Weekly Update: Lesbian Visibility Week, RFK Declaration Ruling, and Bites for Rights Restaurant Highlight
Welcome to Basic Rights Oregon’s weekly newsletter, where we update you on the LGBTQ2SIA+ news you should know, things you can do, and ways you can help. To receive this newsletter as a weekly email, signup for email updates at the bottom of our Contact Us page. Reach out to our team anytime at info@basicrights.org. BRO’s work—including this newsletter—is funded entirely by our supporters. Donate here.
Hello friends of Basic Rights Oregon! Thanks for reading our weekly update.
Let’s go lesbians!! Happy lesbian visibility week; we see you, we love you, we support you! Learn more about Lesbian Visibility Week and ways to take action here. This week’s newsletter includes exciting announcements including a Bites for Rights restaurant highlight, a win for gender affirming care, a save the date for Ignite, and a candidate spotlight.
Here are the LGBTQ2SIA+ headlines and activities you need to know this week:
Kennedy Declaration Ruling
Last week, we saw another win In the ongoing fight to protect gender affirming healthcare from federal overreach.
The Kennedy Declarationfalsely asserts that transgender healthcare for minors falls below professionally recognized standards of health care and threatens providers with exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid. A coalition of twenty-two states, including Oregon, sued HHS, asserting that the declaration violated rulemaking requirements and exceeded the Secretary’s authority.
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued a sweeping opinion striking down the Kennedy Declaration. The court sided with the 22 Plaintiff States, and:
vacated the Kennedy Declaration in its entirety,
declared that HHS lacks authority to unilaterally establish standards of care superseding state-recognized standards, and
permanently enjoined HHS and its Office of Inspector General from implementing the Kennedy Declaration.
This ruling affirms that the federal administration’s attacks on gender affirming care are unjust, illegal, and unfounded. This legal battle is one of many that Oregon and other states are mounting to stand up for our community. Gender affirming care is healthcare, and healthcare is a right!
Bites for Rights
Bites for Rights is back again! Join us for a one-day pride season fundraiser to help us protect and defend LGBTQ2SIA+ rights for all Oregonians! Participating small businesses will donate a portion of their proceeds to Basic Rights Oregon on June 25th.
If you own a cafe, bar, restaurant, coffee shop, dispensary, etc. we’d love you to join us! Contact us at events@basicrights.org to learn more.
We will be highlighting participating businesses in the weeks leading up to the event, and this week, we are spotlighting Spork!
Spork features the food of chef and co-owner Jeff Hunt and aims to deliver exciting and inspired delicious global eats. Jeff’s cuisine draws inspiration from travel and street food and is marked by his love of global food traditions and ingredients, attention to detail, studious palate, and years of experience. Spork has been a longtime supporter of LGBTQ2SIA+ rights in Oregon, and we appreciate their continued contributions to our work!
Follow Spork on Instagram and stop by the next time you’re in Bend!
Ignite Save the Date
Basic Rights Oregon is celebrating 30 years in service in 2026—and we'll be recognizing this milestone at our annual Ignite Gala on October 10th. It's the biggest, queerest birthGAY party of the year, and we'll be reflecting back on the ways we have advanced and protected LGBTQ2SIA+ equality in Oregon. Get tickets and all the event details here.
If you're interested in sponsoring the event, donating an auction item, or even helping us plan the party—we want to hear from you! Reach out to our development team by emailing events@basicrights.org
Candidate Spotlight
Nick Walden Poublon is an openly gay candidate running in Oregon’s House District 52—a large, purple, largely rural district that spans four counties: Multnomah, Clackamas, Hood River, and Wasco. In a district this expansive, where communities are spread out and often overlooked, representation and visibility still matter. In 2024, Nick came within just a few points of flipping this seat, and he’s building a strong, community-driven campaign to finish the job.
Nick’s commitment to LGBTQ+ equity is grounded in real work. As part of his role as Student Health Advisor at Portland State University in the late 2000s, he partnered with a doctor and a nurse to develop and implement a trans-inclusive student health policy—at a time when that level of access was still uncommon. That policy remains in place today and continues to serve students. District 52 is geographically massive—reaching voters across four counties takes real resources and people power
Want to get involved?
Sign up to canvass in Hood River on May 2
Love,
The BRO team 🌈