NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/6278

Text File | 1992-09-03 | 10.5 KB | 282 lines

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From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: HOMOPHOBIA ON THE BALLOT IN OREGON
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/** headlines: 217.0 **/
** Topic: HOMOPHOBIA ON THE BALLOT IN OREGON **
** Written  4:32 pm  Sep  3, 1992 by ggundrey in cdp:headlines **
From: George Gundrey <ggundrey>
Subject: HOMOPHOBIA ON THE BALLOT IN OREGON

/* Written 12:46 am  Sep  1, 1992 by gates in cdp:queerplanet */
/* ---------- "HOMOPHOBIA ON THE BALLOT IN OREGON" ---------- */
Dear Friend,

     Discrimination legalized in Oregon. Lesbians and gay men
     (and those merely perceived to be lesbian or gay) purged
     from the public workforce. Funding for county and state
     programs serving gay people with AIDS cut off. Schools
     required to develop and teach anti-homosexual propaganda. A
     soaring suicide rate among lesbian and gay youth.
     Gay-positive books removed from library shelves. Authors --
     from Walt Whitman and James Baldwin to Willa Cather and
     Alice Walker -- banned. Lesbian and gay doctors, police
     officers, CPAS, therapists, cosmeticians, attorneys ... lose
     their state-sanctioned licenses. Thousands of closet doors
     slam shut ....

     Sounds like a nightmare. It is. And, we could easily be
     living it this year.

     The Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) wants the Oregon State
Constitution to declare that homosexuality is "abnormal, wrong,
unnatural and perverse ... "

     Passage of this law would force government to use its
departments, agencies and school systems to promote the view that,
"homosexuality is abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse, and
that these behaviors are to be discouraged and avoided.,,

     They've already qualified the initiative for the November
ballot. Now, Oregonians face an all-out battle this fall for the
verv heart and soul of our state.

     If they achieve victory at the polls in November, this would
be the first time in United States history that a state
Constitution was amended to take rights away from a group of
citizens.

     The discrimination and bigotry created by such a
Constitutional amendment would forever alter our reputation as a
state that encourages equal treatment for all.

     Already, the OCA succeeded in passing a measure in
Springfield, Oregon, which requires discrimination against
lesbian and gay citizens there. And, the atmosphere of
intolerance the Springfield Charter Amendment creates is already
beginning to permeate our state.

     During the Springfield campaign, campaign volunteers were
harassed verbally and on one occasion, shots were fired over
their heads to scare them away from a neighborhood.

     Already, the office of the Campaign for a Hate Free Oregon
was been broken into, pillaged and ransacked. The criminals who
broke into our office stole equipment, our computer data base,
personal rolodexes and phone books, OCA background files. They
dumped files, ransacked personal belongings, and covered the
office with copiertoner. Police say the break-in looks "like a
vendetta."

     Already, since the break-in, Campaign volunteers and donors
have received harassing phone calls, including such things as 3
a.m. calls with Nazi death camp music played over the receiver.

     Already, our Campaign spokesperson, Ellen Lowe, a grandmother
and member of the faith community, has received two death threats.
And, she isn't the only Campaign volunteer who has received such
threats.

     The OCA's broad based agenda goes far beyond the smashing of
lesbian and gay rights. It includes an end to welfare, the
outlawing of abortion, and eliminating initiatives such as
childcare programs, parental leave and divestiture of state funds
from South Africa. The dismantling of every gain we achieved
during the civil rights movement.

     OCA spokespeople are already discussing which state workers
will lose their jobs and which books will be taken off library
shelves.

     The OCA may seem like a radical fringe group to many of us,
but when they attacked the lesbian and gay community in Oregon in
1988, they won.

     Under the banner of "No Special Rights," the OCA ran a
successful campaign to overturn then Governor Goldschmidt's
Executive Order protecting lesbians and gay men employed by state
government from job discrimination.

     Playing on fear, and relying on a media campaign packed with
outright lies, the OCA led Oregonians into overturning the Order.

     Some people believe the OCA won in 1988 because many fair
minded Oregonians just didn't take the OCA seriously. we cannot
make that mistake again.

     We intend to deal the OCA a smashing defeat this year. We
will send them this message:

     Oregonians stand together against hate and discrimination.

          Gay and straight, from every religious background, every
racial and ethnic group, representing labor and business and
all ages and political affiliations ... Together we will turn
back this tide of bigotry threatening our state.

