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Oregon town bans gay civil rights; statewide ban looms

Gay rights group's office is trashed

A city in Oregon has become possibly the first town in U.S. history to mandate discrimination against gay men and lesbians. Citizens of Springfield, Ore., voted in May to outlaw civil rights for gay men and lesbians, and ban gay pride events on public property, by a 56 to 44 percent vote.

The measure amends the Springfield city charter to prohibit the city from passing or enforcing any law "that recognizes any categorical provisions such as 'sexual orientation,' 'sexual preference,' and similar phrases... nor shall the city of Springfield... promote, encourage, or facilitate homosexuality..."

A similar charter amendment was defeated on the same day by voters in Corvallis, Ore. by a 64 to 36 percent vote. The two towns, each with a population of about 35,000, are 30 miles apart in the western part of the state, south of Portland.

ment has increased across the state. Peggy Norman, the manager of the Campaign for a Hate-Free Oregon, described the lesbian and gay community there as "under siege." The CHFO is coordinating efforts to defeat the OCA's initiatives, including the state constitutional amendments.

The CHFO's Portland offices were broken into and vandalized on June 8. Black copier toner was thrown around, and computers and office equipment were stolen. Also taken were personal address books, and the group's files on the OCA. Other groups and individuals in Oregon have received harassing phone calls, letters, and death threats.

Colorado group

petitioning for

The Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA), the right-wing organization which campaigned to put both measures on the ballot, is also leading a petition drive to amend the state constitution. If the enough signatures, an amendment similar to the Springfield one will appear on the November statewide ballot. The group is also pushing amendments to require the state's schools to teach that homosexuality is "unnatural and abnormal," and to change the words "sexual orientation" in the state hate-crimes law to "unnatural behaviors.

group gathers civil

The language of Springfield's charter amendment codifies discrimination. Under the amendment, any city agency may deny services to an individual or group thought to promote, encourage or facilitate homosexuality. This would include gay and lesbian social, political and religious organizations, as well as non-gay groups that have issued policy statements in support of civil rights for gay people. Use of facilities such as parks or meeting rooms can be denied solely on the basis of sexual orientation or support for gay people's civil rights. Public libraries will be required to remove from their shelves any items that treat homosexuality in a positive or neutral

manner.

Predictably, anti-gay crime and harass-

rights ban

A proposed anti-gay ballot measure, put forth by a group called Colorado for Family Values, seeks voter approval to prohibit the state from enacting any legislation that would prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians, or ensure their civil rights in any way. The measure would both amend the state constitution and repeal the lesbian-gay rights protections already in place in several cities, such as Boulder, Denver, and Aspen.

Colorado Governor Roy Romer has publicly criticized the measure, and Denver Mayor Wellington Webb has said he would "walk the city" to campaign against the measure. Last month, regional delegates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church paseed "overwhelmingly" a resolution opposing the ballot initiative, as did the United Church of Christ's Rocky Mountain Conference.

Colorado secretary of state Natalie Meyer has certified 65,000 signatures collected by the anti-gay group, thus placing the measure on the November ballot.

Reform Jewish leaders ask Boy Scouts to end gay ban

The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the central body of Reform Judaism in North America, has urged the Boy Scouts of America to reverse its policy of barring gays from becoming scouts or adult volunteers. In a letter to Richard Leet, president of the Boy Scouts of America, UAHC president Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler noted that many youngsters in the Reform community are involved in Scouting and that a number of membercongregations sponsor Scout troops.

Rabbi Schindler said in his letter: "I am writing to you because of a conflict in policy between our two organizations which creates ramifications for members of our community. I refer to our strongly held and public position in support of human rights, including the rights of lesbians and gay men, and specifically in support full inclusion of lesbian and gay Jews in all aspects of synagogue life. It is my hope the Boy Scouts of America will reconsider its position."

The Reform Jewish leader praised the Scouts' emphasis on traditional family values "as being necessary components of a

strong, healthy society," but disagreed that these values exclude gay men and lesbians. He commented: "We too are deeply-concerned about nurturing our young people in a society that emphasizes family values. We disagree that these values exlude gay men and lesbians. We stand firm in our belief that all people have basic rights, regardless of their sexual orientation." For this reason, he said, "we have admired the focus of Scouting on teaching the moral imperatives of citizenship in the community, in the nation, and in the world. Surely, only when we reach out to all citizens do we learn what it means to be in a community-to be part of a community."

"We Jews are too aware that the denial of basic human dignity can lead to a denial of civil rights and violence based on bigotry. We are aware of the prevalence of anti-gay violence in our society and the percentage of this violence which is perpetrated by adolescents. "We ask the Boy Scouts to play a leadership role in fostering respect for the basic human dignity of all."