Portland elects its first openly gay mayor

AP and KGW8

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Commissioner Sam Adams easily won the Portland mayoral race, making this city the largest in the U.S. to ever elect an openly gay mayor.

"I'm running not to be a gay mayor, but a great mayor," he said after delivering his victory speech. "But I'm very cognizant, very aware that I'm the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. That's a real honor."

With a population of more than 500,000, Portland is by far the largest city in a state that in 2004 voted to amend its constitution to declare that marriage is only legal when it's between a man and a woman.

Asked if it was odd that he can be mayor -- but not married -- in Oregon, Adams said it was "surreal."

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Gay Man Elected Portland, Oregon Mayor

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

(Portland, Oregon) Portland, Oregon City Commissioner Sam Adams had little difficulty winning Portland's mayoral race Tuesday, becoming the first openly gay mayor ever elected to lead one of the 30 largest U.S. cities.

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OREGON: Another lawmakers hate speech

McMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) - Two Republican lawmakers are planning a statewide ballot initiative to repeal the landmark gay rights law passed by the 2007 Legislature to prohibit discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation.

State Senator Gary George and state Representative Kim Thatcher, both of Newberg, have submitted a ballot title to state elections officials that would remove the gay rights law.

Basic Rights Oregon officials say the proposed initiative was expected. But they criticized the two Republican lawmakers for their role.

Gay rights activists, meanwhile, are also upset over remarks George made to a reporter for Just Out, the state's flagship gay newspaper.

George told Just Out that the workplace is not the place to discuss gay sex and said if people do discuss it, they should be on the quote, "pervert channel."

The ignorance of some lawmakers really astounds me.

OREGON FOLLOWUP: Civil Unions on hold

As you are probably aware, a Bush appointed federal judge (Michael Mosman) has halted the January 1st civil unions law in Oregon.

To add insult to injury, the action was brought forth by an out of state group called Arizona's Alliance Defense Fund.

Original article First followup

FOLLOWUP: OREGON: Domestic partners and January 1st

U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman (appointed, not elected, by the Bush administration) has halted the January 1st domestic partnership legislation.

Opponents asked U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman to intercede after the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office ruled in October that they had failed to collect enough valid signatures on a referendum to block the law.

The openly Mormon Judge Mosman was also responsible for the 1986 Supreme Court's faulty decision upholding laws against certain consensual sex acts (i.e. sodomy defined as either oral or anal sex) done by adults in private. Justice Lewis Powell's deciding vote was based on Mosman's faulty legal advice. After retiring, Powell publicly regretted his decision.

Fortunately, Mosman's ruling doesn't affect a companion state law that will take effect on January 1, 2008 that bars discrimination against gays in work, housing and public places. However, the opponents of domestic partnerships also want to legalize discrimination with a ballot initiative.

A couple interesting points-

1. It's interesting this "activist judge" is republican. Especially with all the republican hoopla over "activist judges"!

2. It's also interesting he is stepping up to the plate for a voting issue since he was not voted into office!

This article is a followup. Click here to view the original article.

OREGON: Domestic partners and January 1st

Despite feeble attempts by the "heterosexual christian right taliban", as of January 1st, same sex couples in Oregon will be able to register as legally recognized domestic partners.

Couples can file forms with county clerks starting January 2nd.

Forms and information will be available on the Internet, starting on New Year's Day.

The completed, signed and notarized forms can be registered at any county clerk's office. On a monthly basis, county clerks will send registered Declaration of Domestic Partnership forms to the Department of Human Service's Center for Health Statistics where they will be filed as vital records.

KnowThyNeighbor.Org will release names of petition signers

KnowThyNeighbor.Org announced that they will publish the name and address of every Oregonian who signs referendum petitions to overturn two gay-rights bills passed by the Oregon Legislature. According to the Secretary of State's office, this is legal because petitions are public information.

KnowThyNeighbor.org (KTNO), want to help stop petition fraud, so if a person “finds their name on this list erroneously they should immediately contact both the Secretary of State and KnowThyNeighborOregon.com and we will provide that information once names and addresses have been posted to our database.”

www.knowthyneighbororegon.com/