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OREGON’S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
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“Not About Rights
Or Responsibilities,
But Recognition”
letters
A Longtime Volunteer
and Ally Responds
To T he E ditor :
As [a] longtime volunteer and ally o f Basic
Jeana [Frazzini]’s comments about the Rights Oregon who remembers the work, pas
work [Basic Rights Oregon] is undertaking sion, and the emotional aftermath o f the “No
highlights the fact that this is not about rights O n 36” campaign, I was very hopeful that
or responsibilities, but recognition [Vol. 29, BRO would go back to the ballot in 2012 and
No. 1, Nov. 11, Page 3, “Toward Justice”]. The pursue marriage equality. Though after reading
social recognition o f marriages isn’t some o f the decision to postpone a ballot challenge
thing a ballot measure is going to give us. If I find myself very much supporting the orga
51 percent of the people agreed with this nization’s courageous pragmatism as they
measure, we’d still have a broad swath o f O r dedicate themselves to continuing to work on
egonians who are opposed to same-sex mar voter outreach and education. Success at the
riage. The work is not to win rights but to ballot and for the more general cause o f equal
help people understand what love and mar ity requires education and understanding, and
riage mean to us. G oing canvassing last year as a community and a broader electorate we
outside of a ballot measure campaign was clearly still need time to pursue endeavors to
strange for me, but having real conversations wards those ends.
seemed worse than it turned out to be. As ef
fective as these conversations are, they are in
Sincerely,
credibly rare, and nearly impossible on a bal
Aaron J. Green-Mitchell
lot measure campaign. W hile a ballot measure
Portland
may not happen next year, day by day, thanks
to the great work the BRO community is do All Fired Up
ing, more Oregonians are understanding why
the recognition marriage provides matters. To T he E ditor :
Ultimately, that is how we better our state.
Greetings to all Portlanders from the Fire of
the Rose!
Clinton Downs
We are so excited to serve as your Rose Em
Portland peror and Rose Empress for the upcoming year!
To T he E ditor :
We are the 38th and 53rd (respectfully) elected
monarchs to serve as these titles for the Impe
rial Sovereign Rose Court of Oregon. O ur his
tory is rich with tradition and we are thrilled to
be able to continue the legacy. We are a 501c3
nonprofit organization that raises money for
charities such as O ur House of Portland,
Audria M. Edwards Scholarship Fund and
Pride of the Rose Scholarship Fund, along with
numerous others. Along with our esteemed ti-
deholders and members o f the Court, we will
represent Portland throughout the Interna
tional Court System in other courts such as Las
Vegas, New York, Boston and many others.
This year our focus is “Keeping it Fresh” to
emphasize having fun and supporting our com
munity. As part o f our reign we have elected to
have an Angels table, honoring those who are
no longer with us in the physical form but still
stay in our hearts.
We have several upcoming events through
out the coming months starting with travel
ing to the City That Never Sleeps to attend
their coronation o f their new monarchs. The
following weekend (December 10) we will say
goodbye to our current Prince and Princess,
Stefan H art and The Sassy Cassie Nova, at
our Prince and Princess Ball, welcome our
new Prince and Princess (you’ll have to join
us to see who they will be!) as well as invest
our new court. That begins at 5 p.m. at the
Melody Ballroom, with the ball at 6 p.m.! The
DECEMBER 9. 2011
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following day Rose Emperor XXXVIII A th
ens Scities has planned the traditional Em
peror’s Tree Hunt, starting with an 8 a.m.
pancake breakfast at The Roxy (1121 SW
Stark St. in Downtown Portland), then off to
the tree farm to cut your own Christmas tree,
then join your friends for a cup o f hot choco
late and tree decorating at the Q_ Center
(4115 N. Mississippi Ave.).
If you’re interested in seeing what the Im
perial Sovereign Rose C ourt is all about, feel
free to join us the first Monday o f every
month at Darcelle XV at 7 p.m. for our board
meeting, and our court meetings are the sec
ond Monday o f every month at 7 p.m. at the
Embers Ave., which focus on the community
involvement and reaching out to new mem
bers and the City o f Portland at large.
Once again, we are grateful to be elected your
Rose Emperor and Rose Empress and look for
ward to serving the City o f Roses!
Follow us on Facebook,“Keep It Fresh PDX,”
to see our upcoming events!
Warmest regards,
The Fire o f the Rose:
His Most Imperial Majesty Rose Emperor XXXVIII
Athens Scities Foxx
and Her Most Imperial Majesty Rose Empress LJII
The Legendary Monica Boulevard
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