FRIDAYEXTRA !
The Daily Astorian
Friday, January 8, 2016
Weekend Edition
THE LONG ROAD TO ACCEPTANCE
Attitudes
on gay
marriage
among young
people have
shifted rapidly
By MATT LOVE
Special to The Daily Astorian
I
’ve taught high school English and social stud-
ies in rural, urban and suburban Oregon public
schools since the late 1980s and have seen a lot
of changes during that time: the rise of computers,
the domination of testing mandates, the privatization
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tocols, more students prescribed anti-depressants,
fears of a school shooting, increase of non-English
speaking students, special math and science initia-
tives for female students, more female administra-
tors, reduction of creative arts opportunities for chil-
dren, and so on.
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ments. Many have resisted and other changes have
proved catastrophic.
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over the course of my eclectic teaching career is the
seismic shift to acceptance of gay, lesbian and trans-
gender students, even in rural communities outside
of the more liberal places like Portland and Eugene.
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lifetime. Thank goodness it did; it literally has saved
lives.
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an interesting one. Several years ago, I served as
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columns about their experiences as a gay or lesbian
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column, published in 2009 began:
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the daugh-
ter of a pastor, my
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creeping into her room at age 14, far past midnight,
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nity’s reaction to her sexual orientation affected her.
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come and safe in public schools. Many high school
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Remember Oregon in the late 1980s and early 1990s
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sures that tore this state apart?
Remember the notorious Measure 9, in 1992 and
Measure 13, in 1994? The former sought to amend
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in Oregon may not use their monies or properties
to promote, encourage or facilitate homosexuali-
ty, pedophilia, sadism or masochism. All levels of
government, including public education systems,
must assist in setting a standard for Oregon’s youth
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I taught in the Portland
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izen Alliance’s heyday and the
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pro-Measure 13 buttons at school, and adver-
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forming in practice or games.
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consistently assaulted by other male students and
nobody did a damn thing about it, including me.
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are much better as a result.
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voted for Measure 9). In the ensuing years the cli-
mate for acceptance in much of Oregon dramatically
changed, but it obviously engendered a backlash and
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ly marry in Oregon a year before the U.S. Supreme
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The last decade has seen revolutionary change
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ous change. Today’s students, at least the ones I’ve
taught over the last decade in Oregon, don’t resist
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are, they have been in the vanguard on this issue. I
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Matt Love is the author/editor of 14 books about
Oregon, including “The Great Birthright.” He teach-
es English and creative writing at Astoria High
School.
Truly, I never saw it coming. I never thought this
monumental shift would occur in my professional lifetime.
Thank goodness it did; it literally has saved lives.