Oregon Repeals Ban on Antigay Job Discrimination
In 1988, Oregon saw a significant political and social shift when voters repealed an executive order that prohibited job discrimination based on sexual orientation. This order, signed by Governor Neil Goldschmidt in 1987, was a reflection of growing support for gay and lesbian rights at the time. However, a conservative backlash led by the Oregon Citizens Alliance successfully gathered enough signatures to place a repeal measure, known as Measure 8, on the ballot. The measure passed with a narrow majority, marking a pivotal moment that galvanized both support and opposition to LGBTQ+ rights in the state.
The repeal of the anti-discrimination measure not only influenced local politics but also set a precedent for similar initiatives across the country. In the aftermath, LGBTQ+ activists learned crucial lessons about campaign strategy, emphasizing the need for early organization and broad coalition-building. Despite the initial setback, this period also prompted the formation of new advocacy groups aimed at protecting and advancing LGBTQ+ rights in Oregon, ultimately leading to successful efforts to reinstate protections in subsequent years. The events surrounding Measure 8 illustrate the complex dynamics of civil rights movements and the ongoing struggle for equality in the United States.
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Oregon Repeals Ban on Antigay Job Discrimination
Oregon voters repealed a 1987 executive order by Governor Neil Goldschmidt that had banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The measure’s success paved the way for antigay initiatives around the United States in the early 1990’s, but it also mobilized a new nationwide movement for lesbian and gay civil rights.
Date November 8, 1988
Also known as:Measure 8
Locale Oregon
Key Figures
Neil Goldschmidt (b. 1940), Democratic governor of OregonLiz Kaufman gay and lesbian rights activistLon T. Mabon conservative activist who founded the Oregon Citizens Alliance
Summary of Event
In 1987, gay and lesbian activists in Oregon followed the lead of activists in other states and lobbied Democratic governor Neil Goldschmidt to sign Executive Order 87-20, which banned employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the state executive branch. Many have suggested that Goldschmidt supported the GLBT community because GLBT activists had played a significant role in his election. The GLBT groups, such as the informal Portland Town Council, that mobilized in the state, were centered mostly in a few cities. The cities of Portland and Eugene had passed analogous civil rights measures earlier, and similar bills had been introduced in the state legislature since 1973, but Eugene’s law had been repealed by ballot initiative in May, 1978.
Lon T. Mabon and other conservative activists saw the governor’s executive order as a clear sign that gay activists were helping to bring about moral decline in America. Mabon, who had been part of a Christian movement to change abortion laws and build a national grassroots campaign for “family values,” formed a group in Oregon called the Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA). Mabon had seen the movement fail on some pro-life ballot initiatives and was convinced that gay issues could galvanize Christian conservatives in the state and around the country.
Through the OCA, Mabon announced in 1988 that he would collect signatures for a ballot initiative to repeal Goldschmidt’s executive order. The OCA was able to collect more than 118,000 signatures in nine weeks, ensuring that the proposal would reach the ballot. The proposal was certified as Measure 8.
GLBT activists seemed almost unconcerned, and their public comments suggested they were confident they could control the elements of the debate and defeat the measure in November. A group called Oregonians for Fairness (OFF) was formed, with Liz Kaufman managing the campaign against the measure. OFF was able to raise $375,000, obtain endorsements from political elites, and produce professional ads that described the measure as a “witch hunt” without using terms such as gay or lesbian. Public opinion polls suggested that the measure would be defeated, and some writers have suggested that the OFF campaign became complacent. In fact, the group simply followed the traditional campaign model, beginning most of their activity after Labor Day, in early September. Leaders of OFF have also suggested that no one believed the OCA could collect enough signatures, and once they did, GLBT activists had only twelve weeks to respond.
Meanwhile, the OCA had formed a campaign group called the No Special Rights Committee. This marked the first time that the phrase “special rights” had been used in anti-GLBT campaigns; it would come into wide use by the early 1990’s. The name of the group was effective because it implied that gays and lesbians had obtained rights above and beyond those of other citizens through the governor’s executive order, and every media report about Measure 8 would inadvertently project its supporters’ message simply by stating the committee’s name. This technique ensured that the OCA shaped how the issue was presented to the public, which is a key element of any ballot initiative fight.
On November 8, 1988, Measure 8 passed 53 percent (626,751) to 47 percent (561,355). The vote stunned GLBT activists and set the stage for dozens of local anti-GLBT initiatives in Oregon and several statewide initiatives outside Oregon in the 1990’s.
Significance
On November 12, 1992, the Oregon Court of Appeals struck down Measure 8 as unconstitutional, but by this time, the benefits and damages to the GLBT movement had taken effect. In terms of benefits, the passage of Measure 8 taught GLBT activists in Oregon and elsewhere three lessons. First, activists needed to start campaigns early and not become complacent, regardless of what public-opinion polls indicate; it became clear that poll respondents can harbor biases that they do not want to reveal to poll takers. Second, a base of support must be built both within and beyond the GLBT community; the movement should present a united front, but the clear public support of political elites is also needed. Third—and this point is much debated—although a campaign should focus on broad themes, such as the right to privacy and basic human rights, avoiding the use of terms such as “gay,” “lesbian,” or “homosexual” may confuse the public and alienate the GLBT community.
The GLBT movement in Oregon also benefited from the measure because the campaign helped lead to the formation of new GLBT groups. For example, AFTER 8 was formed by women who wanted to mobilize the GLBT community in the months following the measure’s passage, and the group eventually was active in all parts of the state. An even larger group, Right to Privacy (RTP), formed in the wake of the election defeat. RTP was the first permanent statewide group in Oregon, and it would soon face the Oregon Citizens Alliance again at the ballot box. Indeed, the success of the OCA is credited for generating additional anti-GLBT initiatives throughout Oregon at the local level, at the state level, and in states such as Idaho and Colorado. Although Colorado’s Amendment 2—which prohibited any governmental body from adopting any ordinance offering claims of “any minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination” to gay, lesbian, or bisexual Coloradans—became nationally known, in part because it passed and none of the other statewide initiatives did, the real battle following the 1988 vote took place within Oregon.
GLBT activists struck back in Oregon by convincing Portland to expand its sexual orientation antidiscrimination law and encouraging the Oregon senate to pass a gay civil rights law in 1991. The OCA battled back by passing several local anti-GLBT initiatives in 1991 and 1992 and placing a new initiative (Measure 9) on the state ballot in 1992 that would have prevented any government in the state from adopting laws that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. Measure 9 failed after GLBT groups raised $2.1 million to defeat it, but the OCA was successful in passing more than twenty-four local initiatives in 1993 and 1994. The state legislature supported the OCA’s efforts, and in 1994 the OCA introduced another anti-GLBT initiative, Measure 13.
By 1994, however, GLBT activists were running a very polished and professional $1.8 million campaign against the OCA’s efforts and easily defeated Measure 13. High-profile political elites and religious leaders in the state opposed both Measures 9 and 13, even though the OCA dominated the state’s Republican Party in the early 1990’s. Meanwhile, many GLBT activists rallied around a new GLBT group, Basic Rights Oregon (BRO), following the defeat of Measure 9. BRO has effectively blocked anti-GLBT initiatives in the state since 1994.
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