*  We are building the largest, most visible working
   coalition in our state's history. The Campaign for a Hate
   Free Oregon already counts at least 100 major groups
   among its supporters, and we are aggressively seeking
   additional endorsements.

*   We've launched a national campaign to enlist support
    from our allies across this country. The message is
    simple: Help us stop them this fall in Oregon or fight them
    next in your own backyard.

*   We are conducting a dynamic grassroots outreach
    campaign.

*   We are mobilizing Oregon to say NO to bigotry, NO to fear,
    and  NO to the OCA initiative.

    Did you know that the OCA developed a videotape which is
already playing a key role in their mis-information campaign?

    Splicing together out-of-state footage from the 1987
National Lesbian and Gay Rights March in Washington, D.C.,
and the 1991 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade, the video
exploits fears of homosexuality and grossly misrepresents
the lesbian and gay community.

    They made 10,000 copies of the video and blanketed
churches and communities with their hate-filled propaganda.

    What is our challenge in this time of exponentially
increasing hate crimes toward the lesbian and gay community
and campaign supporters?

    To answer the OCA's distortions with reality.

    Through extensive television, radio, newspapers, and good
old fashioned organizing, the Campaign will offer Oregonians
positive alternatives to the distorted images the OCA will feed
them about lesbian and gay people.

    In the past months, we've built the base of our coalition.
We will expose the OCA's tactics and defeat their lies with a
hard hitting Campaign targeted toward a crushing vote in
November.

     We have just four months until the election. Four short
months to ensure that discrimination and hatred do not become the
rule in Oregon.

     This challenge is a monumental one and we have no time to
waste. We need hundreds more volunteers to beat the OCA. We need
to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars.

     The successful campaign to defeat the anti-abortion ballot
measures in 1990, including one sponsored by the Oregon Citizens
Alliance, cost over 1 million dollars.

     By the OCA's latest financial reports, they have raised well
over a quarter of a million dollars in the last four months!

     In the next few weeks, we will mobilize a huge grassroots
voter identification project, finding just exactly where we need
to send in teams of persuasive canvassers.

     Every Oregonian we reach through our voter ID and persuasive
canvassing will be a more informed voter in November.

     In addition, we must conduct more polling and opposition
research to guide us in developing the most effective campaign
themes. We cannot change the OCA*'s agenda of hate and
discrimination. The message we must send to the OCA is a simple
one: We say NO to discrimination in Oregon. We say NO to exporting
this hate campaign across the country!

     Can we count on you to help us assure that legalized
discrimination and hatred do not dictate Oregon's future? There's
not a lot of time left. Make your commitment TODAY to turn back
the tide on hate and discrimination.

     Victory requires an extraordinary commitment from all of us.
Make a monthly pledge through November, or a single donation of
$500, $100, $50 -- whatever you can give. Be an active participant
in our victory. Send your check and volunteer. Today.

     Thank you for your commitment. Together we will defeat the
OCA's ballot measure in November.

Sincerely,

Sherry Oeser, Chair
Campaign for a Hate Free Oregon


P.S. Don't forget the Oregon State Tax credit. You may give $100
if filing jointly and $50 if you file as an individual, toward
the Campaign, and take that gift as a credit on your Oregon State
Tax.

P.P.S. And, if you live outside Oregon, please give to the
Campaign for a Hate Free Oregon today so there won't have to be a
Campaign for a Hate Free California, Illinois, or New York ....
tomorrow.

Authorized and paid for by: Campaign For a Hate Free Oregon
P.O. Box 3343, Portland, OR 97208, [phone]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


               PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM AND MAIL TO:


Campaign for a Hate Free Oregon
P.O. Box 3343
Portland, Oregon 97208



Name:_____________________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________

City ______________________________ State _____ Zip ______________

Day phone: _____________________ Evening phone____________________

Business/Occupation * ____________________________________________
* required by state election law

__ You may include my name in Campaign ads.


Enclosed is my Pledge of:               I can also donate my time:

___ $100 a month                        __ House Party

___ $ 50 a month                        __ Help at headquarters

___ $ 20 a month                        __ Lawn Sign

___ $ ______ a month                    __ Make Phone calls

___ A single contribution of $ _______  __ Literature drop

                                        __ _______________________

Authorized and paid for by:
Campaign for a Hate Free Oregon
P.O. Box 3343,
Portland, OR 97208
[phone]


** End of text from cdp:headlines **