Source: Just Out, Salem-News, McMinnville News-Register
Gay rights activists are seething over remarks made by a legislator to a reporter for Just Out, Oregon's flagship gay newspaper, which posted them on its website.

"If you walk around talking about what you do in the bedroom, you should be on the pervert channel," Senator Gary George told Just Out.

George and State Representative Kim Thatcher, both of Newberg, have filed an initiative to reverse the recently enacted Oregon Equality Act -- an anti-discrimination law for sexual minorities -- and allow discrimination against gay people. The measure was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor in 2007.

Oregon state elections officials announced this week that they will accept public comments through March 25 on George and Thatcher's proposed state ballot initiative.

It currently carries this draft title: "Removes sexual orientation from statutes listing impermissible discrimination grounds; deletes other sexual orientation-related provisions."

Once elections officials give them a green light, George and his co-sponsors will have until July 3 to collect 82,769 valid signatures from registered Oregon voters. And gay rights groups are already gearing up for an opposition campaign.

While that clock is ticking, George's interview with Just Out is causing a ruckus.

In his first media interview since coming forward as co-sponsor of the initiative,  George railed against gay activists and affirmative action, and warned that if gays continued to be “oppressive toward straights,” they were in danger of “violent backlash.”

The full interview will appear in the March 21 issue of Just Out, but widely quoted excerpts from what it termed "an explosive interview" with George are included in the Just Out posting.

Asked by Just Out to give an example of the kind of "special rights" George thinks gay people gain because of the anti-bias rules, the legislator replied, "If I discriminate in favor of you it automatically requires I discriminate against someone else. I was hoping with your generation we can stop calling each other ‘asian-american,' or 'latino-american...' There’s one talk show host, and he has really severe hard feelings against affirmative action. Because of the race that he is, I believe he’s Italian, he was discriminated against because he’s not black. I have dear dear friends in the legislature who are black but sometimes I really get tired of hearing about their color."

The exchange between George and the reporter, not identified in the posting, includes this response to a question about what recourse employees have if they are fired because they're gay:

"As an employer, I don't wanna hear about it. This workplace is for work purposes. My advice to the gay community is shut up, just don't talk about it. If you walk around talking about what you do in the bedroom, you should be on the pervert channel."

Contacted Friday, George said the comment had been wrenched out of context. He said he was referring to an incident in which one of the employees of his hazelnut operation complained that another worker was gay. Determining the gay employee hadn't even spoken about his sexual orientation, he told the complaining worker to get over it, he said.

George said that he took the call from Just Out at 8 a.m. He said he'd just arrived home from an overnight flight, was dead tired and wasn't even sure who he was talking to.

"It's my fault for having three or four hours of sleep and engaging in a philosophical discussion," he said. He said he hadn't contacted the paper for a correction or retraction, saying, "There's no way to win this thing."

Asked by Just Out to comment on the recent murders in California and Florida of gay teens, George said "murder is murder" but expressed sympathy for the murderers. "I think we’re seeing a backlash, in other words if you push me too hard don’t be surprised if I react," he said.

"Gays will tend to react violently if people are oppressive toward them. If gays are oppressive toward straights, then you’ll see a violent backlash. You’re going to have a point where these groups develop and say I’m tired of these special privileges."

Shortly after the papers were filed in Salem, Basic Rights Oregon's Executive Director Jeana Frazzini said, "Our opponents have said all along that they would file again. While I'm not surprised that initiatives to repeal the laws have been filed, I'm shocked that this effort has been spearheaded by legislators whose duty is to protect Oregonians."

Given the already inflamed passions, Just Out's interview with George has sparked a firestorm of criticism. And some of that criticism has reached McMinnville via e-mail.

Portland critic Keith Daly sent a blistering letter to Chamber President Phil Hutchinson, Mayor Ed Gormley and Yamhill County Commissioners Mary Stern, Leslie Lewis and Kathy George, the latter Gary George's wife. He said he was inclined to boycott the area either until George leaves office, which he is scheduled to do voluntarily at the end of the year, or local leaders send a loud and clear message that gay people are welcome.

"Should I worry about how close I sit to my partner at Bistro Maison?" he asked. "Can I get a room at Hotel Oregon with just one bed without feeling like I should be on the 'pervert channel'? When we're winetasting with friends, can I be assured of my personal safety?"

George said that the incident on his farm is indicative of his own live-and-let-live libertarian streak, which is plainly at odds with the bigotry he's being branded with. "To scream that we're just some sort of homophobes is just ridiculous," he said.

Readers responding on the Just Out blog have termed George's comments horrifying and hateful. One has called for his resignation and others have called him a "lunatic" and a "whack job."

George said Friday that the backlash might actually help him with his initiative, because it "exposes the intolerance of gay rights supporters," the McMinnville News-Register reports. 

Full article: Two Republican Lawmakers Attempt to Derail Oregon Equality Act - Salem-News.Com
George ripped over gay rights repeal initiative | McMinnville News-Register
Just Out exclusive: Explosive interview with State Senator Gary George | Just Out