U.S. state ofCalifornia bans sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector.[1]
U.S. states ofVermont andNew Jersey ban sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector.[2]
U.S. state ofOregon's Measure 8,approved in a referendum in 1988, is ruled unconstitutional by theOregon Court of Appeals in the case known asMerrick v. Board of Higher Education, meaning that the 1987 executive order banning public-sector discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation stands.[3]
By a margin of 54 to 36%, voters in the U.S. state ofColorado approved Amendment 2, which prohibited bans on sexual orientation discrimination by cities in Colorado, such as the ones simultaneously enacted in Denver, Aspen, and Boulder.[4] The amendment would never go into effect as it is soon challenged and struck down inRomer v. Evans, in which theSupreme Court of the United States ruled 6 to 3 that the Amendment did not satisfy theEqual Protection Clause of theUnited States Constitution.[5]
Oregon Ballot Measure 9 is defeated in a referendum. The measure denounced homosexuality as "abnormal," "unnatural," and "perverse," would have prohibited sexual orientation discrimination bans in Oregon.[6]
Voters inPortland, Maine rejected a ballot measure to repeal a local gay rights ordinance by a vote of 57-43%.[4]
5 — A clause prohibiting anti-gay verbal abuse in schools is repealed by theFairfax County, Virginia board of education out of concerns that it promotes homosexuality.
