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Stories tagged with “Oregon”

LGBT

Oregon Bakers Refuse Cake For Same-Sex Wedding

By Zack Ford on Feb 4, 2013 at 12:15 pm

A couple who runs a bakery in Oregon has refused to provide a wedding cake for a same-sex couple planning to marry, claiming it’s against their beliefs. Sweet Cakes by Melissa owner Aaron Klein explained to one of the brides-to-be and her mother that they could not provide a cake, prompting the women to walk out and disgust. Klein says he’s okay with gay customers buying his products, but he cannot approve of a same-sex wedding:

KLEIN: I believe that marriage is a religious institution ordained by God. The book of Genesis talks about that: For this reason, a man should leave his mother and father and cling to his wife. That to me is the beginning of marriage. [...]

I have no problem with [gays]. I have customers that come in almost on a weekly basis that are homosexual. I have no problem. They can buy my stuff, I sell stuff, I talk with them. I mean, it’s fine.

Watch a local news report about the controversy:

The same-sex couple has filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice, claiming they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. Oregon has had a law protecting against such discrimination since 2008.

Reports of couples similarly being denied cakes have been reported over the past few years in other states like Colorado and Iowa.

Health

Oregon Is The Only State Left That Hasn’t Imposed Any Restrictions On Abortion

By Tara Culp-Ressler on Jan 31, 2013 at 4:10 pm

Despite the fact that Roe v. Wade first legalized abortion four decades ago, anti-choice lawmakers have successfully chipped away at abortion rights on a state level. Wonkblog’s Sarah Kliff flagged a helpful visual, compiled by Remapping the Debate, to illustrate the recent flood of anti-abortion laws across the country (click to enlarge, or click here to see the interactive version). Five states have at least 20 different restrictions that obstruct women’s access to reproductive services, and Oregon is the sole state that doesn’t have a single piece of anti-choice legislation on the books:

Economy

Philadelphia, Portland City Councils Consider Offering Workers Paid Sick Leave

By Travis Waldron on Jan 25, 2013 at 5:15 pm

America is in the middle of what is projected to become the worst flu epidemic in a decade, and across the country workers risk making it worse by going to their jobs while sick. They do so because American workers have little access to paid sick leave, but some cities are considering enshrining such leave into law.

City councils in Portland, Oregon and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are both considering new paid sick leave laws. Under the Portland proposal, all businesses would have to grant workers at least 40 hours of sick leave each year; for businesses with more than six employees, that leave time would be paid. A report from the Main Street Alliance of Oregon, which supports paid sick leave, said business expenses would grow at most by 1.9 percent under the law.

In Philadelphia, where a paid sick leave law was passed in 2011 but was vetoed by the mayor, lawmakers are making another attempt. The bill is backed by local restaurant workers, thousands of whom go to work while sick each day. Nearly 80 percent of food workers do not have paid sick leave, and 60 percent say they have reported to work while sick. A majority of Americans support providing paid sick leave to food workers.

The lack of paid sick leave is its own epidemic in the United States, where 40 percent of private sector workers and 80 percent of low-income workers don’t receive a single paid sick day. Lack of paid sick leave led to an additional 5 million cases of the H1N1 flu virus in 2009.

And though business leaders in Portland and Philadelphia oppose the laws, perhaps they shouldn’t. Research suggests that paid sick leave reduces employee turnover and increases productivity, meaning providing it to employees has substantial benefits for the companies’ bottom lines too.

