PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — LGBTQ+ residents and allies in the Newport area are backing their community after other residents expressed discontent with the city’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
On Monday, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Cavanaugh announced his department had responded to multiple inquiries about the City of Newport’s rules on who can use public restrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity.
The director pointed to the official DEI statement, which establishes that Newport condemns any form of bias.
He also said the city is required to follow Oregon’s law on the topic, which establishes that anyone within the jurisdiction of the state is entitled to public accommodations regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.
Newport local Gavin Shumate explained that the backlash spurred from a Facebook post that was “shared pretty widely” a few weeks ago.
The 49-year-old resident, who runs an LGBTQ-friendly medical clinic on the coast, told KOIN 6 the woman claimed she and her daughter were in a women’s locker room when they saw a “man in the bathroom with everything exposed.”
According to Shumate, staff at the recreation center informed the woman that the individual in question was a trans woman who was using the correct locker room. Afterward, the woman shared another Facebook post in which she encouraged other residents to push Newport’s Parks and Recreation department to change its policies.
Cavanaugh estimates he received up to 50 emails due to the post, and up to 40 calls.
He told KOIN 6 that some people contacted the department to show their support for Newport’s DEI policies, while others were more “hateful” in their approach.
The city soon launched an investigation into the incident. Officials found that the person identified by the public and by staff was a biological female who identifies as a man, but has female genitalia.
In response to the stir on social media, Shumate and other community members with Welcoming Churches of Lincoln County led a “Rally of Love” at Newport City Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
The rally aimed to show support for LGBTQ+ people in the area.
“People are going to come at things from different ways and we’re not going to agree on everything — and that’s okay,” Shumate said. “What we need to do is find a way to live in community together, even in the midst [of] that disagreement and not resort to hate speech and name-calling and derogatory terms, and just let us all live.”
Cavanaugh added that Wednesday’s rally is a “great opportunity” for the growing community to learn about Newport’s DEI policies and about Oregon’s laws surrounding discrimination and places of public accommodation.
Welcoming Churches of Lincoln County also plans to present a statement at an upcoming Newport City Hall meeting.
