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City Club of Portland Report on Homosexuality in Oregon

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City Club of Portland Report on Homosexuality in Oregon Portland State University PDXScholar City Club of Portland Oregon Sustainable Community Digital Library 7-9-1994 City Club of Portland Report on Homosexuality in Oregon City Club of Portland (Portland, Or.) Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/oscdl_cityclub Part of the Urban Studies Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation City Club of Portland (Portland, Or.), "City Club of Portland Report on Homosexuality in Oregon" (1994). City Club of Portland. 469. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/oscdl_cityclub/469 This Report is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in City Club of Portland by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND BULLETIN 15 CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND Report on Homosexuality in Oregon Published in City Club of Portland Bulletin Vol. 76, No. 6 July 8,1994 The City Club membership will vote on this report on Friday, July 8,1994. Until the membership vote, The City Club does not have an official position on this report. The outcome of this vote will be reported in the City Club Bulletin dated July 22, 1994 (Vol. 76, No. 8). 16 CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND BULLETIN Contents I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 17 II. INTRODUCTION 18 III. BACKGROUND 19 A. The Nature of Homosexuality 19 B. History of Attitudes toward Homosexuality 24 C. Homosexuality in Oregon 25 D. Summary 27 IV. CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS 27 A. State Guidelines for School Curricula 27 B. Parental Rights and School Curricula 29 C. Oregon's Experience with Homosexual Teachers 31 D. Foster Care 32 E. Exposure to Homosexuality and Sexual Orientation 33 F. Homosexual Adolescents 33 G. Summary 34 V. EMPLOYMENT 35 A. Background 35 B. Sexual Orientation and Productivity in the Workplace 36 C. Discrimination in the Workplace 38 D. Summary 39 VI. INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS 39 A. Legal Background 39 B. Rights - Special or Equal? 43 C. Summary 46 VII. CONCLUSIONS 47 VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS 49 APPENDIX A: POLITICAL CHRONOLOGY 50 APPENDIX B: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS CLAIMS 51 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 52 LIST OF INTERVIEWS 53 REFERENCES 55 ENDNOTES 57 CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND BULLETIN 17 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Although Ballot Measure 9 was defeated in November 1992, it caused consid- erable debate and divisiveness throughout Oregon. The ballot measure sought to prohibit state and local governments in Oregon from protecting homosexuals through civil rights laws, to force government agencies and schools to categorize homosexuality as "abnormal, wrong, unnatural, and perverse," and to teach that "these behaviors are to be discouraged and avoided." In the debate over the ballot measure there were many arguments and counter arguments. Because issues relating to the ballot measure and political activity concerning rights of homosexuals continues, the City Club initiated this study to research issues concerning homosexuality. The study objectives were: 1. To provide factual underpinnings to assist in sound public policy development. 2. To make recommendations that are factually grounded that would reduce divisiveness. 3. To provide information that can inform future discussions and debates. The committee investigated historical and scientific information concerning homosexuality, including its nature and role in society. The report focuses on three areas of concern regarding homosexuality: children and adolescents, the work environment, and the contentious issues surrounding the "equal rights vs. special rights" debate. Our key findings are: 1. There is a strong biological component in the origins of homosexuality. The weight of medical and psychological opinion is that homosexuality is not a neural or psychological disorder. Sexual orientation appears to be more like an immutable trait than a matter of personal choice. 2. In school and work environments, conduct-based standards have been an effective way to deal with value-related issues such as homosexuality. Conduct-based standards describe categories of inappropriate behavior including personal harassment, abuse of authority, displays of affection, and explicit discussions of sexual practices. 3. Some public schools, including the Portland Public School District, have developed protocols for handling questions about value-laden issues such as homosexuality under which teachers respond to factual questions raised by students and encourage students to discuss the underlying value issues with their parents, religious leaders, or other responsible adults. 4. Some youths identify themselves as homosexual or are uneasy or confused about their evolving sexual orientation. These youth are at high risk of drop- ping out of school, becoming homeless, drug dependent, or suicidal. 5. Problems due to workers' lack of acceptance of homosexual co-workers have not been widespread and are not identified among the leading concerns of workers. Group cohesion and productivity is increased when leadership sets the tone and consistently requires conduct-based standards. 6. Homosexuals currently have no general protection from discrimination under federal or Oregon state law. The cities of Portland, Ashland and Corvallis have ordinances prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals. 28 CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND BULLETIN 7. Many people fear that anti-discrimination laws protecting homosexuals may lead to affirmative action requirements or quotas. However, the Committee believes affirmative action or quotas for homosexuals would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to enforce since it is not reliably known what percent of the general population or any particular organization is homosexual. The report recommends: 1. Oregon should pass a state constitutional amendment that prohibits intentional discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations. The amendment should also provide that affirmative action programs, hiring quotas, and discrimination-based hiring preferences should not be afforded based on sexual orientation. 2. Oregon state school systems should implement a model like Portland School District's, which refers students to family, clergy and other trusted adults on sensitive issues such as homosexuality. The model should include its "Values Question Protocol" and "conduct-based" standards for acceptable conduct within school. Teachers and counselors should be provided increased training on effectively implementing the protocol related to human sexuality and sexual orientation. 3. State agencies that study and provide services for at-risk youth should acknowledge and adequately address the unique problems associated with homosexual youth. 4. Business leaders should recognize their role in promoting group cohesion within the workplace by developing "conduct-based" standards regarding homosexuality such as those recommended by the RAND study. These should be used in the workplace to maintain group cohesion and productivity when addressing issues concerning sexual orientation. These standards should focus on the job to be done and the kinds of professional interpersonal behaviors that are and are not acceptable. These standards should stress that people do not have to like each other to be able to work together effectively, but that they must accept the objectives of the group and the required conduct-based standards. II. INTRODUCTION A. Introduction to the Study In March of 1993, the Board of Governors of the City Club of Portland charged this committee with preparing a study presenting an unbiased, factual report on key public policy issues related to homosexuality in Oregon. This decision was made following the defeat of Oregon State Ballot Measure 9 in November of 1992. Measure 9 sought to prohibit sexual orientation from being included as a protected class under state law, to force government agencies and schools to categorize homosexuality as "abnormal, wrong, unnatural, and perverse," and to teach that "these behaviors are to be discouraged and avoided." This measure drew substantial political attention, both within and outside the state. The City Club issued a ballot measure study recommending against its passage. Homosexual rights is a divisive and controversial issue. Advocates of homosexual rights have been lobbying for legal protection in the Oregon legislature for many years. Opponents of homosexual rights have advocated against legal protection for homosexuals in cities and counties statewide, and a revised state CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND BULLETIN 19 ballot measure petition is currently being circulated. What becomes clear in these debates is the wide range of views on homosexuality, from those who believe it is a sin or morally wrong to those who believe it is just as moral and deserving of societal protection as heterosexuality. Still others are undecided. Both national and local debates on homosexuality are frequently clouded with disagreements of fact. In addition, there has been heated, inflammatory and mis- leading political rhetoric on both sides of the issue. This political material and rhetoric has portrayed the opposition in terms which apply, at most, only to a small minority of extremists. For example, proponents of Measure 9 and the more recent initiatives have been compared to Ku Klux Klan members and Nazis, while oppo- nents have been characterized as pedophiles and exhibitionists. It has become obvious to the Committee that these characterizations do not describe
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