Eight years ago, Ballot Measure 9 opened the culture
wars between gays and those who would dehumanize them
in Oregon. The measure would have required that all public
institutions set a standard that homosexuality--like pedophilia,
sadism and masochism--is abnormal, wrong, unnatural and
perverse.
The 1992 measure failed, but 44 percent of Oregonians
voted yes. Two years later, 48 percent supported a lighter
version, Measure 13. Equally important, the author of
the measures, a Vietnam veteran with a penchant for war
analogies named Lon Mabon, led an army of Christian soldiers
to wrangle control of the state Republican Party away
from moderates and into the hands of an angry core of
far-right activists. The move led to the election of right-wingers
like Eileen Qutub and Marylin Shannon to the Oregon Legislature.
For the past few elections Mabon has switched his focus
to anti-abortion measures, but he has failed to qualify
anything for the ballot. He's back, now, with a new Measure
9.
Ostensibly, this measure is narrowly focused on education--from
Head Start to graduate school--and prohibits the state
from providing instruction that "encourages, promotes
or sanctions" homosexuality. Also covered in the measure
is any state-funded educational program, including those
in prisons, health clinics and scores of others that haven't
been determined.
Conventional wisdom would say this is an issue Republicans
can't resist. Who wants schools churning out brainwashed
dykes and fags?
But things have changed since the OCA glory days, and
Republicans are running away from Measure 9 faster than
if it were a tax increase on senior citizens. State Republicans
have read the electoral runes and know that supporting
Mabon is the path to obscurity. WW contacted the
candidates in the highest-profile races this November,
and of those reached, most were against the measure--even
Bill Witt of Cedar Mills, who is in a tough reelection
bid against liberal intellectual elite candidate Mitch
Greenlick. Last session Witt sponsored the so-called Defense
of Marriage Act to ban gay nuptials.
"I'm not going to officially take a position, but I'm
not going to support it," Witt says of Measure 9. "I'm
not going to vote for it. I think local districts should
decide."
Even conservative John Minnis, who as a state representative
was the senior lawmaker among the moralists in the 1997
session, is claiming neutrality. That's got to be a tongue-biter,
considering that Minnis is so opposed to homosexuality
that in 1985 he turned his back on the House floor during
a performance of the Gay Men's Chorus. But now he's running
for Senate to replace term-limited John Lim.
"I think people are basically tired of the Oregon Citizens
Alliance," he says. "I've never really appreciated Lon's
style. I agree with him on some issues, but I'm not going
there with you and talking about the measure."
But probably most indicative of the GOP position is Kevin
Mannix, arguably the smoothest politician in the state.
Mannix, a candidate for attorney general, has flip-flopped.
Last month after the state Republican convention, he came
out (so to speak) and said he would vote for the measure.
A week later he said he wanted to focus on issues relating
to his race. Today he says the measure's effects are broader
than he thought on the first read and there are things
in it that make him uncomfortable.
"I have heard enough from advocates both for and against
the measure to warn me that like beauty, the breadth of
this measure is in the eye of the beholder," he says.
Metro Councilor John Kvistad, a state treasurer candidate,
has come out strongly against the measure.
"I don't think these kinds of issues are healthy for
the state regardless of what group they choose to go after,"
he says, "and while I understand people have strong feelings
on these issues, I wish it would stop."
John Scruggs, a Portland cop and House candidate, believes
even the most conservative branches of the party will
support him in his race against Charlie Ringo, despite
his opposition to the measure.
"I don't like [Measure 9]. It's unnecessary," he says.
"Why do we need to discriminate against any one particular
group of people?"
Jim Hanson, running for the House seat in Lake Oswego,
was uncharacteristically succinct when asked about the
measure: "C'mon. Let schools handle it on their own. We're
going to micromanage this from the state? Sorry. No."
While other candidates are running away from Mabon, however,
House Speaker Lynn Snodgrass has remained faithful. She
doesn't seem to agree that siding with Mabon is political
suicide for her secretary of state race. Through her communications
director Dawn Phillips, Snodgrass says she will vote for
the measure. Phillips provided the following statement:
"Schools should be teaching reading, writing and arithmetic.
Parents have a certain responsibility and authority to
teach kids about sexual behavior."
Either the Speaker is politically unsavvy or she's sticking
to her roots. In 1999, she broke her pledge to moderates
and allowed opposition to abortion and gay rights to take
over the closing days of the legislative session, and
she has close ties to the Christian Right.
The fact that everyone but Snodgrass is protecting themselves
from Measure 9 does not mean the fight for gay rights
is won in the GOP. This is more about Mabon, who is extremely
unpopular with voters. Both the state and the national
GOP platforms clearly view homosexuality as abnormal and
do not support gay marriage, adoption or civil-rights
recognition. Opponents to Mabon say this is going to be
a million-dollar fight, and if Mabon can tap into national
money, they'll be right. Last week Lou Beres, executive
director of the Oregon Christian Coalition, was in Philadelphia
trying to convince Focus on the Family, the Christian
Coalition and other right-wing groups who were at the
Republican National Convention to open their wallets for
the measure.
Without that support, it's difficult to imagine how Mabon
is going to succeed with this measure. Perry Atkinson,
chairman of the state Republican Party and owner of a
Christian radio station in Jackson County, says, "There
are some good people [in the OCA], but their reputation
precedes them and they aren't effective anymore." Besides,
he says, the Republicans should move away from the gay
thing. "We've lost this battle. I think this whole issue
has run its course."
