M AY 6 .2 0 1 1
A Call for Help
To the Editor:
M att Insley is a dear friend, a remarkable,
talented and award-winning musician, com­
poser and director. He
has
co-produced
“Queer
Q uistm as”
two years in a row
with
Fannie
Mae
Darling. He is an as­
set to [the] Portland
gay/lesbian comm u­
nity and has been [an]
avid part in the com­
munity theater scene
for many, many years.
The night o f “Queer
Q uistm as,” M att and
his boyfriend were heavily drinking, like
most around the holidays. He, unfortunately,
drank too much and with those drinks he
was taking bipolar medication. Bad news!
[He] and his partner got into an altercation
and M att was arrested and charged with four
counts o f assault. He is not innocent, we all
know that, but what he needs is help not
prison. Please read this inform ation and help
my dear friend and one o f Portland’s most
treasured m usicians....
During this time he has been diagnosed with
and successfully treated for bipolar disorder. At
the first settlement conference, a young, inex­
perienced deputy district attorney [was] pursu­
ing his case as a purely criminal matter without
regard that M att’s mental illness is [a] signifi­
cant, mitigating factor. Justice will not he served
if M att is sent to prison. M att’s trial is immi­
nent, so we must act now. M att needs you
to immediately email or fax the M ult­
nomah County D.A. to request [that]
M att’s case be transferred to a deputy
D.A. who has experience with mental
health cases and that M att’s case he re­
ferred to the Mental Health Court.
5
.T G
• The Mental Health Court is an appropri­
ate option in M att’s case; see
mcda.us/mental_health_court.php.
More than 200 o f you have sent letters of
support to the public defender. M att needs
the same level o f support again. Please imme­
diately email or fax the Multnomah County
D.A. at the following:
Michael D. Schrunk, District Attorney
Email: DA@mcda.us
Fax: 503-988-3643
Request that M att’s case he transferred to a
deputy D.A. who has experience with mental
health cases and that M att’s case he referred
to the Mental Health Court. If you have any
other avenues available to you that may help
M att, please pursue those today.
Thank you,
Jeffrey Darling and Brett Asmann
Portland
Here is a summary o f the facts:
• M att’s legal name is Norman M at­
thew Insley.
• He had untreated bipolar disorder at
the time o f the incident.
Both M att and his boyfriend were
highly intoxicated at the time o f the
incident.
At the time o f the incident, M att was
taking medication that makes bipolar
disorder worse.
The judge at the settlement conference To the Editor:
told M att that the deputy D.A. was inex­
Last week I received a Basic Rights Oregon
perienced and clearly did not understand mailing for their new same-sex marriage cam­
the uniqueness of his case.
paign [Vol. 28, No. 9, April 1, p. 12 , “Can4bcy
The judge also said the deputy D.A. had We Do It?”]. I applaud their efforts and this
other options available to her and that mailing campaign. As I was reading along fairly
her current course of action would go impressed and in agreement, I came upon this
badly for Matt.
one simple sentence about marriage: “...it does
Marriage and Family
i-------------------------------------------------------------
give couples who want to make a lifetime com­
mitment to each other and be a family the abil­
ity to do so.” Whoa! Read that again, please.
At first it sounds like perfectly good rea­
soning, hut it sends the wrong message. It is
not state-licensed marriages that hold the key
to lifetime commitment and family. My little
household of three (partner, son and myself)
has formed a family that is committed to each
other even without marriage. We want to have
equal marriage for many reasons— but it is not
a precursor for confirming our commitment
to each other or our ability to be a family.
Come on, BRO— stop muddying the wa­
ters. People make their own families and
commitments— without the state’s help. M ar­
riage gives those families rights and responsi­
bilities. L et’s not confuse the issue.
Scott Cooley
Portland
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2011 Just Out
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For complete details see page 34.
That one right there looks like a winner to me.