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Friends in court
The State o f Oregon weighs in on the Amendment 2 debate
▼
by Inga Sorensen
aying that Oregon voters have a right to
see some resolve on the issue of gay and
lesbian rights, state officials are draft
ing an amicus brief to be considered by
the nation’s highest court.
“From a legal standpoint, this is a real oppor
tunity for us to see some closure on this issue. No
other state has the extensive history Oregon has
when it comes to anti-gay rights initiatives,” says
Marla Rae, a spokeswoman for the state attorney
general’s office. “We think the [U.S. Supreme
Court] should have an opportunity to learn and
reflect upon our experiences here.”
The high court is currently considering Romer
vs. Evans, a Colorado case involving Amendment
2, a statewide initiative approved by voters in
1992. The measure, which
the Colorado Supreme Court
has overturned, prohibits the
enactment of lesbian and gay
rights ordinances. Opponents
maintain Amendment 2 ex
cludes gay men and lesbians
from full participation in the
political process.
Earlier this month, Or
egon Gov. John Kitzhaber
announced he has asked At
torney General Ted
Kulongoski to file an amicus,
or friend-of-the-court, brief
opposing Amendment 2.
Such briefs are filed by indi
viduals, organizations or gov
ernment agencies who claim
to have an interest in the case
and information of value to
the court. Information in these John Kitzhaber
briefs may assist justices by
presenting an argument or point of law that the
parties in the case have not raised. Friend-of-the-
court briefs are also often designed to “pressure”
the court to reach a particular decision.
Oregon is the only state opposing Amendment
2, while Alabama, Idaho and Virginia have sig
naled that they will back the state of Colorado in
this case.
“It seems to me that the governor really made
up his mind to do this on his own,” says state Rep.
George Eighmey (D-Portland). “He came to me
and other [gay and lesbian state lawmakers] and
asked whether we would support his decision to
do this. Needless to say, we are absolutely de
lighted—but I have to admit that I thought to
myself: ‘Why didn’t we think of that?’ ”
Both Kitzhaber and Kulongoski are longtime
supporters of gay and lesbian rights. Kitzhaber,
who has been very vocal in his opposition to the
discriminatory initiatives sponsored by the Or
egon Citizens Alliance, says Amendment 2 is
“clearly a violation of constitutional rights.”
S
“We met with the governor in early March to
talk about proactive gay rights legislation we’re
currently working on,” explains Greg Jackson,
executive director of Right To Privacy, a state
wide gay and lesbian rights group. “During that
conversation Gov. Kitzhaber asked us whether
we felt it was OK to file the amicus brief. We said
absolutely.”
“I was mildly surprised by the governor’s
announcement, because quite frankly, this is not
something he had to do,” says William Lunch, a
political commentator for Oregon Public Broad
casting. “The more standard and perhaps more
political speculation is that the gay community is
by and large viewed as a strong backer of the
Democratic Party and it’s pay-back time, [but] I
would guess that he’s
doing this because he be
lieves it’s right.”
Jackson adds: “Not
only does the governor
believe this is the ethi
cally right thing to do,
he also realizes that a lot
of money has already
been wasted because of
these initiatives—
money that could be used
for social services and
other
important
things.... We have
learned a lot from these
seven years of attacks
on gay
men and lesbi-
»»
ans.
Oregon voters began
considering initiatives
targeting gay men and
lesbians in 1988, when
the then-fledgling OCA successfully persuaded
citizens to repeal a state executive order barring
discrimination based on sexual orientation in state
governmental practices. In 1992 and 1994, citi
zens voted down proposed state constitutional
amendments that targeted gay men and lesbians.
Additionally, citizens in more than two dozen
Oregon communities have considered local ini
tiatives during the past couple of years, and more
statewide initiatives targeting lesbians and gay
men are poised for the 1996 general election
ballot.
“No other state has faced three statewide elec
tions dealing with anti-gay initiatives. We have an
unfortunate but unique interest in what happens
with Romer vs. Evans," says state Rep. Gail
Shibley (D-Portland), adding tens of thousands of
taxpayer dollars have been spent on legal chal
lenges stemming from these initiatives.
Rae estimates that it will cost between $8,000
and $9,000 to prepare the brief, which will be
submitted to the Supreme Court in June.
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