Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 17, 2010)
.f# 1 12 WWW JUSTOUT COM DECEMBER 17. 2010 THE YEAR IN COMMUNITY o f a fellow student to complain. The m atter quickly spiraled into a media vortex. It w asat until near the end o f O ctober— following threats o f a discrimination law suit, Stambaugh’s lawyer Lake Perriguey debating conservatives on Oregon Public Radio and finally a meeting with Beaverton School D istrict Superintendent Jerry Col- onna— that Stambaugh was reinstated. A nother resounding response came in June, when hundreds o f students, comm u nity members and allies alike took aim in counter-protest at G rant H igh during a picket by the Topeka, Kan., hate group the Westboro Baptist Church. W BC showed up with a party o f around 6 or 7 members and left after 20 minutes, but not before facing hundreds o f counter-protestors sing ing songs, holding randomly phrased signs (“G od Hates Figs,” “This is Gay!” and “God Loves Lam p,” among many others) and generally effecting a self-sufficient dem on stration that W B C ’s messages o f hate would be met with ones o f love. And in one o f the most colorful, ambi- * Portlanders again this year rolled up their collective sleeves to fight the good fight, to celebrate in unity and to forge ahead with im portant progress toward equity. New LGBTQ_ youth centers and programs popped up following a spate o f tragic gay teen suicides nationwide (Q ueer Scouts PDX, The Living Room). Meanwhile, es tablished PDX nonprofits (Basic Rights Oregon, Cascade A ID S Project, Q_Center) continued to listen to the L G B T Q com m u- nity’s needs to provide the best possible ed ucation, support and outreach. And when discrimination reared its ugly head, the community got loud. The case o f Seth Stambaugh made na tional headlines in September, following his dismissal from a student-teaching position at Sexton M ountain Elem entary School in the Beaverton School District. Stambaugh’s dismissal came as the result o f a fourth- grade student’s inquiry about why he was not married. His reply— that it was illegal for him to do so because he would want to marry another man— prom pted the parent QUOTABLE MOMENT "WHY DO YOU HAVE SIGNS THAT DON T MAKE S E N S E ? A MALE S T U D E N T WAS ASKED BY AN O N LO O K ER . 'B ecause C h u r c h the W e s t b o r o B a p t i s t doesn t m ake s e n s e .- HE REPLIED WITH A S M I L E . tious endeavors o f the year, the organizers o f Portland Latino Gay Pride celebrated their fifth anniversary, La Lucha 2010, w ith a stellar five-day festival featuring nationally renowned gay Latino authors, cocktail par ties and contributions from Joaquin Lopez during the now annual VozAlta at the M ir acle Theatre. This kickoff to another suc cessful— though perpetually criticized— Portland Pride (remember th at parade route? Those leather swings?) emerged as a highlight o f com m unity engagement and pride. But we’d be remiss in not m entioning th at as far as milestones go, it doesn’t get much better than pioneering drag star and Stonewall 40 Trans Hero Darcelle turning 80. Happy happy! — Ryan J. Prado L ove M akes a F amily C loses O ffices , L ooks A head After essentially laying the groundwork for what a nonprofit LGBT advocacy organization is capable o f—through a multipronged politi cal, peace and justice agenda— Love Makes a Family is passing the baton, at least for now. The 17-year-old organization sent out a com munity letter on November 10 announcing that the remaining board members had decided to close the offices, but left the door open for opportunities in the future. The impact of Bonnie Tinker’s 1992 docu mentary Love Makes a Family planted the seeds for the secular organization of the same name, which— among many later, noteworthy attri butions—was formed to support LG B T fami lies coming to terms with non-traditional gen der identities. This, o f course, was long after Tinker had founded the Bradley Angle House in 1975— the West Coast’s first domestic vio lence shelter—which was renamed the Bonnie Tinker House shortly after Tinker’s untimely death in July 2009. W hen she passed at the age of 61, Tinker— along with a dedicated board of directors, in cluding her partner of 30 years, Sara G ra ham—was still highly active in her organization’s pursuit o f educating the LG B T community and allies about new ways to advocate for equality. Following her death, L M A F facilitat ed strategic planning sessions, including re views o f the pioneering work o f the organiza tion. Among L M A F’s efforts: advocating for family and marriage equality; outreach and work with school districts throughout the state; creating and sharing community dialogue workshops that encouraged listening and shar ing with opposing groups through the Opening Hearts and Minds Workshops; advocating for police reform; and opposing U.S. military intervention. Now, there are no such programs being fa cilitated by LMAF, and board members are sorting through 18 years o f files, many o f which they say are o f historical interest given their work and involvement in the path toward equality for families. Many o f the files, accord ing to the community letter, will be entrusted to the Gay and Lesbian Archives o f the Pacific Northwest, while a selection o f Tinker’s work for marriage equality with Quaker meetings will be offered to the Quaker Gay and Lesbian Archives at Swarthmore College. Serious Injury & Death Cases W rongful Death • Medical Malpractice • Serious Accidents • Brain Injuries Trucking Accidents • Spinal Cord Injuries • Nursing Home Abuse • Therapist Malpractice O v e r 2 1 Years E x p e rie n c e • Top “A V ” R a tin g Proudly serving our community since 1989 Free Consultation 5 0 3 -2 9 5 -1 9 4 0 • 8 0 0 -7 9 5 -8 9 4 5 www.goreslaw.com Hala J . Gores, Attorney Holding Insurance Com panies Accountable
