COUNTYWIDE : McClintock’s Office Picketed by Gays

Twenty-five people picketed the Camarillo office of state Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) on Wednesday to protest the lawmaker’s opposition to gay rights legislation.

The assemblyman was absent as the group of men and women, some pushing baby strollers, marched peacefully around his office on North Lantana Street.

The picketers, including lesbians and gay men, carried signs saying, “Shame On You, Tom,” and “Fight Injustice, Not Gays.”

Motorists slowed and pedestrians stopped to watch, but no clashes marred the noon demonstration.

McClintock was one of 31 assemblymen who voted against the bill that would have added the phrase “and sexual orientation” to the list of categories that are protected under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed the bill more than two weeks ago, triggering demonstrations in Sacramento and in Southern California.

In a telephone interview, McClintock said he opposed the legislation because he believed that it would give gays protection no other groups have.

“Sexual behavior of any sort has no place in the working environment, and government shouldn’t be providing protection for a particular class” of people, he said.

Donna McDermott, a spokeswoman for the group, accused McClintock and other legislators of keeping gays “enslaved to the closet.”

“We’re talking about three little words that would give us civil protection under the law that (McClintock) is afraid of,” McDermott said.

“Homophobia is alive and well, and it’s alive and well in Ventura County.”

There are at least 70,000 homosexuals in the county, many of whom have refrained from leading openly gay lifestyles because they lack protection in the workplace, she said.

Judy Dahl, an ordained minister and one of the leaders of the protest, said gays may picket the offices of other legislators who opposed the bill.