O R E G O N S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS N EW SM A G A Z IN E ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AUGUST 21 2009
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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
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