Strengthen the American Family, Fire a Homosexual

It looks as though Oregon will be one of the next states to deal with equality for gay citizens. Last November, Oregon was one of the states where voters approved a constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage.

That was bad enough, but now, the same group who spearheaded that effort are now going to try to block legislation that would prevent gay citizens from being fired for being gay, harassed on the job for being gay, denied housing for being gay, and denied access to public accommodations for being gay.

As someone who has been fired for being a homosexual, I can tell you it’s not pretty. At the time, I had no recourse for the action. I had to just walk away. I was not “out” to anyone and kept a very low profile. A female supervisor was trying to get me to sleep with her. It was all very strange to me. We worked the night shift together and would get off at 2:00 in the morning. She would have me drive her home after work (it was not something I wanted to do or had a choice in - she told me it was a “condition of the job”), and wanted me to have sex with her on her front lawn as her husband was asleep upstairs. I told Kent about it because she was totally serious about it and I didn’t know what to do.

She was persistent and when I refused time and time again, she asked me if I was “gay or something”. I said nothing. She said, “That’s it, isn’t it? You are gay!”. I got up and walked away.

The next thing I know, no one is speaking with me. The attitudes of my coworkers had changed. Within a week, I was called into her supervisor’s office and asked why I wasn’t being a “team player”. I told him what was going on. He said to me, “Well, whatever else is going on between you and Sue (not her real name), we don’t hire faggots here. Get your things and get out. We’ll mail you your pay.”

That was that. I had no way to complain because what he did was absolutely legal. That happened at San Francisco International Airport, before laws were put into place to stop it.

Now, it’s the same thing in Oregon. And my question is this: Why are we viewed as so damn “anti-family” by groups such as the Oregon Family Council and the Defense of Marriage Coalition? I have friends, dear friends, who have children. I wish them no harm and threaten them in no way. I just want equality for MY FAMILY. That’s all. And I still don’t understand, after all these years, how my getting fired from my job for being a homosexual has strengthened the American family.

The group that led the effort to ban gay marriage in Oregon in November's election has a new target: Gov. Ted Kulongoski's bid to extend antidiscrimination protections to homosexuals.

Kulongoski, in his Jan. 10 State of the State address, listed as a high priority winning passage of a statewide ban on discrimination against gay people in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Tim Nashif, the leader of the Oregon Family Council and the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said that he and his supporters will turn their attention to scuttling the governor's bill in the 2005 Legislature. (source)