We're with Kate Brown!

Kate Brown has been a tireless advocate for civil rights in Oregon - but aside from this fact, we are voting for Kate Brown for Oregon Secretary of State because her nearly two decades of experience and major accomplishments in the state. As the first female Senate Majority leader, we know Kate to be extremely fair, yet tough when she needs to be. Kate is by far the most qualified candidate for the job and we are proud to stand up with thousands of other Oregonians in voting for her.

Gay Rights Watch encourages all Oregonians to vote for Kate Brown for Secretary of State - and we're definitely not alone. Just take a look at her roster of endorsements. This is just the short list, view the full list here.

Oregon Education Association
SEIU Locals 503 and 49
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
Basic Rights Oregon
NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon PAC
Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council
Working Families Party
EMILY's List
Victory Fund
Twenty-First Century Democrats
Working Families Party
Carpenters Local 1065
Oregon Small Business for Responsible Leadership

Newspaper Endorsements:
The Oregonian
The Statesman Journal
The East Oregonian
The Medford Mail Tribune
Just Out
Portland Mercury
El Hispanic News
The Skanner

Visit www.katebrownfororegon.com to learn more about her and why she is the most qualified and most respected candidate for Oregon Secretary of State.

Labels: 2008 elections, oregon

As Oregonians are voting right this very second - and each day following until May 20th (we all vote by mail), I feel this wave of change and damn it feels good. With a solid victory in North Carolina and what I consider a victory in Indiana - Obama-rama is taking hold.

On a side note, Oregonians should know that Obama will be in here Oregon May 9th and 10th. That is this Friday and Saturday! More details to come on location, etc.

I leave you with this.

Labels: 2008 elections, 2008 Presidential Election, barack obama

Today Basic Rights Oregon endorsed Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams for the upcoming '08 Portland Mayor race, while green lighting Sho Dozono.

Via BRO:

On behalf of the Basic Rights Oregon Equality PAC, we are pleased to announce our endorsement of Sam Adams for Mayor of Portland. We have also issued a Green Light for Sho Dozono. When Portland Commissioner Sam Adams and longtime ally Sho Dozono each came seeking the endorsement of our Equality PAC in their campaigns to become the next Mayor of Portland, we knew it would be a competitive process.

Commissioner Sam Adams is a smart and effective elected leader and a well-respected champion of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Oregonians. Business owner Sho Dozono has an admirable history of advocacy for our community, and plays a significant role in encouraging all Oregon businesses to stand up for equality.

But after carefully weighing our options in this race, our choice was clear. Basic Rights Oregon's Equality PAC is proud to issue a full endorsement of Sam Adams. We have also issued a Green Light for Sho Dozono.

Read the rest over at BRO's website.

Labels: 2008 elections, portland, sam adams

'Sho' nuff. 'Sho' not. Our vote is with Sam.

Labels: 2008 elections, portland, sam adams

John McCain who just won Florida tonight, also happened to stoop back down to the level of the current administration and played the gay card.

McCain's campaign conducted anti-gay robo calls. A robo call is an automated call that plays a voice message. Here is what the calls said:

"I'm calling with an urgent Mitt Romney [unintelligible]

"We care deeply about traditional values and protecting families. And we need someone who will not waver in the White House: Ending abortion, preserving the sanctity of marriage, stopping the trash on the airwaves and attempts to ban God from every corner of society. These issues are core to our being.

"Mitt Romney thinks he can fool us. He supported abortion on demand, even allowed a law mandating taxpayer-funding for abortion. He says he changed his mind, but he still hasn't changed the law. He told gay organizers in Massachusetts he would be a stronger advocate for special rights than even Ted Kennedy. Now, it's something different.

"Unfortunately, on issue after issue Mitt Romney has treated social issues voters as fools, thinking we won't catch on. Sorry, Mitt, we know you aren't trustworthy on the most important issue and you aren't a conservative.

"Paid for by John McCain 2008."

McCain: More of the same - just another fucking loser.

More at HRC's Back Story.

Labels: 2008 elections, 2008 Presidential Election, anti-gay, mccain

"So today, in awe of this great city built by those who came before us, and driven by the desire to construct an even greater city we can build together, it is with great humility and respect that I ask you to support my campaign to serve you as the next Mayor of Portland, Oregon." – SAM ADAMS, OCT 3, 2007

Visit his site for more information: www.samforpdx.com.

