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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us June 12, 2006 Prom goers at the "Brokeback Prom" danced to The Time Warp as the evening wound down Friday . Sarah Hale. | Daily Tidings Openness, acceptance mark Gay Pride Festival By Alan Panebaker Ashland Daily Tidings When Jammie Roberts was 16 years old, he came out of the closet into a world that was unaccepting of his sexual orientation. He changed high schools from Crater High to Eagle Point, was shunned by some family members and has been attacked while dressed as a woman. Wearing scant cowgirl attire at the “Brokeback Prom” at the A Street Marketplace Friday night, Roberts — now in his 20s — spoke about the difficulties of being gay in the Rogue Valley. Jammie Roberts, left, and Daniel Weiderstron, right, start the evening off with a fast dance at the 'Brokeback Prom' on Friday. The event was part of the Gay Pride Festival last week in Southern Oregon. “We’ll walk down the street in Medford and just get awful looks from people,” Roberts said. “But everyone in Ashland has been very supportive.” For Roberts, his fiance and many other gay, lesbian and transgendered people in the Rogue Valley, organizations like the Abdill-Ellis Lambda Community Center Association, Not Straight Not Sure (a youth group) and Southern Oregon University’s Queer Resource Center have been saving graces. With that in mind, Mario Fergoso of Not Straight Not Sure got together with some friends and organized an event called the “Brokeback Prom: The Prom You Never Had!” “We wanted something that would grab people’s attention in the gay community,” Fergoso said of the event’s title, taken from the film “Brokeback Mountain.” “We decided to do the prom thing because a lot of high schools in the area don’t allow same-sex couples.” Fergoso said most high schools will not give same-sex couples the same discount as opposite-sex couples. The Brokeback Prom was the second event in the three-day Southern Oregon Gay Pride Festival. “Queer Film Night” at Southern Oregon University June 8 started the festival, and the “Bringing it Home Pride Picnic” in Medford’s Alba Park on Saturday culminated the festival. “We just wanted to have an event that created unity between the gay and straight communities,” Fergoso said. Not Straight Not Sure acts as a youth support group for people 15 to 25 years old who are thinking about coming out or already have. They have a confidential voice mail, e-mail address and Myspace account. Jason Nance, a Rogue Valley resident, connected with Not Straight Not Sure shortly after moving to Ashland from the Dallas/Fort Worth area five years ago. Surprised by the relative openness of people in Southern Oregon, Nance, who is now 25, was able to unite with the group and work with other young people. Now he is moving on from the youth group, but said it helped him to be more comfortable with himself and gave him the opportunity to help others. “I didn’t get a lot of the help that other people did,” Nance said, “but I didn’t need it.” Coming from Texas, Nance said he felt immediately more comfortable when he arrived in the Rogue Valley. “It’s good to know I’m not just going to get killed for being gay,” he said. While Nance’s connection with the group was easy and not very stressful, youth adviser Delaine Due said that is not always the case. Due talks to people who are interested in joining the group, conducts intake interviews and offers advice. “A lot of kids have gotten kicked out of the house three or four times by the time they contact us,” Due said. She said that rights and acceptance for gay, lesbian and transgendered people have improved, but there is still a lot more ground to cover. Due said that half of all people with whom she has intake interviews don’t end up making it to the group, and in lots of instances, it’s because they do not have the family support they need to accept their sexual orientation. “For someone who’s been out since they were 12 and has a supportive family, it’s a totally different story,” Due said. Adam Sorensen, Jammie Roberts’ fiance, said Not Straight Not Sure turned into a second family of sorts for him. Sorensen grew up in a military family that he considers relatively accepting. His mother accompanied him to the pride picnic Saturday, and he said he and Roberts will get married next year, regardless of whether the state of Oregon recognizes their union. Currently, Oregon does not recognize same-sex marriages. After the Multnomah County government began issuing licenses in 2004, a legal battle ensued, ending with the voiding of more than 2,000 marriage licenses. On July 8, 2005, Oregon state senators passed legislation to allow same-sex civil unions, but after Republican Speaker of the House Karen Minnis publicly announced she would not let the bill pass, it died in committee. However, many businesses and state employers in Oregon offer domestic partner benefits, such as health insurance, to people who maintain exclusive relationships, live together and are not married. To contact Not Straight Not Sure or to set up an intake interview, call 301-3059, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.myspace.com/notstraightnotsure. Staff writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456 x 227 or [email protected]. . DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams