Oregon to Vote on Anti-Gay Initiative

Oregonians will vote in November on a proposal that would ban public school teachers from promoting or sanctioning homosexuality in class.

Critics have said the measure is vaguely worded and could result in the ostracizing of gay and bisexual students.

But the measure’s sponsor, the Oregon Citizens Alliance, has collected enough signatures to have it placed on the Nov. 7 ballot, the state Elections Division said Monday.

The alliance gained national attention when it put anti-gay rights initiatives on Oregon’s 1992 and 1994 ballots. Both were rejected.

The latest measure states that “the instruction of behavior relating to homosexuality and bisexuality shall not be presented in a public school in a manner which encourages, promotes or sanctions such behaviors.”

Schools that didn’t comply could lose some or all of their state funding.

“Our goal is to raise $1 million” for the campaign, said Lon Mabon, the alliance’s chairman. “There is growing concern everywhere about this issue. Under the guise of ‘diversity’ and ‘multiculturalism,’ they are teaching our children that homosexuality is acceptable.”

The state’s leading gay rights group, Basic Rights Oregon, said it also planned to raise at least $1 million to oppose the measure.

The measure could make it tough to teach sex education, said Kathleen Sullivan, a Basic Rights spokeswoman.

“It’s a big risk to our kids not only because it undermines the teaching of tolerance, it also will severely limit or eliminate good, frank classes on HIV prevention, abstinence and birth control,” she said.