PORTLAND, Ore. (UPI) -- Oregon voters in four counties and two cities
have voted in favor of anti-gay ordinances to prevent local governments
from adopting laws to protect homosexuals from discrimination, officals
said Wednesday.
        The anti-homosexual measures were approved Tuesday in Douglas,
Josephine and Klamath counties in southern Oregon; Linn County and
Junction City in west-central Oregon; and Canby, southeast of Portland.
        Conservative backers of the measures say momentum is building for
similar campaigns throughout the Northwest.
        ``We're feeling very, very strong right now,'' said Phil Ramsdell,
political director of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, a conservative group
that targets what it calls special right for homosexuals.
        Similar measures were approved in the Oregon communities of
Cornelius, west of Portland, and Springfield, in west-central Oregon, in
May. A statewide anti-homosexual initiative was voted down last fall.
        An anti-gay rights measure was approved by Colorado voters last year.
        Opponents warned that anti-gay efforts are spreading.
        ``People can watch what happened here and what happened in Colorado
last fall for what will happen in their states next,'' said Peggy
Norman, who managed the Oregon campaign that turned back the statewide
anti-gay rights measure.
        Oregon Citizens Alliance members also are seeking similar ballot
measures in Washington state and Idaho.
        The vote in Junction City was the closest, and one of the closest on
record in Oregon. The proposal there was approved by just three votes,
according to unofficial returns. A two-vote margin was needed for a
recount.
        According to unofficial returns, the measures were approved by 73
percent of the voters in Douglas County, 69 percent in Linn County, 60
percent in both Josephine and Klamath counties, and 56 percent in Canby.
        The measures also bar the cities and counties from spending money to
promote homosexuality.