OR.COLL.
HQ
75
. J96
v. 16
no. 7
February
5
inside
February finds Flooney's
Theater Company presenting
,
The Langston Hughes P ro je c t
Page 31
olum e
P o rtla n d , O r e g o n
16 ♦ N u m b e r 7 ♦ F e b r u a r y 5, 1 9 9 9
FREE
Legislative
Lip Service
Oregon’s lawmakers
had vowed to focus
on issues like education
and transportation, but
quickly changed their tune
by I nga
University of Oregon Library
Received on: 0 2 - 0 9 -gg
Just out
Is a P o r t la n d g a y an d lesb ian c o m m u n ity c e n te r
a fa r-fe tc h e d f a n t a s y o r a r e a lity on the v e r g e ?
Page 2 1
S orensen
sc JfP fl; o much for a kinder, gentler
Legislature!” laments Jean
% Harris, executive director of
Basic Rights Oregon, a state
wide organization that promotes les
bian and gay rights.
Harris is surveying a dismal assort
ment of bills introduced by state law
makers within what feels like minutes
of the 1999 legislative session’s com
mencement.
OK, maybe it wasn’t minutes, but it
was a matter of several hours.
“Within a couple of days they were
on the attack!”
says
Harris, House Joint
whose group is Resolution 6
making its first seeks to amend
major foray into the constitution to
the land of state require state and
legislative lob local governments
b y i n g — o f t e n to obtain voter
u n pr ed ic ta b le approval before
territory
that they prohibit
discrimination
requires a vigi
based on “ the
lant eye.
sexual practices or
“You’ve got
sexual orientation
to keep track of of a person ”
what’s going on
every hour. You
just don’t know what they’ll try and
do,” says Harris.
For 15 years, Right to Pride (for
merly Right to Privacy) orchestrated
the efforts in Salem, but of late the
group has assumed a more low-key
role, with BRO taking the lead.
Since the Oregon Legislature con
vened Jan. 11, Harris and company
have been kept busy. Just a few days
into the session, Reps. Bill Witt, R-
Beaverton, and Kevin Mannix, R-
Salem, let loose with three measures
designed to undo a recent appellate
court ruling that granted some rights
to gay and lesbian people.
Continued on Page 6