Archives West Finding Aid

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and other Americans acting outside of traditional gender norms ("LGBTQ" communities) have long fought for legal rights in the United States. Oregon's political geography, with several liberal cities surrounded by mostly conservative rural areas, has created an interesting mix of LGBTQ activism and counter-activism. Early attempts to codify anti-discrimination laws included city ordinances in Portland (1974) and Eugene (1977). With the rise of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, LGBTQ activists found a new urgency in their work, bringing their concerns to the mainstream of civil discourse. Conservative groups have opposed pro-gay legislation from the beginning however, and have fought to repeal or prohibit laws protecting gays in Oregon. Often arguing that gays and lesbians wanted special rights -- rather than equal rights -- they protested the idea that the state should protext what they believed were immoral activities. In Oregon, the group Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) succeeded in passing anti-gay legislation in many counties in the early 1990s, and sponsored two state-wide anti-gay initiatives that were defeated. Since then, LGBTQ communities in Oregon have seen a fitful but fairly continuous shift towards legal protection. These events, as well as the wider national environment for the AIDS crisis and LGBTQ politics, are illustrated by the many political flyers, brochures, event programs and other materials that both political sides issued from the 1970s-1990s.