Labels: 2008 elections, portland, sam adams

David Crowe of the defunked and illegal 'political action committee' called Concerned Oregonians is crying fowl weeks after his failed referendum attempt.

From OregonLive today:

Opponents of the domestic partnership bill that passed the Legislature are still trying to get the law referred to the ballot, even though the secretary of state's office ruled earlier this month that they fell 116 valid signatures short of the 55,179 required by law.

The Medford Mail Tribune reports that opponents of the law - which allows same-sex couples to form domestic partnerships that include many of the legal protections given to married couples - are pressuring the Jackson County Clerk Kathy Beckett to count several signatures she had earlier invalidated.

Because the secretary of state validates petitions by using just a sample of the signatures, opponents figure they can make up their deficit by persuading the clerk to allow just six of the invalidated signatures to be counted. The group seeking the referendum, Concerned Oregonians, has rounded up eight people who say they signed the petition but had their signatures unfairly invalidated.

At this point, Beckett gives no indication she will change her mind. But if nothing else, it's a sign of how every angle of Oregon's initiative and referendum process is coming under intense scrutiny and pressure.

Give up already. When gay and lesbian Oregonians lost Constitutional Amendment 36 in 2004, sure we cried and were deeply upset - upset for very good reasons. Oregon's Constitution was scarred that fateful day. It was no longer the Constitution of the people, it was the Constitution for some.

Now, after your blatant failure to put the 26th and 27th (I think) anti-gay measure on the ballot (more than any other state in the nation) you are crying fowl. Take your defeat as just that. Oregonians simply aren't into your politics of bigotry and fear. That was so 2004.

You claim that Oregon's new Domestic Partnership law "violates the intent of Oregon voters who in 2004 adopted a constitutional ban on gay marriage." So why go through all these months of collecting tens of thousands of signatures?

If it was violating Measure 36 then you would file a lawsuit. If in fact it did violate Measure 36, you would win. I will give you some credit here though. Deep down you know that Domestic Partnerships in no way violate Measure 36--nor the "spirit of Measure 36". Hence why you and your fellow self-righteous bigots have failed to do so.

You also fail to notice that the proponents of Measure 36 have stepped back and are not participating in the referendum attempt. They even know that Domestic Partnerships are a far cry from marriage.

"The spirit of Measure 36"... what exactly is that? The way I see it the spirit of Measure 36 is damn evil by not only permanently inscribing blatant discrimination in Oregon's most sacred document, by locking Oregon families out of vital rights, protections and responsibilities.

I think families are the backbone of society, whereas you could not be further away from this belief. Selectively shutting out couples, especially with children from protecting one another is just plain wrong. As one of your cohorts said in a voter guide statement: "Speaking of families, raising a successful and loving family in the '90's can be challenging".

Damn right--10 years later it's even harder.

Now you are also falsely claiming that:

"...the legislature's results fail to provide a sufficient religious exemption to protect churches and religious organizations from being forced to hire homosexual individuals, and further it leaves to "a court to decide what is or is not closely connected with the primary purposes of the church."

The pair of plans also would require school districts to teach homosexual, bisexuality and transgenderism in their classrooms, and the domestic partnership proposal itself, would create discrimination."

Must I again remind you that the proponents of Measure 36, the Oregon Family Council decided not to involve themselves in the referendum attempt. In fact they called the religious expemtion "iron clad."

Let it go. Oregonians just aren't that into you.

Labels: 2008 elections, anti gay, anti-discrimination, domestic partnership, HB 2007, house bill 2007, oregon, referendum, SB 2, senate bill 2

Today at 5pm was the deadline for Oregon's counties to complete their signature verification process. Tomorrow the Secretary of State will announce whether or not it has been certified.

Just a refresher on the situation.

This law, signed by Governor Kulongoski on May 9th of this year (video of signing), will ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodation.

A few fringe anti-gay groups organized together (and I use organized very lightly) in an attempt to put a referendum on the November 2008 ballot. They needed to collect 55,179 valid signatures to accomplish this. When they turned in their signatures with just about 30 minutes left to spare on their 3 month window, they claimed they had 63,000.

The Secretary of State's office then went through the first round of verification. In that round they look for any major irregularities or incorrect sheets and discard them. Following that process there were 59,761 signatures. From there samples went out to Oregon counties for further verification.

