2013 AUGUST NEWSLETTER

The 2013 August Newsletter can be found here.

Don’t miss these events…..

Coming Out as a Person of Faith Exhibit and Receptions–Marriage Equality from a faith perspective–presentation and discussion: Sunday, August 4 2-4 pm at Congregational Church in Lincoln City Sunday, August 11 2-4 pm at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Waldport Sunday, August 25 2-4 pm at Atonement Lutheran Church in Newport

First PFLAG Meeting in Lincoln City: Wednesday, Aug. 7, 6:00-8:00 pm at St. James Episcopal Church in Lincoln City Join us to get this new PFLAG chapter off to a good start!

Annual PFLAG & Welcoming Congregations Picnic: Sunday, Aug. 18, 2:00-4:00 pm at Yaquina Bay State Recreation Site (Fishermen’s Park) in Newport, west of the north end of the Yaquina Bay Bridge–at the picnic area at the South end of the park, between Yaquina Bay Bridge and Old Lighthouse. Bring some food to share–and bring a friend for this relaxing time together

Marriage Equality Petitions: If you haven’t yet been trained (15 min.) to collect signatures for the marriage equality petitions, call Ineka at 1-541-829-9049 for Newport area or Nancy Mead at 541-765-2371 for north county to arrange for training or to get more petitions. We have over 20 people trained and have collected almost 500 signatures in only FIVE days!! Way to go, Lincoln County!!

Thanks for all you’re doing to make Lincoln County safer and more welcoming!

2013 JULY NEWSLETTER

The 2013 July Newsletter can be found here.

PFLAG to meet in Lincoln City Aug. 7 Oregon Central Coast PFLAG (OCC PFLAG) has been meeting in Newport since 2008. And will meet in Lincoln City for the first time on August 7 at 6:00 pm at St. James Santiago Episcopal Church, 2490 N.E. U.S. Highway 101, Lincoln City. All GLBT and parents, family, and friends of GLBT are invited to attend. Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) was established in the early 1970’s. PFLAG is a national organization whose purpose is to provide support, education, and advocacy for families and friends of people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identities. OCC PFLAG was started in 2008 following the suicide of a Newport High School student who had been harassed and bullied at school. A group of LGBT professionals in Lincoln County decided to make our county safer for gay teens. The first step was to establish a PFLAG chapter for support, education and advocacy. Supporting teens continues as a top priority for OCC PFLAG. PFLAG acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. As the parents, families, and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons, we celebrate diversity and work toward a society that embraces everyone. We provide love and support for all PFLAG members, family and friends. We work to create an environment of understanding so our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender loved ones can live safely with dignity and respect.

Coming Out as a Person of Faith. An Exhibit entitled “Coming Out as a Person of Faith” will be at three of the Welcoming Churches in Lincoln County in August. A short description of the exhibit is found here: http://www.bilerico.com/2013/07/coming_out_as_a_person_of_faith.php#more and in more detail here http://www.oregonunitedformarriage.org/people-of-faith-for-marriage The exhibit will be shown at the following welcoming congregations and followed by a discussion. August 4, 2:00 pm — Congregational Church of Lincoln City 1760 NW 25th Street Lincoln City, OR 97367 August 11, 2:00 pm — St. Luke’s-by-the-Sea Episcopal Highway 101 Waldport, OR 97394

July 2013 meeting and newsletter The July 2013 newsletter of Oregon Central Coast PFLAG can be found here. Big thanks to Nel Ward who does a great job with our newsletter. Please join us on Thursday, July 4 in Yachats when PFLAG will be a rainbow presence in the LaDeDa Parade. We’ll gather about 11 AM in the covered shelter behind Yachats Commons to make signs and share our rainbow gear! The parade starts at noon and there are lots of activities and food events to enjoy in Yachats all afternoon. On Wed., July 10 our PFLAG meeting at 7 PM at St. Stephen’s Church in Newport will focus on Welcoming Churches–and how they came to be Welcoming! Always time for support, socializing, and refreshments as well. Saturday, July 13 is our turn at Saturday Market in Newport–stop by to visit and thank the PFLAG and Welcoming Church volunteers! Saturday, July 20 is the statewide kickoff for Oregon’s Marriage Equality ballot measure signature gathering. Watch for an email with more info on how we will organize to gather LOTS of signatures in Lincoln County. Thanks for all you’re doing to make our communities safer and more welcoming to our LGBT family & friends,

2013 JUNE NEWSLETTER

The 2013 June Newsletter can be found here.

Two decisions were announced Wednesday by the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of marriage.

These cases are a victory for loving, married couples and their families — and for equal justice under the law. The Supreme Court affirmed that all loving and committed couples who marry deserve equal legal respect and treatment. Today the justices ruled on the right side of history.

Our country is on a journey of understanding. As more people talk to gay and lesbian friends and family about why marriage matters, they’re coming to realize that this is not a political issue. This is about encouraging long term loving and committed relationships.

There is a groundswell of momentum. Our neighboring state Washington and other states recently have extended the freedom to marry to every loving and committed couple. A number of foreign countries have done likewise. Polls show a growing majority believe all loving and committed couples should have the freedom to marry. And this ruling hopefully brings us one step closer to winning the freedom to marry in Oregon.

Marriage matters because it strengthens families. Marriage says “we are family” in a way that no other word does and is a fundamental freedom. It is as basic as the Golden Rule: treating others as one would want to be treated includes allowing marriage for gay and lesbian couples who are truly committed to each other. We are hopeful that Oregon will be the first state to rescind a constitutional amendment limiting the freedom to marry.

Even though these decisions are significant, they also underscore the work still to be done here in Oregon. We must continue our campaign to make marriage legal for all couples in Oregon, regardless of gender. One of the cases announced, United States v. Windsor, (the DOMA case), holds that if a couple is legally married under state law, they are also married for federal purposes. The implications are significant: a couple legally married under state law (regardless of gender) would be able to file joint tax returns, receive social security spousal benefits, receive the spousal deduction under the estate tax laws, etc. But such equality under federal law cannot be available for same-sex couples in Oregon until we change the state constitutional provision limiting the freedom to marry.