LGBT

Oregon Insurance Companies Can No Longer Discriminate Against Transgender People

By Zack Ford on Jan 7, 2013 at 9:00 am

Last month, the Oregon Insurance Division of the state’s Department of Consumer and Business Services quietly issued a bulletin that constitutes a monumental new protection for transgender people in the state. In 2007, Oregon passed a law prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people, and the new bulletin dictates that as such, it is illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to trans people or refuse to cover their medically necessary health care. Here is a list of actions that could constitute discrimination based on gender identity (actual or perceived) for all private insurers in Oregon, via PQ monthly:

  • Denying, cancelling, limiting, or refusing to renew an insurance policy.
  • Requiring different rates or premiums.
  • Classifying “gender identity disorder” or “gender dysphoria” (GI/GD) as a disqualifying pre-existing condition.
  • Denying coverage for a procedure that is provided for the treatment of other conditions of illness (such as hormone therapy, mastectomy, or vocal training).
  • Categorically denying coverage of GI/GD.
  • Denying mental health coverage for GI/GD-related issue in adults.
  • Denying sex-specific care (such as pap smears and prostate exams).

In a 2010 study, 19 percent of trans people reported being refused medical care, 28 percent postponed medical care due to discrimination, and 48 percent reported that they simply could not afford treatment. Bridging this inequity is essential for helping members of the trans community access the same basic level of health care as the general public.

Read the full bulletin, or learn more about filing a complaint.

Economy

Oregon Governor Wants Special Legislative Session To Let Nike Write His State’s Tax Law

By Travis Waldron on Dec 11, 2012 at 3:45 pm

After Oregon voters passed a referendum ending one corporate tax break — and with unions and education officials calling for the closure of tax loopholes to raise more revenues — one of the state’s biggest and most identifiable companies is calling for more tax certainty. And if it doesn’t get it, it is threatening to move.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) called a special legislative session Tuesday so lawmakers could consider handing Nike, the Oregon-based apparel and athletic shoe company, the “tax certainty” bill it is demanding. In exchange for the legislation, which will allow the governor to enter into agreements that lock-in current tax laws for certain large companies, Nike says it will create 500 jobs in the state, the Oregonian reports:

Kitzhaber said Nike officials approached him more that a month ago to discuss the company’s expansion plans. Kitzhaber said they told him that Nike was being “heavily courted” by other states but wanted to stay in Oregon.

To do so, the company wanted a guarantee that the state would continue its tax policy, known as the “single-sales factor,” in which companies are taxed only on in-state sales.

“To me, that’s an easy call,” Kitzhaber said.

In addition to the 500 jobs Nike promises to create, Kitzhaber said the tax policy could lead to 12,000 more jobs and a $2 billion boost to Oregon’s economy. But state tax preferences and subsidies aimed at specific businesses often fall flat. New Jersey, for instance, handed a food company $80 million in tax incentives last year, all so it could create just nine jobs. And Sears announced layoffs in Illinois just months after the state gave it millions in tax subsidies.

What Nike wants from Kitzhaber, though, may be even worse. At a time when Oregon is cutting funding for public education and for its colleges and universities — one of which Nike has a close relationship with — Kitzhaber is asking for legislation that would allow the governor to enter into a “tax certainty” agreement with any company that promises to create at least 500 jobs and invest at least $150 million over five years. In exchange for that investment, current tax laws would be set for a time-frame determined by the governor, essentially turning control of the state’s taxes and revenue stream over to any corporation that, like Nike, raised the possibility of moving without the maintenance of Oregon’s already-favorable corporate tax law.

NEWS FLASH

POLL: Oregon Voters Eager To Vote For Marriage Equality | A recent Public Policy Polling poll shows that Oregon voters are eager to embrace marriage equality, with 77 percent saying they should be able to vote. Should that vote occur, 54 percent would vote to legalize same-sex marriage while just 40 percent stand opposed. For voters under the age of 45, the spread widens to 68/30. Though voter referenda are not an ideal strategy, it’s the only option for marriage equality in Oregon, which was one of 13 states to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2004.

Health

STUDY: LGB Americans Face Significant Health Disparities Compared to Heterosexuals

By Sy Mukherjee on Nov 29, 2012 at 1:10 pm

According to a study compiled by Oregon public health officials, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Americans are susceptible to a host of sexual and mental health issues at significantly higher rates than heterosexuals.

