Lgbtq community in eugene oregon
Liaisons and Services to the LGBTQ Community
Eugene Police Department
The Eugene Police Department has appointed a departmental LGBTQ+ liaison. The purpose of appointing a liaison is to facilitate law enforcement engagement with the Diverse community and reporting of potential loathe crimes. Detective Dean Pederson serves as the EPD’s Homosexual liaison.
The position is based in EPD’s Investigation Division and focuses on the public safety needs of the Homosexual community. The position’s goal is to help prevent and reduce incidents, and increase trust and collaboration that leads to the closure of hate and violent crime cases against LGBTQ+ collective members. Additionally, the liaison collaborates with various police divisions and the Office of Equity and Community Engagement (OECE) to educate and assist officers, residents, businesses, and organizations about LGBTQ+ issues.
Contact information
To discuss non-emergency issues and current investigations, provide communication, or request attendance at a conference or event, please contact:
Investigations Division: 541-682-5183
Eugene’s Municipal Equality Index
The Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equali
QuickTake:
The Lavender Network, the Eugene LGBTQ community center that opened in a former church in 2024, is a place for people to connect while getting support and care amid rising national threats to LGBTQ rights.
Lavender Network, Eugene’s LGBTQ community center, opened the day before the 2024 presidential election.
Knowing the outcome would contain significant consequences for LGBTQ rights, the center hosted a vigil for society members to sit and watch the results. One person drove from Klamath Falls — a six-hour round trip — to join the event, not wanting to be alone, but not having a closer option.
Naphtali Renshaw, who coordinates the network’s building operations and bookings, always knew the vacuum would be vital.
“It just really highlighted, from the beginning, how much community was already needed and how much it would be needed,” Renshaw said.
The Lavender Network is in a former church on a nondescript road in northwest Eugene. It is large, more than 20,000 square feet, and thanks to an interior courtyard and abundant windows, very sunny. In addition to being an event space, the center consolidates the services of several partner organizations,
LGBTQIA-Friendly
Community History
In 1977, the City of Eugene enacted a measure to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment and public access. While the measure was subsequently overturned, it was just the beginning of the community's efforts to ensure equal rights and protection for all.
In 1987, Oregon Governor Neil Goldschmidt issued an executive order banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation within articulate employment. The order was revoked by Ballot Measure 8, which in turn was governed unconstitutional in 1992.
Starting in 2002, the domestic loved one registry was made obtainable in Eugene, while statewide, public employers were required to offer equal benefits for same-sex local partners.
In 2015, as equality in marriage was ushered in, the State of Oregon banned conversion therapy targeting youth under the age of 18 years. It was signed into law by Governor Kate Brown, the first openly LGBTQIA governor. Today, the City of Eugene continues to include protection of sexual orientation in areas of employment, housing and widespread accommodation
Eugene LGBTQ City Guide
Eugene is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Oregon. Home to the University of Oregon, Eugene is situated between a number of amazing vistas, including the Skinner Butte, the Spencer Butte, and the Coburgh Hills, it provides residents with plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, including hiking and cycling through gorgeous woods, kayaking or rafting on nearby lakes and rivers, or simply relaxing outside on a beautiful afternoon. Eugene usually gets outstanding rankings when it comes to being a emerald city; it is recognizable for its progressive, humane policies and its nurturing and preservation of the local natural environment. Eugene also has a thriving arts scene, and many welcoming neighborhoods. Even better, it has a thriving LGBTQ community where all can feel celebrated and at home. If you’re thinking of finding your next home in Eugene, chances are, you’ll find plenty about it to love!
A Look at Eugene's History
Eugene was officially incorporated as a city in 1862. It was named after the first settler who arrived in the area – Eugene Skinner. He found the area to be beautiful, and those who follow
On exhibit: 5 things you may not know about Eugene's lesbian history
Through a new exhibit in the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon, visitors can explore the opulent and detailed history of the lesbian community in Eugene and the articulate of Oregon.
Eugene is famous to be a hub for LGBTQ activism and inclusion, especially for lesbians.
Over the past four years, UO associate professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Judith Raiskin and UO curator of manuscripts Linda Long collected images, symbols and stories on this history, speaking with 83 lesbians about their experiences living in Eugene.
Hundreds of hours of oral history have been consolidated into the exhibit Outliers & Outlaws: Stories from the Eugene Lesbian History Project. It will be open through the terminate of 2023 at the museum, 1680 E. 15th Ave.
The project is also published online at outliersoutlaws.uoregon.edu/.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.The Register-Guard got an early viewing of the exhibit and compiled a few details to peek out for while visiting the museum over the next year.
1. Eugene is a lesbian metro
Between the 1960s and 1990s, hundreds