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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2009)
O R E G O N S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS N EW SM A G A Z IN E ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AUGUST 21 2009 |3 f# ^ NORTHWEST NEWS M o r o h in g O n P By RAYMOND RENDLEMAN “True equality can only occur with a vote by the Supreme Court or Congress,” San Francis co activist Cleve Jones told Just Out this week in reference to his National Equality March scheduled for the weekend of October 10. A march on Washington D.C. has long been a rallying cry for American civil-rights organizations, but Oregon’s gay, lesbian, bi and trans community has so far shown lukewarm support. For example, grassroots local advocacy is of primary concern for Dawn Holt, president of Portland’s PFLA G chapter. “A national march strikes me as a bit o f a distraction,” Holt said. P FLA G ’s response is typical o f Oregon’s gay, lesbian, bi and trans advocacy organizations. “With the economy the way it is and this march being so far away, I don’t know a single person who’s planning to make the trip out there,” said Laura Calvo, treasurer o f the state Democratic Party and interim president of the Democratic Party o f Oregon G L B T Caucus. From her standpoint as regional director of the National Stonewall Democrats, Calvo also cited “bad timing” for getting G L B T activists to make the trek to Washington. In Portland, Basic Rights Oregon has its 27th annual din ner and auction on Saturday, October 10, and Cascade A ID S Project holds its annual fund raising walk on Sunday, October 11. Assessing the Local Role in the National Equality March There’s yet additional strain in the prospect of taking political trips two weekends in a row. “A lot of our Democrats will be going to the DPO Oregon Summit [in Central Oregon] the following weekend [October 16-18], so they’re saving their travel time and energy for that,” Calvo said. Jeana Frazzini, executive director o f Basic Rights Oregon, said that BR O ’s annual dinner was planned long before the equality march on the Capitol. Even if BR O ’s dinner could be postponed without much cost to the organiza tion, Frazzini would need a lot more persuad ing to do so: “The goals o f this national march have not been well-articulated.” According to the National Equality March’s official website, organizers have “Our single demand: Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” Jones, 54, originator o f the A ID S Memorial Quilt, argued that the march’s goal is simply to demonstrate on the national level how fed up the community is about its second-class-citi zen status. “The right to serve in the military, the right to adopt and the right to bring our partners across borders are all important, but they ignore the big picture o f national equal ity,” he said. Frazzini maintained that, as a state-based organization, BRO must remain concentrated on Oregon. In her opinion, a state-by-state strategy is the most effective route toward equal protection nationwide. “We have a great deal of work to do right here,” she said. The state-by-state strategy means that what happens in Maine this fall has a much greater impact on Oregon than a national march, at least in the eyes o f BRO. “N o d is re s p e c t to th e p e o p le w h o h o v e le d th e fig h t on th e s to te -b /-s ta te leve l, bu t I th in k it s a fo ile d strategy. W e n e e d to re je c t th e o ld w ays o f w o rk in g th a t h o v e k e p t us d iv id e d for so long." - ACTIVIST CLEVE JONES This year, the New England state became the fifth to uphold equal marriage rights, but a proposition referred to voters threatens to repeal those rights in November, much like Proposition 8 did in California last year. “If we go anywhere this fall, it’ll be to the state of Maine,” Frazzini said. Jones asserted that bold action is needed. “No disrespect to the people who have led the fight on the state-by-state level, but I think it’s a failed strategy,” he said. “We need to reject the old ways o f working that have kept us di vided for so long.” Frazzini added that Congress will not be in session on October 11, making it harder for face-to-face interaction with representatives: “To me that’s got to be a priority if we’re going to be getting people to Washington [D .C.].” Jones asked, “How many people would we get if we had this march during the work week?” He scheduled the march on the week end so more people can go, which he believes will make a strong statement to elected lead ers. “A very representative group of people will make it,” he stated. As o f press time, the march’s official web site, Equahtyacrossamerica.org, lacked registry o f groups from Oregon planning to attend. Kip Williams, the march’s West Coast orga nizer, said, “We have a lot o f people that have signed up, but we haven’t had time yet to ap prove any organizations from Oregon.” More than 30 states have at least one group signed on to attend the march. Jones noted that enthusiasm was high, and momentum building for thousands of people to converge on the Capitol from all 50 states. “I understand that a lot of people are ex cited so I would hope that we could all treat that weekend as national days o f action,” Frazzini said. “That’s a great idea,” Jones agreed. “People that can’t make it to Washington should hold actions in their local communities.” J K AUGUST $ I Q Q * SPECIAL 17 7 Includes deluxe guest room, tw o Mineral Bath & W raps, and your choice o f wine, champagne, o r sparkling cider Upgrade to a private hot tub www.LAW420.com room with king bed for just Oregon Marijuana and Criminal Law Attorney and Counselor at Law $40 m ore per couple based on availability. 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