Oregon Citizens Alliance - Legislative Activism

Legislative Activism

In 1988 the group sponsored Measure 8, an initiative that repealed Governor Neil Goldschmidt's executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in the executive branch of state government. The measure not only repealed the executive order, but also put a statute on the books that prohibited any job protection for gay people in state government. The measure was approved by the voters, 52.7 percent to 47.3 percent. It was the OCA's only state-wide victory.

Aftwards, the OCA turned its attention to abortion. It placed Measure 10 on the 1990 general election ballot, which would have required parental notification for a minor's abortion. The measure was defeated, 52.2 percent to 47.8 percent.

In 1992 the OCA returned to the issue of homosexuality, when it proposed Measure 9. This initiative would have amended the Oregon Constitution to prevent what the OCA called "special rights" for homosexuals and bisexuals, by adding a provision that the state "recognizes homosexuality, pedophilia, sadism and masochism as abnormal, wrong, unnatural, and perverse." The ballot measure was defeated, 56 percent to 44 percent. That same year, the Oregon Court of Appeals declared Measure 8 unconstitutional. As a result, the OCA's only statewide victory was nullified.

The OCA promoted similar measures at the local level, both before and after the 1992 election, but those measures were ultimately invalidated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. It also promoted similar statewide measures with language softer than that of Measure 9. These included Measures 13 and 19 in 1994, and Measure 9 (sometimes referred to as "Son of 9") in 2000.

The organized opposition to 1992's Measure 9 formed the basis of much of the current LGBT rights movement in Oregon, including the organization Basic Rights Oregon.