OREGON: Two Gay Portland Men Beaten For Holding Hands

Portland, Oregon police are investigating a possible hate crime after two gay men were beaten after being seen walking hand-in-hand. One of the victims reports: "I left [the ER] with 9 stitches in my lips, two black eyes, a dislodged jaw, some loose teeth, severe swelling where they hit me on my cheek, and scrapes and bruises on my head."

Detectives say Brad Forkner and Christopher Rosevear were walking hand-in-hand Sunday evening in Waterfront Park and then headed over the Hawthorne Bridge. As the pair walked, police say, they noticed several men behind them who were talking, laughing and pointing, but they weren’t sure if it was directed at them. Police say the attack happened as Forkner and Rosevear walked from the bridge to the trail toward the East Bank Esplanade. The pair told officers the men pushed and punched Forkner before he managed to break away and call 911. Police say the attackers hit Rosevear in the head, face, back and ribs before running off. ”It’s too bad that people are still walking around a city like Portland feeling, well, actually unsafe,” says Paul Fukui, the operations manager of the Q-Center, which advocates for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community.

According to the above-linked news story, several witnesses observed the attack but did nothing to help. The three assailants are described as white men in their 20s.

(Tipped by JMG reader Megan)

MSNBC Interviews Author Of Oregon Study On LGBT Teen Suicide Rate

Gay Kids In Supportive Communities Have Lower Rates Of Suicide Attempts

A new study out of Oregon indicates that gay kids that grow up in a supportive environment are 20% less likely to attempt suicide. We knew this, of course, but now there's some science behind it.

About 1400 -- or between 4 and 5 percent -- of teens surveyed identified themselves as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Of those students, almost 22 kids out of every hundred said they had attempted suicide in the past year. That compared to about 4 of every hundred teens who identified as straight and said they had attempted suicide. Suicide attempts were more common in LGB teens who reported being depressed and binge drinking, as well as those who had been victimized by their peers or physically abused by an adult. But even accounting for all those factors, teens' social environment made a difference too. Those who lived in counties that scored poorly on measures of social environment were about 20 percent more likely to have attempted suicide than teens from high-scoring social environments.

Factors that positively affect the gay teen suicide rate: "Teens living in counties with a high proportion of gay and lesbian couples, and those who went to schools with gay-straight alliances and anti-discrimination policies." An abstract of the study is here, subscription is required to read the full report.

OREGON: Four Year Prison Sentence For Brutal Attack Over "Gay Hairstyle"

Brandon Sanchez, 21, has been sentenced to four years in an Oregon prison after attacking another man for having a supposedly "gay hairstyle."

Sanchez apparently targeted Mark Bryant, 20, because he showed up at an Aug. 11 party with his hair gelled into a faux hawk, or fake mohawk. Bryant was in a coma for 22 days, had part of his skull temporarily removed to relieve pressure on his brain from swelling and now -- five months after the attack -- wears a patch over his right eye because he can't see clearly out of it. In recent weeks, he's started to walk again. "I'd never wish this upon anyone," Sanchez said. "I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused in your family. ...I've been praying for you." Bryant then asked something he's always wondered about the attack: "Your honor, I have a question he never answered before: Why?" "I was stupid," Sanchez responded. "I wish I could tell you an answer."

(Tipped by JMG reader John)

Oregon Teabagger Art Robinson Vs. Rachel Maddow = Crazy Time Fireworks

If you haven't fallen in love with Rachel Maddow yet, this will do it. You'll also want to crawl through your screen and strangle this teabagger loony tune.

Oregon Bans Credit Checks By Employers

Oregon has become the third state to bar companies from checking the credit records of potential employees.

Under the new law, Oregon employers will no longer be able to use credit history as a factor in hiring, firing, demoting or suspending employees, unless they can establish that it's substantially related to the job. The law originated from a concern that credit histories could be inaccurate or unfairly represent job seekers down on their luck, said Sen. Diane Rosenbaum, D-Portland,who sponsored the bill. Oregon unemployment is hovering around 10.6 percent, and people don't need another factor standing between them and a job, she said. About 35 to 40 percent of employers nationally check credit scores, Bob Estabrook, a state Bureau of Labor and Industries spokesman, estimated. But the percentage is dropping as other states, including Washington and Hawaii, adopt similar laws. When someone is unable to obtain a job because of a couple of missed rent payments, the credit evaluation is "arbitrary ... and people don't get a chance to explain," Estabrook said. Using credit histories can also lead to inadvertent racial discrimination because African Americans and Latinos generally have lower credit scores, he said.

Oregon's Republicans, of course, opposed the bill. Similar laws are under consideration in many other states. The Governator vetoed such a bill for California in 2008 and 2009.

(Tipped by JMG reader Aaron)

$1.4M Jury Award For Boy Scout Sexually Abused By Mormon Troop Leader

A Portland, Oregon jury has awarded $1.4M to a man sexually abused by the scoutmaster of his Mormon Church sponsored Boy Scout troop. The scoutmaster had confessed to church and Boy Scout leaders that he molested at least 17 scouts, yet he was allowed to remain in contact with the boys. The LDS does not have to pay their portion of the judgment because they settled out of court with the plaintiff last year.

Nine out of the 12 jurors found Boy Scouts of America and its local body, the Portland-based Cascade Pacific Council, negligent in the lawsuit brought by plaintiff Kerry Lewis, who is now 38. The Boy Scouts of America said in a statement on its Web site that it plans to appeal the verdict. ""We are gravely disappointed with the verdict. We believe that the allegations made against our youth protection efforts are not valid... We are saddened by what happened to the plaintiff. The actions of the man who committed these crimes do not represent the values and ideals of the Boy Scouts of America." he jury found that the Boy Scouts of America was liable for 60 percent of the negligence and the Cascade Pacific Council was responsible for 15 percent. Together they will have to pay Lewis $1.05 million.

The punitive damages portion of the trial begins next week. Lawyers for the plaintiff are asking for another $25M.

Portland: Beau Breedlove Joins Recall Effort Against Mayor Sam Adams

Beau Breedlove, the former paramour of openly gay Portland Mayor Sam Adams, has joined the latest recall effort against him. Controversy over Breedlove's age at the time of his encounters with Adams nearly brought the mayor down during his election campaign.

Breedlove, who is volunteering with the recall campaign, said in an interview after the rally that other gays and lesbians have chastised him for backing the recall of the city's first openly gay mayor. Breedlove said that's precisely why Adams should step down. "He should hold himself to a much higher standard than any other politician, because he's not just representing the city of Portland," he said. "He's representing the GLBTQ community in a new way they haven't been represented before." Breedlove said he and Adams kissed before he turned 18 but didn't have sex until after he turned 18, which is the age of consent. Adams has maintained that no sexual contact took place before Breedlove turned 18. Adams was 42 at the time. The attorney general's office declined to prosecute Adams, citing lack of evidence. "In reality, he was the one who was in his 40s and he was the adult in the situation. I never felt like a victim until the end, when he continued to lie and threw me under the bus," Breedlove said Thursday. Breedlove said he and Adams have had no contact since the attorney general's investigation.

Breedlove parlayed his fame as the mayor's boytoy into a 2008 nude photo spread in Unzipped Magazine. The recall effort presently has fewer than half of the signatures needed by April 20th to force a vote.