Now here we are. Just hours until we find out if anti-gay groups have succeeded in forcing a public vote on whether or not a person should be fired from their job SIMPLY for being gay - or even being denied housing JUST because they are gay or lesbian.

Our prediction at here at GRW is that they will fail based on the other referendum attempt on the Domestic Partnership law also passed n May 9th. After the first round of verification it had 60,531 that then went to the counties for further scrutiny. That one ended up failing by 116 signatures earlier this week.

We'll be watching this story closely tomorrow and will announce the outcome as soon as we hear.

Labels: 2008 elections, anti-discrimination, domestic partnership, oregon, referendum

From OregonLive.com:

Adams, 44, served as chief aide to Mayor Vera Katz and was elected to the City Council in 2004. As accomplishments, he cited his work to lower business taxes and deal with dangerous intersections.

His candidacy was hardly a surprise. It has been expected ever since Mayor Tom Potter announced last month that he wouldn't seek re-election. Although a handful of unknown candidates have filed to run for mayor, no well-known figures have emerged to challenge Adams.

If elected, Adams would be the only openly gay mayor of a top-40 U.S. city, a fact he downplayed today.

"It might be historic, but I"m not running to be Portland's first gay mayor," he said.

Always loved Sam and he'll have my vote. Go Sam!

Labels: 2008 elections, oregon, portland, sam adams

It looks as if Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams will announce his intent to run for mayor. If successful he would be the first openly-gay mayor in a 'Top 40' city.

From the PDX Mercury Blog:

Next Wednesday, October 3, City Commissioner Sam Adams will announce that he's running for mayor.

The announcement will be an informal event at 5:30 pm at Roots Organic Brewing Company (1520 SE 7th), one of the 100 or so businesses Adams visited during his first 100 days in office. A more formal campaign kickoff will happen in the next month.

"It's time to get going," he says.

Labels: 2008 elections, portland, sam adams

Bob Ball, a wealthy, gay developer here in Portland once had plans to run for Mayor in this next election. The problem? He just destroyed any chance that he had by launching a 'secret' smear campaign against openly gay Portland City Councilor Sam Adams who will soon be announcing his intentions to run for Mayor as well.

The rumor that Bob Ball began was that Adams had a sexual encounter with a 17 year-old capitol staffer. The problem is that with any lie, the truth often quickly comes out and as it turns out, it is nothing more than a slimy smear campaign.

Continued below ad.


From the Oregonian:

He'd heard rumors, Ball told Leonard, that the most likely candidate for mayor, City Commissioner Sam Adams, had been in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old legislative intern.

It was among the most potentially damaging accusations that could be leveled against a gay politician, particularly one as high profile and ambitious as Adams. And it was coming from another gay man who also was thinking about running for the city's top job.

After Ball told Leonard and former Mayor Vera Kataz this rumor they had this to say:

Those he told, including Leonard and former Mayor Vera Katz, said they took it as an attempt at political assassination.

In the fallout, Leonard went so far as to tell Ball to give up any hopes of seeking political office: "As long as I've been doing this stuff, and keep in mind that I started in union politics, I've never felt so dirty. I've told Bob, 'You're not running for mayor. You're not running for City Council. You're done.' "

AMEN. And there's more...

The story he[Ball] told went like this, Leonard said: Almost three years ago, while Adams was lobbying in Salem, he met a 17-year-old legislative intern. The young man later called Adams to seek his advice on coming out and entering politics as a gay man. They had lunch, and one thing led to another.

Ball told Leonard he heard the story this summer from two former Adams employees, who had encouraged Ball to run for mayor against their former boss because they worried about Adams' judgment and the potential impact on future gay candidates. If either Ball or Adams runs and wins the city's top job, he would become the first openly gay mayor of a top-40 U.S. city.

I would love to know who these people are and where they get off making a statement like that and then recommending Ball make such an accusation.

If these people are so concerned about 'the potential impact on future gay candidates' then don't take play out of the right-wing extremists' playbook. It's disgraceful. Bob Ball should be ashamed of himself.

Here's more about the capitol staffer and what he had to say about the situation:

Adams and several of his staffers tell a similar story to the one Ball has spread, with one big exception: They say that in 2005, Adams did meet a young man named Beau Breedlove during a trip to Salem to lobby for, among other things, more state transportation money.

