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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
February 18, 2015 The Portland Observer Black INSIDE The Week in Review S PORTS page 2 Page 3 This page Sponsored by: L OCAL N EWS Public Service Denied pages 10-11 Ambridge Center won’t rent to black gay support group BY O LIVIA O LIVIA M ETRO History Month page 13 T HE P ORTLAND O BSERVER An application to rent the Ambridge Event Center in Portland from a black gay support group has been turned down because the owner of the facility has a religious objec- tion, a rejection that appears to vio- late Oregon’s public accommodation laws. The Portland Black PFLAG (for- merly Parents, Friends, and Family of Lesbians and Gays) chapter now finds itself searching for a new venue while considering legal action and a formal complaint with the Civil Rights Division of the Oregon Bu- reau of Labor and Industries. Located next door to the Oregon Convention Center, the Ambridge Event Center is owned by the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, which is also located in the same northeast Portland neighborhood. Despite advertising itself as “in- finitely flexible, warmly accommo- dating” for meetings and confer- ences, Ambridge Center managers said they have a contract with the church that prevents them from rent- ing to people related to the LGBTQ community. “If it was for the Ambridge itself we would host the event no prob- lem. We love having all sorts of events here. This is just strictly be- cause of our contract with our church doesn’t allow us to host this event,” an Ambridge official wrote to the group in a Feb. 13 email. The organization wanted a big enough venue to seat and cater to a party of over 250 guests for their anniversary scheduled for mid April. Khalil Edwards, one of the coordi- nators for the organization, said the event might have to be postponed if they cannot find another suitable venue by the end of the week. Rev. Vincent M. Kelber of the Holy Rosary Church confirmed that the church had a management con- tract with the Ambridge Center but could not comment on the details of that contract. As the first African-American PFLAG group in the nation, the Portland chapter focuses on sup- porting, educating and creating advocacy for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their immediate families, providing op- portunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and supporting acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. Charlie Burr, who manages me- dia for the Bureau of Labor and Industries, said he could not com- ment directly if this was a discrimi- nation case, but indicated that it may violate the Oregon Equality Act in which no person can be de- nied access to housing or public accommodation. There are exceptions for religious organizations, but they are narrow, he said, indicating that an investi- gation would be necessary to deter- mine further action, including pos- sible fines and other penalties. pages 12-18 C ALENDAR C LASSIFIEDS O PINION pages 22-23 page 19 page 21 Poised to Become Governor Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, pictured in an archive AP photo, is scheduled to be sworn in to office Wednesday as Oregon next chief executive at the State Capitol in Salem. Gov. John Kitzhaber is stepping down amid allegations over influence pedaling. See story, page 8.