to one
statistic, 33 percent of gay, lesbian, bi and trans
teens attempt suicide, four times the norm.'
Ross described being at “the intersection”
of the tragic numbers rattled off during the
luncheon. As tired as she was of hearing the
statistics, she said, she couldn’t imagine how
tired the children must be of living them.
A live auction benefitted the Basic Rights
Education Fund, and Mayor Sam Adams and
Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler were
on-hand for closing remarks. Most memo
rable, though, was a special video presentation
that left the audience with food for thought.
Entitled “Is Bullying Harmless or Inevitable?”
a black-and-white scroll of words - punctu
ated by phrases of fear, intimidation and hate
- was turned on its head:
“Work so that all youth can have safe
schools. / It shouldn’t be so hard to understand
why so many of us / Gave up at school. I The
students calling me ‘faggot’or‘freak’/ Shouldn’t
be. It is hard for me to go to school, and it /
Isn’t made an issue. My identity / Makes me
the butt of the joke. / No one...” and so on.
In a simple reversal from forward to back, the
statements, taken from experiences compiled
Vv
by BRO, became:
“No one makes me the butt of the joke. My
identity isn’t made an issue. It is hard for me to
go to school, and it shouldn’t be. The students
calling me ‘faggot’or ‘freak’gave up at school.
It shouldn’t be so hard to understand why so
many of us work so that all youth can have
safe schools.”
“Powerful words, powerful thoughts, cre
ate powerful actions,” Frazzini concluded.
Visit basicrights.org/luncheonvideo.html
to view the video in its entirety.
— Amanda Schurr
Portland Shows Its ID,
the City’s Second Gay
And Lesbian Publication
Portland will soon have a second gay, les
bian, bi and trans publication with the May 11
bow of id Magazine.
id Magazine developed over several meet
ings between Editor-in-Chief West Duncan
and Publisher Christian Messer, owner and
operator of Whiplash Design, a full-service
print and design company. Both felt there
were a lot of stories that weren’t being told in
the local media. They wanted to broaden the
scope, and to include youth, elders, trans issues
and everything else passing under the radar.
Duncan explained id will be different than
existing media because other outlets have yet
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This Sunday, the Human Rights Campaign
(HRC) looks to the future of gay, lesbian, bi
sexual and transgender legislation, mobilizing
members in 26 cities across the country. In a
night put on by local steering committees, the
May 3 event marks the first 100 days of Presi
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Sen Jeff Merkle/ (D)
to our commu
is the featured speaker
nity, and we need
at HRC s Porland
Federal
Club s event.
financial support
to make it happen,”
said Barb Bloom, co-chair of the HRC’s Port
land Federal Club. Bloom and Scott Langley
organized the local event. Oregon Senator Jeff
Merkley is the featured speaker.
The evening, presented by Federal Club
members of the HRC, aims to recmit 100
new members to the club nationwide. The
Federal Club is composed of donors who give
a minimum of $1,200 annually. These mem
bers - who total 5,000 across the U.S. - cover
33 percent of the organization’s operational
budget.
As Just Out went to press, the HRC was
pursuing legislation to pass an inclusive Em
ployee Nondiscrimination Act and the Mat
thew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Other endeavors include repealing the Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell military bill and the Defense
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ing for it. Content wise, he said id would be a
regular newsmagazine, featuring hard and soft
news, sports, health and gardening writing.
With a staff of four and a projected cir
culation of 1,000, Duncan described id as a
streamlined, grassroots publication.
“There’s going to be a lot of stuff that’s
DIY,” he said. “We really want to utilize loy
alty in this community to our advantage.”
Duncan said physical copies of the free,
monthly magazine should be available all over
town. He encouraged people to subscribe or
visit the website to minimize the environmen-
a
tai impact of printing unread issues.
The magazine was originally slated to de
but May 4, but the date was pushed back to
put finishing touches on a few things. How
ever, West seemed confident everything was
on course for a Pride week launch.
Check out id online at idmagazineor.com.
— Josh Gross
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