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
Amateur Photo Contest.
For complete details see page 34.
That one right there looks like a winner to me.