Oklahoma Universal Human Rights Award Honorees
Organizations are underlined.
Victor Gorin
Biographical Info
Nominated by John Walters.
Victor was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1957 and moved to Oklahoma City in 1979. Education: He has 4 associate degrees from Rose State College: business Mid-Management, Spanish, Political Science and Criminal Justice. He is now pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from UCO in Edmond, hoping the degree will help him to become a parole officer to help parolees adjust successfully to society.
He has been an activist for the LGBT Community since 1990, holding the office of Secretary with the Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus from 1991 until it was disbanded in 2010. He worked for the Gayly Oklahoman from 1983 till 2006, and for the Metro Star (another LGBT newspaper) from 2006-2011. During that time, he sold advertising, handled distribution, proofreading and writing many articles of concern to the LGBT community. He was also active in the Oklahoma Stonewall Democrats from 1999 until they disbanded in 2008, serving as their secretary.
He is also a Labor tights activist and a member of the communications Workers of America. While employed at AT&T, he worked on the union newsletter and C.O.P.E. (Committee for Political Education) and was a union steward. He has been the secretary of the Amnesty USA Local group #238 since 2003. Also, he served as the secretary for the Oklahoma coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. And has been active in many other Human Rights endeavors:
He has served in the Oklahoma State Democratic Party Central committee as a Male Affirmative Action Delegate from 2014 to 2017. And the received the OK County Democratic Party volunteer of the year award for 2003.
He is the head of a delegation that registers new citizens to vote at the monthly Oklahoma City Naturalization Ceremonies held in Federal Court for many years.
He received the “Spirit of Service Award” for his work at AT&T as a long-distance operator in 1992. He received the “Journalist of the Year Award” from the Enid LGBT community Center in 2010 for his work on the Metro Star.
He received the “Worker of the Year Award” award from the Gaily Newspaper in 1984.
He received the Oklahoma State Democratic Party’s “Bob Lemon Humanitarian Award” in 2017.
He has served as a precinct worker in the position of Inspector for the Oklahoma County Election Board since 1994 to the present.
He also served for many years as the Secretary of the OKC Pride Board which puts on the annual Gay Pride Parade which he has always participated in. In 2015, he was on the Democratic Party float dressed as Aunt Samantha along with Senator Connie Johnson.
No one deserves the OKUHRA award more than Victor, working for the promotion of Human Rights almost all of his life and I am very proud to have the opportunity to nominate him for this award.