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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2009)
O REGO N S GAY/LE S B IAN/B l/T RAN S NEWSMAGAZINE NOVEMBER 6. 2009 COURTESY OF WASHBLOG COM UH Diversity Matters - In Your Life, In Your Investments Initial consultation with no charge or obligation • Comprehensive Financial Planning (Fee Based) • Life & Disability & LTC Insurance * WADDELL • Inheritance & Estate Planning KV ▼ • ' %■ • ▼ g ■ ü § • 1 r U T itM P w > f # £> vk * r&k- '-ém 'Y '« ? ™ * • IRAs, Roth IRAs, Rollovers Ê ^ < S * rR E E D m . ft ' ' A • Tax & Retirement Planning Financial Advisors ' % I n v e s t i n g . Wi t h a pl an? • Investing with a Conscience Member S!P( Tnsuronce products ore offered through insurance companies with which Waddell & Reed has soles arrangements 503.238.6036 exm? 700 Northeast Multnomah Street • Suite 1150* Portland, OR 9 7 2 3 2 "^ 503-238-7056 FAX • Toll Free 888-892-9049 • www.anneseelye.com The hearing, held in front of the Senate Com mittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, was the first on EN D A since 2002— and the first hearing for a gender- inclusive EN D A bill. W itness testimony from victims of workplace discrimination included that of Colonel Diane Schroer, a transgender woman and 25-year veteran o f the U.S. Army, and Mike Carney, a gay police officer from Massachusetts. Tom Perez, the Assistant Attorney General o f the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. D epartm ent of Justice, indicated that a major challenge for the bill’s passage was educating the American public about discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace. Sen. Merkley praised the leading practices of larger corporations like Nike, which have set education precedents for non-discrim i nation policies in the business community. “The Attorney General noted how a big part o f their [office’s] responsibility is to reach out and educate businesses about how non-discrimination works in the business place,” said Merkley. “That has really helped them to understand the law, be comfortable with the law, and be in compliance with the law. I think that will be a big piece of it.” Perez also noted during the hearing that the passing of ENDA was a “top legislative priority” for the Obama administration. Additionally, Committee Chair and Senator Tom Harkin (D -IA ) stated it was his full intention to try to move the bill to the Sen ate floor next year. “I do feel it’s inevitable we will win this battle,” said Merkley, “but we don’t want to win it 30 years or 20 years from now; we want to win this battle of non-discrimina tion in this two-year legislative cycle.” Merkley expressed his chagrin at the ab sence o f a single Republican senator during the hearing, but promised to take the infor mation shared during witness testimony to his Republican colleagues. “We will take the case. We will ask them to meet with folks who have gone through discrimination,” said Merkley. “We will carry this conversation to them .” R eferen d u m 71 A pproved in W ashington: C lark C o u n t/ V ote Exceeds Expectations Washington State voted to approve Refer endum 71 on Tuesday, November 3, becom ing the first state in the country to support a domestic partnership law by popular vote. The approval for the referendum upholds a state law that provides important legal pro tections for gays and lesbians and seniors in registered domestic partnerships. A t press time, a statewide Washington poll, overseen by University of Washington political scientist Dr. M att Barreto, predicted that R-71 would approve same-sex partners’ rights by an eventual margin of 81,529 votes out of 1.75 million cast. The projection of King County’s 168,866-vote victory was largely credited as the carrier of the referen dum’s eventual approval. The projection also stated that R-71 would carry only 9 of the state’s 39 coun ties, and that though 66 percent o f voters supported some form of same-sex union, the referendum would be narrowly approved by 52 percent of the vote. In Clark County, the Approve 71 Van couver campaign actually exceeded its early expectations for the voter approval of R-71. The county, widely considered one o f the most conservative in the state, posted 46.74 percent to approve, and 53.26 percent to reject the referendum. Despite the obvi ous failure to generate a majority approval, Approve 71 Vancouver team captain and ACLU board member Rory Bowman re mained optimistic about the outcome. “In the face of a confusingly worded measure and an extremely abbreviated cam paign in an off-year election, we exceeded our early expectations by voting almost 6 percent more than expected to approve Ref erendum 71,” said Bowman. NW NEW S B R IE F S continue on 8 e n t is t r y G E N E F tA L & C O S M E T IC D E N T IS T R Y Treatment options include: * # # * Implants Invisalign Cerec Technology Zoom! Whitening left to right: Sheila Bennett, D M D ; Adrienne Fischl, DMD; Diane Applegate, DDS; Clarice Johnston. D M D 2520 EAST BURNSIDE, PORTLAND, OR 97214 PH: (503) 233-3622 FX: (503) 233-5882 WWW.LAURELHUFtSTDENTISTRY.COM Take Actio it to w Y o iii S t a t u s , Low-Cost Walk-In HIV Testing Hep A & B vaccine and Syphilis testing available Monday 5:30 to 7 30 p.m Beaverton Health Clinic - 12550 SW 2nd For more information: 503-846-4734 www. co. Washington.or.us/hiv r Results in ,20 minutes. Tuesday 4 to 5:30 p m & Friday 9 to 11 a m Hillsboro Health Clime - 266 W Main It’s a beautiful thing. i Se habla español1 W A SH IN G TO N C O U N T Y
