19
PHOTO BY K.H.
the illusion that women already belong. The
idea works.
© The Second Foundation of Oregon forms
as an organization offering referral services and
discussion groups for gay men and lesbians.
1971
© The Second Foundation of Oregon pub
lishes a newspaper, The Fountain, and sponsors
a gay pride celebration in Portland to com
memorate Stonewall with indoor events such
as dances and drag shows.
© Portland’s court system holds the first
public elections to select an empress instead of
having judges select one during a ball. Tracey
St. James wins the election and becomes
Empress XIV. In 1972, Darcelle becomes the
15th empress.
1972
© Oregon’s revised state criminal code that
repeals the sodomy statute goes into effect in
January.
© The Second Foundation of Oregon
opens the Gay Community Center at 258 S.W.
Alder St. in Portland.
© After playing softball all summer, a les
bian team called the Lavender Menace takes
up volleyball.
1973
© A Woman’s Place Bookstore opens at
706 S.E. Grand Ave. in Portland.
© Activists in Klamath Falls organize the
Klamath Gay Union.
Snickers LaBarr stops to whip up some biscuits at the end of the Oregon Trail
P
T
rn
vrFP
n
ttwo
.
J r l u l l Ju JE n JC tJU L i v l
QUEERS
(We can’t prove we were on the O regon
But we
can ojjer snippets of our rich history Jrom 1969 onward
C ompiled by P at Y o u n g
S
ure, queers have been around forever. But let’s face it, many of us in
the United States rewind to 1969—the year of the Stonewall riots—
when we think of “queer history.”
Given that 1999 marks the 30th anniversary of Stonewall, 1969 does seem
like a sensible place to begin our glance at some of the gay goings-on that
have left an imprint on Oregon.
1969
© A few of Portland’s female impersonators
organize the Portland Forum, which provides
social and cultural activities for the gay com
munity.
Besides having fun with yearly balls and the
crowning of a queen or empress, the group con
centrates on citywide charity campaigns. With
in the next five years, the group raises thou
sands of dollars for charity.
1970
© Portland Gay Liberation Front forms
after John Wilkinson and Holly Hart write
articles about gay life in Portland for the alter
native newspaper Willamette Bridge. Mostly
men join the group.
Hart determines that women would feel safe
to join if they thought a group of lesbians
already existed, so she writes several articles
and signs them with different names, giving
© In Portland, five people attend an orga
nizational meeting of the
Gay Public Employees
Federation of Oregon. Or
ganizers post 100 notices
in public buildings to
announce the meeting; all
but two of the notices are
tom down.
© The House State
and Federal Affairs Com
mittee hears testimony on
House Bill 2930, the first
gay rights bill introduced
in the Oregon Legislature.
A lobbyist supported
by the Second Foundation
works long and hard in
favor of the bill, which is
narrowly defeated.
® Eugene City Coun
cil votes against includ
ing gay people in the city’s equal opportunity
ordinance.
1974
© Five lesbians purchase land in Southern
Oregon and start the collective called Woman-
Share. In the fall, lesbians living in Wolf Creek
publish the magazine WomanSpirit, which runs
for 10 years.
© The Portland Association of Gay Equali
ty wants Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt to
issue a proclamation for Gay Pride
Week. The mayor decides to
skip it.
© By a 3-2
vote, the Port
land City Coun
cil adopts Resolu
tion No. 31510
banning job dis
crimination on the
basis of sexual orien-
tation for city employees. By the same margin,
tire council rejects efforts to put the issue
before voters.
The president of the Portland Police Asso
ciation speaks against the resolution saying it
should not apply to police officers because it
would decrease public respect for them.
© Motivated by the passage of Portland’s
resolution, the Portland Town Council orga
nizes a lobbying effort aimed at the 1975 state
Legislature in hopes of passing a statewide gay
rights bill. Previously, PTC served as an
umbrella organization for the gay community
and coordinated bar events so they didn’t occur
on the same days.
1975
© Despite a broad-based lobbying effort by
the Portland Town Council, House Bill 2637,
which would ban discrimination against gay
people in employment, housing and public
accommodations, stalls in committee. A few
months later, HB2288— a compromise bill
dealing only with employment— fails by one
vote.
© About 200 people attend Portland’s first
outdoor, public gay pride fair.
1976
© Gov. Bob Straub establishes the Task
Force on Sexual Preference.
© Portland Town Council holds a fund
raising event for two pro-gay politicians. The
spaghetti feed nets $230— that’s $115 for Vera
Katz and $ 115 for Stephen Kafoury.
© Parents Ann Shepherd and Charles
Knapp staff a sign-up table at the gay pride
rally, thus starting Par
ents of Gays, which
grows into the Portland
chapter of Parents, Fam
ilies and Friends of Les
bians and Gays.
1977
© Jerry Weller forms
PTC-PAC, a political
action committee that
raises money for pro-gay
candidates. It is the sec
ond gay political action
committee to form in
the nation.
© The Capital
Forum forms in Salem as
24 people attend the
first meeting. The orga
nization serves the needs
of gay men and lesbians in Benton, Lincoln,
Linn, Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties.
© Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt issues
a proclamation for Gay Pride Day. Negative
phone calls flood his office and opponents
launch a short-lived recall effort. Pastors from
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