July 21, 2005

Minnis wrong to quash SB 1000

Karen Minnis, Speaker of the Oregon House, is using the power of her office to subvert the Oregon Constitution. She is personally preventing a vote on Senate Bill 1000 (civil unions for same-same couples), even though the majority of Oregonians, including the Republicans in the House, support civil unions.

Her dishonesty in her expressed reasons would be laughable, if it were not so serious. She is saying that Measure 36, the ban on marriage equality, also was a vote against civil unions.

Here's what Tim Nashif, head of the Oregon Family Council Director and an organizer of the Measure 36 campaign, told the Bend Bulletin on Aug. 20, 2004: "Same-sex couples should seek marriage-like rights through another avenue, such as civil unions." Throughout the campaign last year, M36 supporters had the same message: Ban gay marriage because they can always seek civil unions (see www.trackthelies.com for a full listing of these citations).

I'm sitting in the auditorium of the Linus Pauling Middle School here in Corvallis. The room is full: parents and siblings, bands, and music. Tonight is the school year's final concert, and we're here to see how much the kids have learned this year.

I don't have a kid in this school, though. My son goes to Corvallis High, but he plays in the band there and I agreed to help Marshall Price, the band teacher at both schools, with some slides and music before and after the concert. So I'm sitting in a corner, the band with the youngest kids has just finished playing the "Spiderman" theme (back from when I was younger than these kids; that Spiderman theme), and now I have to move for a while...

...and that band has finished, and I'm back in my chair in the corner. There are three bands at the middle school, and they are spread from corner to corner, across the front of the auditorium. So my corner became the focal point for about 10 minutes, and I didn't think I should be sitting back with a bunch of 7th grade percussionists.

Dear Senator Smith

I write to you father to father, and from a common perspective. I'll explain that in a moment, but first I want to tell you what I did this evening.

I joined several hundred residents of Corvallis to stand in support of and in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan. Our vigil was organized and hosted by Bart and Leah, husband and wife, both retired military officers. Around 300 of us stood in the cool, clear evening and listened to parents speak of their children, one young woman speak of her year serving in Iraq, a Marine "grunt" vet of Vietnam speak of how he still suffers 32 years later, and many others speak their opposition to this war and their sorrow for Cindy. We held candles that shined brighter as the night grew darker -- funny how that works. We sang "We shall overcome," as if it were the good old days when that song was unambivalent in meaning. We blew out our candles, smiled warmly at one another, and we returned home.

Cindy Sheehan will not be returning home for a long time; that was the point of the 1,600 vigils across the country tonight. She is taking a stand in memory of her son and, from her perspective, on behalf of all the other sons and daughters who have died, been hurt, and remain under threat in Iraq (and may I add, that includes Iraqi sons and daughters). To walk downtown and stand in front of the beautiful Benton County Courthouse was a simple and easy thing to do; the rest of what needs to be done is terribly difficult, but still, it is quite simple. We must stop this war.