In addition to facing higher levels of food insecurity and poverty, the study finds that LGB adults are less likely to have access to health insurance and more likely to face sexual and emotional abuse than their fellow heterosexuals. As per the Oregonian, here are some of the report’s findings:

  • Nearly twice as many LGB adults report frequent mental distress as hetero adults. One in five LGBQ youth report a suicide attempt in the previous 12 months compared with one in 25 heterosexual youth.
  • More than one in three LGB adults report ever being sexually assaulted compared with one in eight heterosexual adults.
  • Twice as many LGB adults reporting ever being hit, slapped, pushed, kicked or physically hurt by an intimate partner in their lifetimes as is reported among hetero adults.
  • LGB adults are less likely than heterosexuals to have medical insurance.

Other studies have also confirmed that this segment of the American population encounters significant hurdles when it comes to insurance coverage and maintaining proper mental health.

Health

How Medical Marijuana Is Helping To Treat A Seven-Year-Old Girl’s Cancer

By Tara Culp-Ressler on Nov 27, 2012 at 3:40 pm

Seven-year-old Mykayla Comstock is one of 51 children under the age of 17 who are currently enrolled in Oregon’s medical marijuana program. After Mykayla was diagnosed with leukemia and began chemotherapy, her mother filed medical marijuana paperwork with the state so that she could help ease her daughter’s pain with capsules filled with cannabis oil — a decision she credits with helping effectively treat Mykayla’s cancer.

Erin Purchase began giving her daughter about a gram of cannabis oil a day in capsule form, one pill in the morning and one at night, despite encountering resistance from Mykayla’s first doctor. Purchase told ABC News that doctor “blew up” and told her to transfer Mykayla to another facility. But Purchase says she knows she’s making the right decision for her daughter:

At first, Mykayla wasn’t responding well to her treatment, and doctors said she might need a bone marrow transplant. Then she started taking the cannabis oil pills. her mother said. By early August, Mykayla was in remission and the transplant was no longer necessary.

“I don’t think it’s just a coincidence,” Purchase said. “I credit it with helping — at least helping — her ridding the cancer from her body.” [...]

Before Mykayla was diagnosed, Purchase had read about another young boy with cancer who received cannabis oil for nearly two years because his parents believed it kept him alive so much that they defied doctors’ orders and broke Montana law to give it to him. She said she knew it was what she would do for her children if they ever got sick.

Cash “Cashy” Hyde died Nov. 14 at four years old, but his parents say he was never in any pain because of the oil.

U.S. medical professionals typically warn against using cannabis to treat children, since there haven’t been widespread clinical trials to study its long-term effects on development or its impact on the immune system. But more than 200 medical studies have documented cannabis’ overall medical benefits, and some international studies even suggest that the active ingredient in marijuana could be effective at fighting cancer cells specifically. Medical marijuana advocacy groups point out that the issue is largely cyclical — the federal government often won’t invest in additional research because the drug is listed as Schedule I, while working to reclassify it is an uphill battle without further studies to help scientists reach a consensus.

Regardless of the political fight over medical marijuana, some parents like Purchase do rely on cannabis to alleviate their children’s pain. And Purchase believes it’s been essential in helping her daughter get better. When McKayla skips her capsule, she often suffers from nausea and even the smell of food can make her throw up — but when McKayla takes her cannabis dose, it’s a different story: “She doesn’t use pain pills or nausea pills. She has not even lost a single pound since her diagnosis.”

Election

Oregon County Elections Official Under Investigation For Ballot Tampering

By Aviva Shen on Nov 2, 2012 at 3:11 pm

The Clackamas County Elections Office is under investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice for possible ballot tampering, reports the Oregonian. A temporary election worker allegedly filled in a straight Republican ticket where voters had left blank preferences. It is unclear how many ballots were affected, but, as Blue Oregon notes, this is not the first time Clackamas County has come under scrutiny for foul play.

The state elections office has twice had to monitor the county elections office. In 2011, an elections director had to step in when county clerk Sherry Hall accepted invalid signatures for a Tea Party-backed urban renewal petition.

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