Breedlove, then an intern for state Rep. Kim Thatcher, a Keizer Republican, asked to meet with Adams the next time he came to Portland. Adams took him to lunch at the Macaroni Grill, where the young man told Adams that he was gay and confused about how to reconcile his professional ambitions -- a career in politics -- with his personal life. It was during that conversation, Adams said, that he learned that Breedlove was just 17.

Soon after that meeting, Breedlove showed up at one of Adams' regular First Thursday parties, monthly open-to-the-public art exhibits at City Hall. Adams and Breedlove walked to dinner afterward at the Lotus Cardroom and Cafe, four blocks away. Afterward, Breedlove's boyfriend picked him up, Breedlove said.

Adams took a date to Breedlove's 18th birthday party. For a month or two, Adams said, they spoke on the phone almost weekly and exchanged numerous text messages.

Yet both men say there was nothing romantic or sexual between them.

"He was a mentor more than anything else," said Breedlove, now 20 and the manager of a restaurant in Michigan. "That was my only interest. That was his only interest."

Bob Ball will now be remembered for the potential mayoral candidate that ruined his political career before it even began.

Labels: 2008 elections, basic rights oregon, dick of the week, portland

They're mad and that is A-OK with me, I'm just not sure if I actually believe why they are mad.

Trying to filter through the lies and rhetoric of Oregon's extreme Christian right can be a bit difficult sometimes. As much as one would like to believe that they don't fill their newsletters with lies and deception in a blatant attempt to mislead their followers can be anything but easy.

This morning I got an email from "Restore America", this is one of the three main groups heading up the attempt to overturn Oregon's brand new Domestic Partnership law and the new statewide Anti-Discrimination law. They seem to be all up in arms about Oregon evangelical church leaders who are refusing to participate in helping them to gather signatures for these anti-family, anti-equality drives.

Here is an excerpt from their newsletter:

For two months now it has become increasingly clear that many, if not most, of the leading Evangelical Churches in Oregon have given up the battle to protect and preserve traditional marriage.

Only three years ago these same churches, at the urging of Dr. James Dobson, mounted a furious and successful effort that Amended the Oregon Constitution to read that marriage was "between a man and a woman only."

With their retreat, which has been glaring, and contradictory to earlier statements, comes the obvious conclusion that the new form of marriage called 'domestic partnerships' created by the legislature, and in violation of the Constitution, is 'okay' with them.

They go on to cite an email from one of their supporters in which they tell the story of their church leaders not wanting to participate.

I'm trying to draw some conclusions here. In no particular order here they are.

They are making shit up to get their based revved up about going out and doubling their efforts when gathering signatures, but sadly once you read the email you are left deflated and without much hope for this attempt.

They are serious about church leaders not wanting to be involved in this. As we saw during the legislative session, there was a bold letter from over 170 churches in Oregon who stood in solidarity with both the statewide Anti-Discrimination legislation and the Domestic Partnership bill. No objections from them, just full support and their stamp of approval.

In addition, they belong to a very small minority of Oregonians who see this as an equivalent to marriage. I sincerely believe that it is no secret that Domestic Partnerships seriously lack weight in comparison to marriage and in being a Christian, being able to protect your family in times of crisis is a strong Christian value. Family is a fundamental Christian value and Oregon's church leaders see this need.

Over 75 percent of Oregonians believe that a person should NOT be fired from their job SIMPLY because they are gay or lesbian. Included in that over 75% are evangelical church leaders.

So what now?

After reading their email I walked away with a sense of, well not really a sense of much. I know that with such a low threshold of signatures needed (55,179) that both of these could easily be out on the ballot, so is this simply an attempt to liven up their base or is this a move of desperation?

My assumption is that it is somewhere in the middle of both of those. In no way, shape or form should we ever underestimate the power of our opposition and never should we give up our vigilance, but is there hope? Is it possible that we won't see Domestic Partnerships or Anti-Discrimination referendums on the 2008 ballot?

In any case, as I said, we need to never lose that vigilance. This comes from Basic Rights Oregon late last week:

SPOTTING PETITION FRAUD
Folks, you are the eyes and the ears across Oregon and we need your help in spotting petition fraud by our opposition.

If you spot a referendum petition gatherer you should:

1.) Check to see if they're carrying Referendum Petitions #303 and #304.
2.) CALL US immediately and tell us where, what time/date, and whether the petitioner was carrying the full text of the bills or not. (It is against the law for them to not be carrying both bills on their person.)

