Portland Police Bureau and the LGBTQ community

In 1977, the city recognized a national gay pride day, and campaigns against bigoted state measures in the 1990s helped halt discrimination and put Portland on the path to its current inclusive social environment.

On November 8, 1922, the Portland Police arrested 19-year-old Benjamin Trout for a minor offense, and through his investigation, he revealed local homosexual activity in the city that was just beginning to show.

Some of those implicated fled and hid in the YMCA, one man even committing suicide due to the humiliation brought by public scrutiny.

Throughout the start of the 20th century, the number of LGBTQ bars and hangout spots in the city grew and gained popularity as the decades went on.

Oregon Police made a series of arrests for various sex and pornography charges, and then-Portland mayor Terry Schrunk vowed to put an end to it.