just out ▼ soptombor 20. 1900 ▼ 15
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A
Different Kind
Of Real Estate
Professional
Log Cabin fever
No hype.
No bull.
No pressure.
The Oregon gay and lesbian Republican group is on a roll
with a Pink Elephant dinner and a push for new members
Just the facts, honest advice, dear communica
tions and steady direction to make your home
selling or buying process as quick, profitable
and problem-free as possible.
▼
Selling or purchasing a home, you can count
on Zach. He'll never put you in the doghouse!
by Inga Sorensen
t was nearly two decades ago when Kevin
Wadsworth helped launch Concerned Citi
zens for Individual Rights, a San Francisco
group for gay and lesbian Republicans.
“The group was founded in 1978. It was
the predecessor to Log Cabin Republicans.
ever thought this little San Francisco group would
blossom into the national organization that Log
Cabin is today?” laughs Wadsworth, 48, Log
Cabin’s newly elected western regional director.
With an estimated 10,000 members, Log Cabin
has 54 chapters in 36 states. The group strives to
educate the Republican Party on issues of concern
to gay men and lesbians.
“Believe it or not, one of those who helped get
Concerned Citizens off the ground was Harvey
Milk, whom I happen to share a birthday with,
May 22. Harvey was strongly partisan in favor of
Democrats, but he understood the importance of
having an established gay
presence in both parties,
and it was something he
wanted to support,” says
Wadsworth, who traveled
from his home near Sacra
mento to partake in Oregon
Log Cabin Republicans’
Pink Elephant Dinner, held
Sept. 15 in Portland. The
group hopes to make the
dinner an annual event.
G enerating support,
sharing history and estab
lishing a new Oregon tradi
tion were among the goals
of the dinner, says Jerry
Keene, a Portland attorney
and Oregon Log Cabin’s
president.
According to Keene, 24
people— 23 of whom were ,
men, and nearly all Euro- erry eene
pean Americans—turned out for the fledgling event.
The featured speaker was Oregon Labor Com
missioner Jack Roberts, and an award was pre
sented in honor of state schools superintendent of
public instruction Norma Paulus, a former Re
publican state legislator and longtime supporter
of anti-discrimination legislation.
“This was a celebration for us,” says Keene. “I
think when Right to Privacy held its first dinner
many years ago, only a handful of people showed
up. You have to start somewhere.”
Keene says Oregon Log Cabin has a mailing
list of “about 45,” but he estimates that between
15 and 20 active members participate in the group’s
monthly meetings.
“I think a couple of years ago, people associated
Oregon Log Cabin with maybe two or three people,
who pretty much made political statements,” he
says. “We’re trying to go in a different direction
and really focus on developing our organization
and get more members throughout the state.”
Keene was among a group of Log Cabin
members who attended the Republican National
Convention held in San Diego in August. That
convention began the day after the closing of the
Log Cabin convention, which was held in the
same city from Aug. 9 to 11.
“A group of about 30 or 40 of us went to the
Republican Convention wearing our ‘Big Tent’
buttons. We went up to everyone we could and let
them know who we were and why we were there. I
even went up to [Christian Coalition honcho] Ralph
Reed and introduced myself,” Keene says. “He
seemed shocked at first, but then shook my hand.”
I
According to Wadsworth, delegates at the Log
Cabin convention held a vigorous debate over
whether to endorse the GOP nominee, Bob Dole.
The organization declined to endorse GOP
nominee George Bush in 1992 because of his
campaign’s anti-gay overtones. After the Dole
Who
campaign publicly said it would welcome Log
Cabin’s endorsement, delegates voted to back
Dole by a 3-to-l margin—even though the rela
tionship between Dole and Log Cabin has been a
touchy one.
Last year the Dole campaign solicited and
received a $ 1,000 donation from Log Cabin. The
campaign then returned the money when news of
the donation became public. Dole agreed with
that decision, but later said it was a mistake.
Despite the snag, Log Cabin officials describe
Dole as a moderate. They say when he served in
the Senate he implemented a nondiscrimination
policy in his office which
covered sexual orienta
tion. The group also says
Dole has a solid record on
AIDS issues.
D etractors, m ean
while, say Dole has a long
record of opposing equal
rights. They say he has
voted to “prevent schools
from promoting homo
sexuality,” opposed lifting
the military ban on gay
and lesbian service mem
bers, supported Clarence
Thomas for the U.S. Su
preme Court, opposed
R oberta A ch ten b erg ’s
nomination to a high level
Housing and Urban De
velopment post, and sup
ported restrictions on
AIDS prevention pro
grams aimed at youth.
“If we think we have a genuine opportunity to
make a difference in a campaign or administra
tion, then we will try,” says an undaunted Keene.
In addition to endorsing Dole, Log Cabin
recently issued a letter to all Republican U.S.
senators (prior to the vote on the Defense of
Marriage Act) in which the group denounced the
bill, describing it as unconstitutional and a form
of “gay-bashing.”
“People may not always understand us, but we
do stand by our bottom-line principles,” says
Keene. He adds, “At the same time, we realize
that change doesn’t happen overnight. It took gay
activists years and years to make those same
changes within the Democratic Party. We too can
be an influence within the Republican Party.
Leaving the party is not the answer.”
Speaking of influencing the GOP, Keene says he
has spoken a couple of times with Republican U.S.
Senate candidate Gordon Smith about the position
Smith would have taken on the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act, federal legislation that would
have, in some cases, prohibited employment dis
crimination based on sexual orientation. The Senate
recently defeated the bill by a 50-49 vote.
Smith accepted the Oregon Citizens Alliance
endorsement during a previous Senate bid. He is
also on record as opposing human rights protec
tions based on sexual orientation.
“He has said to me that ENDA seemed like a
moderate piece of legislation,” says Keene. “We
are pushing him to make a statement on what
position he would have taken.”
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