Page A4 ®lje ^Portlanh (©bseruer O pinion Portland Observer USPS 959-680 T Established 1970 A 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., F F Portland, OR 97211 O p in io n a r tic le s d o n o t n e c e s s a rily re fle c t o r re p re se n t th e vie w s o f T h e P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r ¡ E S March 10.2004 d it o D » - i n - C h ie f ,P u b l is h e d Charles H. Washington C m tiv c D iiic Paul Neufeldt O E U I T O K M is t k ib u t io n M f f ic e Michael Leighton t o i anaged Kathy Linder anaged K Mark Washington E F O K T E K Jaymee ft. Cuti P o s tm a s t e k : S en d a d d re s s c h an g es to P o r tla n d O b s e rv e r P 0 Box 3 1 3 7 , P o r tla n d , OR 9 7 2 0 8 ___________ P e r i o d i c a l P o s t a g e p a id In P o r t l a n d , OR » S u b t c r l p t l o n s a r e $ 6 0 . 0 0 p e r y o a r ____________ 5 0 3 -2 8 8 0 0 3 3 • FAX5 0 3 -2 8 8 0 0 1 5 • EMAIL: n&$@imUandQhS£lX£nCQm subschotion@DortlandobseryeL£Qin adsQportlandobserver.com The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART W ITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer-Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repre sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. Civil Unions are Not Enough Full citizenship must convey right to marry V era K atz I ant som eone who, throughout my public career, has cham pioned the dignity o f all people, including gay men and lesbian women. Human dignity requires that we be who we are, and that we be accepted for who we are. All o f us should have the right to live in the The right to marry conveys fu ll citizenship. At the federal level alone, there are more than one thousand benefits that married couples enjoy, which those in a civil union could not access. by M ayor -M a y o rV e ra Katz light o f day. We know that throughout his tory there have been gay and les bian couples. This is not som e thing new. IMAGINE ASPIRE CREATE DISCOVER PCC Spring Term. 3,000 A dventures Start M arch 29. For more information: www pcc.edu or call 503 977 4519 P o rtla n d > C o m m u n ity C o lle q e W hat is new is that over the past 50 years, we have becom e more enlightened as a society. O ld barri ers aro u n d the issu es o f race, ethnicity, or gender have crumbled. It was only in 1967, forexam ple, that the Suprem e C ourt struck down laws that prohibited interracial m ar riage. It is now tim e that the barrier to the right o f two consenting adults to marry also com es down. Surveys show m ost Am ericans support the concept o f civil unions. Even President Bush im plied re cently that states should be free to sanction civil unions. It is now a w idely held belief that every adult ought to have the right to determ ine w ho is the beneficiary o f their insurance, who has the right to visit them in a hospital, or who should be in the position to make end-of-life decisions. But ci vil unions are not enough. It still implies second-class citizenship. The right to marry conveys full citizenship. At the federal level alone, there are more than one thou sand benefits that m arried couples enjoy, w hich those in a civil union Vera Katz is the mayor o f Port could not access. land and a long-time activist so But to talk only o f financial ben cial justice and civil rights. SAFEWAY Attention SENIORS Safeway Senior Shuttle Service! our neighborhood senior citizens fig h tin g fo r gun a c c o u n ta b ility A fter y ea rs o f e x e rc isin g a chokehold on W ashington D.C. and state capitals throughout the country, gun m akers and The N a tional Rifle A ssociation w ho do their bidding, experienced a rare loss recently. The U.S. Senate was forced to abandon efforts to pass legislation w hich w ould have protected gun m anufacturers from law suits by crim e victims. T hey were forced to retreat after 12 Republican Sena tors decided to jo in D em ocrats in calling for an extension on the as sault w eapons ban and background checks on gun purchasers at gun show s, as a condition o f passing the gun m aker protection bill. Instead ofcom prom ising, the gun lobbyists decided to w ithdraw and reload, perhaps for next year. Rest