What We’re Planning for 2023: A Message from Our Interim Executive Director

Hello friends,

I hope your 2023 is off to a good start! 

Already this year, we’ve seen some big wins for equality in Oregon: Gov. Tina Kotek was sworn in Monday, becoming one of the first openly lesbian governors in the country. A diverse group of new and returning state legislators were also sworn in for the term—including the largest contingent of Vietnamese-American state lawmakers in the nation.

I’m proud to say Basic Rights Oregon’s Equality PAC endorsed Tina and the majority of legislators sworn in Monday. THANK YOU to everyone who joined us in canvassing, calling and texting voters, and making donations last year. Together, we helped make Oregon the number one state for voter turnout in 2022!

Now that everyone’s been sworn in, it’s time to turn our attention to the long legislative session ahead of us. BRO has big plans for this session! We’re excited to be working with our friends in the reproductive justice world to pass legislation that will strengthen bodily autonomy in Oregon and expand access to gender-affirming healthcare. We’ll have more to share on that as things get moving in the Legislature!

We’re also proud to be standing in support of several other legislative efforts to make Oregon more equal: Food for All Oregonians, policy to make our schools more affirming for LGBTQ2SIA+ students, and the entire Fair Shot Coalition agenda. 

The 2022 election cycle may be behind us now, but that doesn’t mean we’re done with elections! As you’ve probably observed over the last few years, school boards can play a critical role in ensuring LGBTQ2SIA+ equality at a local level—or denying it. For the first time, BRO will play an active role in school board elections in several key districts this spring. We’ll also have more to share on this front soon.

Thanks to everyone who supported BRO in 2022—whether you volunteered, attended our Protect Trans Kids rally, marched in our Pride group, made a donation, or shared our work with friends or on social media. With your help, 2023 should be a banner year for LGBTQ2SIA+ equality in Oregon.

Take care,

Todd Addams (he/him)

Interim Executive Director, Basic Rights Oregon