News Some Laurelhurst residents don't want their neighbors to support one of the Boy Scouts of America's local holiday season traditions—picking up Christmas trees for recycling. The objections in this "Dear Neighbors" letter (PDF) being circulated in the Northeast Portland neighborhood from residents Richard Kuhns and Mary Quigley focus on the Boy Scouts' stance against Scouts and parent volunteers ...   More

News  Some Laurelhurst residents don’t want their neighbors to support one of theBoy Scouts of America’s local holiday season traditions—picking up Christmas trees for recycling.The objections in this “Dear Neighbors” letter (PDF) being circulated in the Northeast Portland neighborhood from residents Richard Kuhns and Mary Quigley focus on the Boy Scouts’ stance ...   More

News U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) today was among a group of four senators to introduce the latest version of a bill that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The freshman Democrat announced today he is a sponsor — along with Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe (both R-Maine) — of the Employment Non-Discrimination ...   More

News President Obama's pledge on Saturday at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign to “end 'Don't Ask Don't Tell” comes at an opportune time for Veterans for Human Rights. The Portland nonprofit, which promotes equal rights in the Armed Forces, has scheduled a re-organizational meeting Oct 21 at 7 pm at the Q Center (4115 N. Mississippi Ave) to create new leadership. “Everything ...   More

News Last night's election results in Maine and Washington left Basic Rights Oregon executive director Jeana Frazzini stressing this morning that she's a "half-glass-full" kind of person. "If I weren't, I couldn't do social justice work," Frazzini said. The quickie "half-glass-full" summary of yesterday's election when it comes to gay rights is that Maine voters overturned gay marriage in their ...   More

News Tonight's kickoff of Basic Rights Oregon's campaign to get Measure 36 overturned by state voters in 2012 has a new location. The kickoff event featuring Freedom to Marry's Evan Wolfson has been moved to PSU's Smith Memorial Student Union in the Vanport Room (#338) at 6 pm. Based on what Wolfson told WW in this week's paper, it should be a worthwhile event. UPDATE: I forgot to include in ...   More

News With one week to go until Washington voters decide whether to retain their state's domestic partnership rights for same-sex couples, we were curious which Oregonians and Oregon companies are donating their cash to the campaign across the river. Washington Families Standing Together, the group urging a yes vote Nov. 3 on Referendum 71 to retain domestic partnership, has collected more than $1.3 ...   More

News Basic Rights Oregon is reaching across the Columbia River to help its counterparts in Washington. On Nov. 3, Washington voters will decide whether to retain domestic partnership when they consider Referendum 71. And BRO wants people to come to its downtown Portland office next week for some phone-banking of Washington voters on that question. Oregon's domestic partnership law took effect last ...   More

News Two-thirds of the way through White Bird's latest Uncaged show, around the time Minh Tran started sashaying around the perimeter of Forestry Center's Miller Hall wearing a ripped '80s style tee with the word "LESBO" spray-painted on the front of it, I had already given up all hope of understanding exactly what was going on. But at least I wasn't yawning anymore. The Portland dance presenters commissioned ...   More

News We reported a few weeks back on U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) leaning on the State Department to let Uganda know that passage of horrific anti-gay legislation (which would incarcerate or possibly sentence to death citizens for being lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) would carry consequences for trade with the United States. Wyden's office today released this response (PDF) from the State ...   More