Changing Times in Springfield, Oregon

In 1992, I was a senior in high school. That spring, my town of Springfield, Oregon passed a notorious anti-gay ordinance that barred the city from taking any steps against discrimination. It was one of the 2 or 3 real radicalizing experiences of my life. I don’t know that the town was torn exactly, in the sense that most people clearly supported it or didn’t have any big problem with it. At least the people I knew. I was an exception. It was a hot topic throughout my senior year. In January, I turned 18 and registered to vote. I was always kind of interested in politics but it wasn’t the kind of conversation I had with my friends and acquaintances. I must have registered at lunch because I remember walking into my biology class in the afternoon and telling people I had registered. They asked what party. I said Democratic and then was harassed for the next 10 minutes about killing babies and loving the faggots and whatnot. I was pretty shocked by this. My best friends supported the anti-gay ordinance and even held signs on the streets to support it. It was pretty disgusting but probably was the first event that turned me toward the person I am today.

So I am extremely pleased to note that Springfield has now passed an anti-discrimination ordinance by a unanimous city council vote with very little controversy. The 1992 law never went into effect because it was thrown out by the courts and the Oregon Equality Act of 2007 made it moot anyway, but Springfield did not have to so directly reverse its past of hate. It is a sign of the changing times that a town like Springfield would do this. While just outside of liberal Eugene, Springfield has long defined itself as a conservative, blue-collar logging town against the Eugene hippie-anarchists-communists-homosexuals, etc. But we see discrimination against gays beaten back at every turn in 2011. The rising tide of gay rights is probably the best thing happening in this country over the last 10 years and I’m glad my town finally got its act together and repudiated the past.