Lavender Womyn Lesbian Group Blog

Just Out, longtime Portland media fixture, shuts down, cites recession | OregonLive.com

Newsmagazine Just Out is shutting down, according to a note on its website Monday.

The publication has served Portland's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and queer community since 1983. The online notice states simply that "three years of recession have taken their toll."

Publisher Marty Davis confirmed the closure in an email to The Oregonian: "Just Out has closed its doors and shut down its computers." She said in a follow-up email that there are no plans to continue online.

Local blogger Byron Beck broke the news on his site, linking to an 11 a.m. post on Just Out's Facebook page.  

"It is with great sadness that I have to announce today that Just Out newspaper, having put up a helluva fight against this dammed 'Great Recession,' will be unable to continue publishing. Our 12/9 issue was/is our last publication. Thank you for being our 'Friends' and for reading Just Out, these past 29 years."
 
By 3 p.m. there were 75 comments, most of them thanking the publication and Davis for writing about and for the gay and lesbian community.  

The publication was free and issued twice a month. Its editorial board called for the resignation of Portland Mayor Sam Adams in 2009 after the mayor lied about a relationship with Beau Breedlove.

-- Janie Har

OregonLive

Hillary Clinton's Amazing Speech On LGBT Rights

NY becomes largest state to approve gay marriage - Yahoo! News

ALBANY, N.Y. – New York lawmakers narrowly voted to legalize same-sex marriage Friday, handing activists a breakthrough victory in the state where the gay rights movement was born.

New York will become the sixth state where gay couples can wed and the biggest by far.

"We are leaders and we join other proud states that recognize our families and the battle will now go on in other states," said Sen. Thomas Duane, a Democrat.

Gay rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country and help it regain momentum after an almost identical bill was defeated here in 2009 and similar measures failed in 2010 in New Jersey and this year in Maryland and Rhode Island.

"Once this is signed into law, the population of the United States living under marriage equality doubles," said Ross Levi, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda in an interview. "That's certainly going to have a ripple effect across the nation. It's truly a historic night for love, our families, and democracy won."  Click here to read more...

via news.yahoo.com

Total Loss and Devastation...

 

Lacomb, Oregon - Paula James and Patti Pastega (who have been together for 2 years) were excited about finally getting a home big enough for them and their five children.  They had been living in a home with only 900 square feet.  This new home offered them nearly 2,500 square feet with five bedrooms sitting on 2 acres of land.  Plenty of room for the kids to run and play. 

Their children were also enjoying their new school with smaller class sizes, so they receive better attention and education.

They had worked diligently for a couple of weeks moving all of their belongings from their old rental over to their new one while excitement overflowed within them and their children as they anticipated the new home they all would be able to share soon.

However, on March 18, 2011, while Paula and Patti were at the old rental cleaning everything up, a tragic accident was brewing at their new place.  Their home had caught fire!  It continued to burn even as the children arrived  home from school.  As they got off the school bus, all they could see was their home and everything in it (including their year-old Blue Tip Siamese cat, Phoenix) all in flames.

Shock and devastation soon took over the excitement they had felt just moments ago...click here to read more.

The AAUW & the WRC present Patricia Schechter, PhD

Time	Thursday, March 31 · 3:00pm - 6:00pm
Location	PSU Women's Resource Center 1802 SW 10th & Montgomery (Behind Simon Benson House) Portland, OR
Created By	PSU Women's Resource Center
More Info	In honor of Women's History Month The American Association of University of Women and the Women's Resource Center are proud to present Patricia Schechter, PhD Building A Common Ground of Learning: A Focus on Black Women in Oregon History Thursday, March 31st 3:00PM in the WRC Lounge ...

President Obama: Memorial in Arizona

via www.youtube.com

U.S. Senate Votes to End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Today the U.S. Senate voted on legislation that will allow for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). This historic action comes on the heels of the passage of an identical bill Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives. President Obama has said that he will sign DADT repeal into law.

via www.hrc.org

Click here to read more...

SHOCKING VIDEO: Demand NBC to take action now!

via www.youtube.com

"Will the acceptance of homosexuality in this society be the downfall of America?"  

 

Yes, that was a question actually posed to viewers by a Texas-based NBC affiliate TV station, both on the air and online. 

 

It gets worse. The question was posed by two KETK-NBC news anchors in reaction to a larger story about how President Obama has appointed a "record number of gays" to his administration, more than any president in history. 

 

But it didn't end there. The station then went on to broadcast responses from viewers -- some of the most vitriolic attacks on LGBT people that you will ever hear on a network affiliate.

 

A video that will actually save lives - Joel Burns

via www.youtube.com

Dear Kim --

I've found myself crying in public more often than I could have imagined over the past week.  

What made me cry? The suicides of gay kids (or kids perceived to be gay) and their struggles -- and the heartbreaking stories inspired by the "It Gets Better" campaign launched by Dan Savage to stop those suicides.

You might have already seen the powerful "It Gets Better" story told by Joel Burns, a member of the Ft. Worth City Council in Texas. Since a video of Joel's poignant city council testimony was posted on Wednesday, more than 1.6 million Americans have watched it and shared it with their friends. And now, many more will see it today after messages like this one from Courage, the Trevor Project, MoveOn and the Victory Fund.  

Please take a moment to watch Joel's story now -- and join us in thanking him for his courage in expressing his personal story to the world. Along with thousands of other people, your signature will be presented to Joel Burns on behalf of the Courage community:

Southern Oregon Pride Parade - Ashland, Oregon

via www.localnewscomesfirst.com

There's a short commercial before it gets to the PRIDE news.

Southern Oregon PRIDE parade took place in Ashland, Oregon. The Rogue Valley Lavender Womyn's chapter designed a float to march in the parade.  Kathy and I were able to be there to join them in this great historical event.  Ashland's first pride parade and Lavender Womyn's first float!!  If you watch this video at around 1:46, you'll see a couple seconds of Lee (the founder of the Rogue Valley chapter), and Kathy and I riding on the float.

It's was estimated that over 500 people showed up for the event.  About 200 more than they expected.

Also, here are some more links about the event:

http://www.ktvl.com/video/?videoId=630308986001&play=now

http://kdrv.com/news/local/191472

http://www.localnewscomesfirst.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&Itemid=431&task=videodirectlink&id=6237

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101010/NEWS/10100322

http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/_flash/gallery/gallery.html&Site=DT&Date=20101009&Category=MEDIA0101&ArtNo=100909991&Ref=PH

Many thanks to the Rogue Valley womyn who worked so hard to make this a reality for the Lavender Womyn to be a part of this parade.