If you see someone attempting to gather signatures for these anti-equality petitions, call Thomas at 503.222.6151 or email him at Thomas@basicrights.org.

That's all for now. There are 45 days left until these anti-equality, anti-family and frankly anti-Oregon groups have until they are required to turn in signatures. That is a month-and-a-half, plenty of time for them to collect more than enough sigs.

Labels: 2008 elections, ballot measure, basic rights oregon, evangelical, house bill 2007, oregon, senate bill 2

Labels: 2008 elections, 2008 Presidential Election, debate, democrat, video

An Open Letter To Former Oregon State Senator Marylin Shannon:

For those of you who are unaware of who Marylin Shannon is, she is one of the three ring-leaders who are trying to overturn Oregon's new Domestic Partnership and Anti-Discrimination laws via a referendum.

My Dearest Schizo Bigot,

I sincerely apologize Mrs. Shannon, but after a long train of thought while taking a pee this morning, I've decided we could never be friends.

Here are my concerns.

1.) You think that gay people are immoral, perverted and destroying the world. That's a pretty big one for me.

2.) On one documented occasion while on the phone with a reporter, you claimed that you could not send a photo of yourself for the paper claiming, "[T]he homosexuals hacked into my computer and now it won't work." Mrs. Shannon, this concerns me.

3.) You were endorsed by Sen. Gordon Smith in your run for Oregon State Senate.

4.) You were on the "US Justice Department's Task Force on Families in Crisis"... yet you lack the basic judgement necessary to see that in Oregon, same-sex couples and their families are indeed in crisis, unable to establish a legal relationship to one another. So what do you recommend when these families, some of them your own neighbors, are in crisis?

5.) You claim that Oregon's new Domestic Partnership law "violates the intent of Oregon voters who in 2004 adopted a constitutional ban on gay marriage."

If this were in fact the case, file a lawsuit. If in fact it did violate Measure 36, you would win. I will give you some credit here though. You know that Domestic Partnerships in no way violate Measure 36--nor the "spirit of Measure 36". Hence why you and your fellow self-righteous bigots have failed to do so.

Oh and! I see that you fail to notice that the proponents of Measure 36 have stepped back and are not participating in the referendum attempt. They even know that Domestic Partnerships are a far cry from marriage.

6.) "The spirit of Measure 36"... what exactly is that? The way I see it the spirit of Measure 36 is damn evil by not only permanently inscribing blatant discrimination in Oregon's most sacred document, but locking Oregon families out of vital rights, protections and responsibilities.

7.) I think families are the backbone of society, whereas you could not be further away from this belief. Selectively shutting out couples, especially with children from protecting one another is just plain wrong. As you said in your voter guide statement: "Speaking of families, raising a successful and loving family in the '90's can be challenging".

Damn right--10 years later it's even harder.

In closing Mrs. Shannon, no "homosexual hacked into your computer". They are not "destroying your life", nor do they interfere with your life. In fact, you interfere with their lives.

You are a coward Mrs. Shannon. Your name will go down in Oregon's history books as a failure, a bigot and a woman who held little regard for the welfare of Oregon families. Shame on you. Shame.

Labels: 2008 elections, anti-discrimination, domestic partnership, oregon, referendum

In a new report released by the Human Rights Campaign, all the Dem's show strong support of basic fairness for the GLBT community, values very much in line with the majority of US citizens.

WHERE THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES STAND:
Federal Recognition of State-Level Same-Sex Unions:Supports recognition by the federal government of a state's legal recognition of same-sex couples for purposes of federal benefits and tax treatment

Support: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Kucinich, Obama, Richardson
Oppose: None

ENDA: Supports passage of a federal bill prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Support: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Kucinich, Obama, Richardson
Oppose: None

Hate Crimes:Supports passage of a federal bill that gives authority to the federal government to investigate and prosecute violent crimes motivated by bias against the victim because of their sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability
Support: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Kucinich, Obama, Richardson
Oppose: None

Civil Unions: Supports civil unions for same-sex couples
Support: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Kucinich, Obama, Richardson
Oppose: None

Read the entire report card here (lots, lots more). It is very interesting and quite promising. I believe that it truly does reflect the changing fairer values of the United States.

Now the questions remains... who will be your candidate?

Labels: 2008 elections, 2008 Presidential Election