assure they have not given up on their effort to protect gun makers. Indeed this is ju st the latest effort to protect gun m anufacturers from being sued by victim s o f gun vio lence, cities and organizations w ho w ant m anufacturers to be held li able w hen they negligently distrib ute guns into the w rong hands. The N A ACP, Chicago, and other cities have sued gun m anufactur ers because o f the death and car nage that assau lt w eapons and handguns have caused in A m erica’s inner cities. Certainly, if tobacco com panies can be held li able for diseases and deaths caused by sm oking, gun m akers should be liable for the negligent distribution o f guns. W hy then are some elected offi cials fighting to protect gun makers instead o f fighting to protect the lives o f the citizens they represent? W ell, like m ost legislation in W ash- > ington, the lobbyists and corpora-» tions w ho spend the m ost tim e and m oney in W ashington usually get w hat they ask for. T h at’s why the> defeat o f the legislation is such a< great victory, albeit tem porary. W e must be as vigilant in fighting i for gun accountability as the NRA i and the gun manufacturers are ini protecting the sale o f assault weap-1 ons. AK47 rifles and M AC 10 ma-i chine guns continue to kill thou sands o f inner city youth each year, i These guns have no place in society. You can ’t even hunt animals with them because the bullets would shred the kill. W e must call and write our Federal elected officials and let them know we expect them to protect vot ers and not gun makers. Judge Greg Mathis is chairman o f the Rqinbow PUSH-Excel Board and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Green Cabbage Point or Flat Cut. Perfect addition to Corn Beef. SAVE up to $3.29 lb. on 2 SAVE up to 50< lb. FREE FREE grocery shopping “shuttle service’ to your nearby A insw orth Drug by J udge G reg M athis BUY OMI GIT ONI Introducing 4 great new service fo r & M IK Blvd Safeway Food W e m u s t be v ig ila n t in Butcher's Cut Corned Beef Brisket F O O D & DRUG J) Jk efits and rights m isses a larger point. M arriage is far m ore than a business arrangem ent. It is a cov enant o f love, the prom ise o f two people w ho pledge to rem ain faith ful to each other for a lifetime. M arriage is the place where we create a hom e for children - and gay men and lesbian w om en have children and throughout history have had children. T hose children have the right to be raised within the loving confines o f a marriage, not w ithin an am biguously named civil union. In a world w here we worry that promiscuity is rampant, why would we not em brace those w ho are pledging fidelity? In a w orld racked with instabil ity, w hy would we not em brace those w ho seek perm anence? In a world where we worry about a lack o f com m itm ent, why would we not em brace those building a lifetim e o f devotion? The action taken by M ultnomah County com m issioners puts a hu man face - the face o f our sons and daughters, our friends and neigh bors — on the issue o f sam e-gen der marriage. T hese faces, beam ing as they prom ise to love, honor and cher ish the one person they have cho sen to spend their lives with, show that w e have nothing to fear from thisexpansion o f marriage. Rather, there is m uch to love. Gun M akers Run for Cover 4 TWICE a M o n th 1 seniors age 60 and over OF EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE UK E ITEM ONLY irwon Gnmtftiuldrw and WH1 NOT K n^/TTW or 1* SMBe « on, r w Safeway Club Price This Service is FREE to lb Safeway Club Price i o o r t for o u r ser cmx WAT TRANSPORTATION TROILFY S IR V K f SC M t D U I t F lY tR AT rO U R M IK M.VO sxrrMMr r o * c o m p u t i dotahji (A )S A F E W A Y H/rOOUkDBIK, RFftiatft MKRIOM M M f R Of CNHMRCf Of 0MC0R 12-Pack Safeway SELECT Soda For M ore Inform ation Cotí soj s n ott2 Safeways Web site at www.safeway.com Visit Available at Safeway: 12-oz. cans. Selected varieties. Card price: $2.00 ea Plus Deposit in Oregon. SAVE up to $4.30 on S W* i f f MM MOMtV ~ 1 UMIOH IW > W '.II« | [ Marie Callender's Meals 13 to 21-oz. Selected vaneties. 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