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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1984)
Right to Privacy PAC Thomas Hardwick Hardwick did not answer the ques tionnaire and said that the office o f the secretary o f state could not do anything for gay and lesbian rights, the ERA or abortion, etc. He said his opinion on these matters means nothing. STATE SENATE DISTRICT RACES District 2 POW ER A POLITICS IN 1984 STATEWIDE RACES Right to Privacy PAC, Oregon's largest or ganization advocating for lesbian and gay rights issues, asked every candidate for elec tive office in the state to respond to question naires on issues sensitive to gay and lesbian constituents. The majority of those candi dates returning the questionnaires are Democrats from urban areas. With few exceptions, the responses were favorable to lesbians and gays and contained little com m ent The exceptions are indicative of the widespread homophobia among a large portion of the population. One comment underscored the ambiva lence and caution displayed by many people in districts outside the Portland Metropolitan area. The respondent a woman from South ern Oregon, said, "I already have good sup port from local gays and lesbians whom I know, but because of the conservative nature of this district I am not publicly advertising this fact” Several of the respondents noted that an endorsement from Right to Privacy PAC would hinder their candidacy although they are sympathetic to lesbian and gay rights. Legislative Candidate Questionnaire — Primary 1984 Oregon’s civil rights statutes prohibit dis crim ination based on sex, race, color, religion, or national origin. As a legislator, how would you respond to legislation to extend Oregon’s civil rights statutes to include pro tection of people who are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation in housing (for example, being able to rent an apartment) and in employment (for example, being fired from a job)? As a legislator, how would you respond to legislation to extend Oregon's civil rights sta tutes to include protection of people who are discrim inated against because of their sexual orientation in public acommodations (forex- ample, being served in a restaurant, getting a room in a hotel or obtaining a credit card)? Congress is considering different Consti tutional amendments to restrict a woman’s right to choose abortion. Some versions Cl.S. Sen ator Margie Hendrickson, (Eugene) Hendrickson is a progressive. She has worked hard for us in the state senate. If she wins the primary she will oppose Mark Hatfield in November. Endorsed by Right to Privacy PAC. CONGRESS District 1 George Vernon, (Beaverton) Vernon does not appear to be politi cally progressive. He is a Republican. District 3 Thom as Phelan, (Portland) A vote for Phelan would not serve the best interests o f his d istrict District 4 ' Jim Weaver, Eugene) Weaver is a co-sponsor of HR 2624. overturn the 1973 Ü.S. Supreme Court deci sion that abortion is a Constitutional right under the privacy clause. Other versions would allow both Congress and states to re strict a woman’s right to choose abortion with the m ost restrictive law controlling. Should the Oregon Legislature face any such Con stitutional am endm ent how would you respond? Will you actively seek the support and votes of lesbians and gay men in your campaign? C ongressional Candidate Q uestionnaire — Primary 1984 Congress is now considering a bill (H.R. 2624) that would add prohibitions against discrim ination based on sexual orientation to the existing protections of the 1964 Civil Rights A ct How would you respond to such a bill? W ould you sponsor legislation such as District 5 Ruth McFarland, (Woodbum) McFarland is progressive and fair- minded. She has been endorsed by Right to Privacy PAC. She is opposing conservative Democrat Denny Smith. A vote for McFarland is a vote for us. S tate Treasurer: Grattan Kerans. Kerans has been a friend to lesbians and gays. He is also in favor of ERA and , is pro-choice. Secretary o f State: Barbara Roberts Roberts will advocate gay and lesbian rights. Is pro-choice and pro-ERA. En dorsed by Right to Privacy PAC. Jim Gardner Gardner co-sponsored Oregon les bian and gay rights bills introduced in ’79, ’81 and ’83. And he will continue to lobby for our civil rights. Endorsed by H.R. 2624 as mentioned above? Cinder current provisions of the immigra tion law, lesbians and gay men can be ex cluded from entering the United States. How would you respond to legislation eliminating such provisions from the immigration law? Would you support preserving judicial re view of exclusion decisions made by the Immigration and Naturalization Service? Right to Privacy Questionnaire In light of the experience of the AIDS (Ac quired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) crisis, will you support efforts to make the nation’s health care system more responsive to public health emergencies in the future? How would you respond to an administra tive or legislative attempt to restrict access by gays or lesbians to any government-funded program? Del Isham . (Newport) Isham needs m ore pressure from his constituencey, he is iffy on m ost issues o f lesbian and gay rights but is an advo cate o f ERA and is pro-choice. Our Newport readers should let Isham know how they feel about his representation in the Senate. District 6. Jan Wyers (Portland) Wyers has been supportive since 1975 and fought for SB 319 in ’83. En dorsed by Right to Privacy PAC. Carolyn Gaudry Gaudry said she wanted to learn more about the issues and did not have enough tim e to answer the question naire. District 7 Mark Goldfarb (Portland) Co-founder o f the Hawthorne Boule vard Business Association and Oregon Fair Share member, Goldfarb says he understands the district, half East County and half YCJPpy and GtlPpy. Goldfarb is opposing the incum bent Rod Monroe, who last year voted against SB 319 after prom ising to vote in favor. Monroe did not respond to the question naire. A vote for Goldfarb would be a vote in our fa vo r. (SB 319 was a lesbian and gay rights bill introduced last year which reached the Senate floor before being defeated.) D istrict8 Bill McCoy, (Portland) McCoy has the endorsement o f the Do you support passage of the Equal Rights Amendment? Do you support freedom of choice on abortion? How would you respond to restrictions on Medicaid and other federally financed pro grams that attempt to lim it access to abortion by women? How would you respond to constitutional amendments that would restrict a woman’s right to choose an abortion or that would leave the matter to the states? Will you actively seek the support and votes of lesbians and gay men in your elec tion campaign? Will you work to include openly gay/lesbian people on your campaign and Congressional staff? T 6 Just Out, April 27-May 11