Archives West Finding Aid

The Portland Town Council (PTC) existed as an informal organization in the early 1970s, and formally organized as a nonprofit organization in 1975. In the 1970s, the PTC functioned as Oregon's first statewide gay rights organization. It instigated a proposal for gay rights legislation in Oregon, Senate Bill 603, which did not pass. The group also conducted extensive surveys of state legislators, asking their opinions regarding various legal issues raised by the developing LGBTQ population. Perhaps most notably in terms of national politics, the PTC produced a Legislative Guide to Gay Rights (1976). That document identified a variety of legal issues that queer people contended with, and the PTC offered it to local legislators and queer community organizations in other localities across the nation.

In terms of community development, the PTC worked with and supported various community organizations, serving as a catalyst for new ideas and groups. It organized a Gay Pride event on Portland's South Park Blocks in 1975, offered its support to new organizations such as Growing Alternative Youth (GAY)--a queer youth organization in Eugene, and struggled to refute the negative image of sexual minorities in local media. The PTC was also instrumental in the 1978 Eugene referendum measure to repeal the city's fledgling gay rights ordinance. That measure, which was supported by Anita Bryant, a national antigay figure, was repealed by a wide margin.

In its later years, the Portland Town Council maintained its political role while attempting to shift its community development focus to queer woman and people of color. Establishing the Diversity Alliance, the PTC contacted local civil rights organizations and made statements against local racism, sexism, and homophobia. But these efforts did not salve growing rifts in the LGBTQ community, and the council disbanded in 1982.