opinion_
Some good, bad
odd new laws
Probably one of the most confusing aspects of American
society is keeping track of all the laws that are enacted and
repealed at every session of the Legislature It s more Than
likely that laws are inadvertently violated simply because
there are so many on the books Who really knows what the
legal statutes are and how extensive they can be7
The Oregon Legislature enacted 922 new laws in the
session that ended Aug 2 Of that 922 — 529 became
effective Sunday
Some of the 529 laws, which filled two pages in Sunday s
Register-Guard are highly specialized while others have
ramifications that will touch a majority of the people in the
state
And. yes there are some odd ones as well — although
the legislators seem to be more conscientious than in past
sessions where such off-the-wall laws were temporarily
inflicted on the people
Regarding affirmative action the legislators passed SB
680 — which declares a state policy of affirmative action in
appointments to state boards commissions and advisory
bodies and. HB 3281 — requiring community colleges and
institutions of higher education to consider and maintain
affirmative action plans and goals when reduction in faculty
and staff is required
HB 2882 is related to affirmative action in that it raises
from 65 to 70 the maximum age for which age discrimination
in employment is prohibited
Closer to home. HB 2641 changes the name of the
University s Health Science Center to Oregon Health
Sciences University HB 2513 prohibits the sale of assign
ments — those ghost-written research papers — for college
credit The maximum fine is $1,000 for the first offense and
up to $10 000 for a second and subsequent offense
This being Eugene ana as this area is noted tor running,
SB 725 and HB 2935 should please a large number of
enthusiasts — especially those with chronic knee problems
SB 725 establishes labeling requirements for DMSO.
requiring description of the contents a statement of purity
the percent of DMSO in the solution and the manufacturer s
name and address HB 2935 creates a medical advisory
board to regulate DMSO in medical channels wholesale
distribution, pharmacy dispensing and labeling This medical
board will become operative when the FDA authorizes use of
DMSO in Oregon
And then again there are the rather — how shall we put
— curious laws
It is now against the law according to SB 656 to deliver
an imitation controlled substance — fake dope It has been
increased to a Class A misdemeanor carrying a one /ear and
or 52 500 penalty And it is now a crime to knowingly sell a
smoking device to a person under 18 years — this includes
anything from cigarette papers to bongs to whatever kind of
plumbing contraption is in fashion
SB 312 reinstates criminal penalties against obscene or
anonymous phone calls while SB 885 specifically outlaws
chain letters Another curious law is SB 169 which abolishes
the Psychosurgery Review Board and removes a physcian s
right to perform psychosurgery i e a lobotomy The entire
Emerald staff breathed a sigh of relief over that one But it is
now permissible, so says SB 596 & 597 to walk out of a
restuarant clutching the remaining slosh in your liter of
dinner wine This has been called the Doggy Bag for Wine
bill
The most curious of all is HB 3098 which lets a court
order change of sex stand in same manner as an order in
change of name It also requires the state registrar to alte^
birth certificate information of Oregon-born persons to
reflect the change of sex or name
In the area of the law the Legislature enacted a solid
precedent with HB 2947 This law allows the court, if the
offender consents to order community service as an alter
native to jail, probation or fine The court can designate work
within the offender's capabilities and at times the offender
can schedule The limits for this community service are 4-24
hours for violation or minor traffic offense or misdemeanor
24-80 hours for a major traffic offense or misdemeanor and
80-500 hours for a felony This alternative seems to be the
way many courts are going — there are certainly enough
charitable organizations that can use community service
workers
The Legislature seems to have been responsive to the will
and whim of the people judging by the diversity of the new
laws One that really shows the Legislature as a delegated
body — with a heart — is HB 2617 which establishes Jan 15
as a day of commemoration for a Martin Luther King
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editor’s note
As he says Thomas Paterson Brown —
the leader ot Christ Brotherhood — does not
look like Jim Jones Nor does he act like him
He talks in quiet, convincing tones He
seems more reasonable and controlled than
some Bible-thumpers outside the EMU who
scream and screech the gospel to an
audience that ignores them
He says he and his group simply follow
the gospels — the teachings of Jesus Fine
He says the group practices charity by giving
food and shelter to transients Okay He says
the Christian church has strayed from the
principles of Jesus Sermon on the Mount
Generally true
Therein lies the subtle danger of Christ
Brotherhood — on the surface it seems
harmless What's so weird about following
the gospels7
Nothing And from a historical Christian
view there is nothing weird about charity,
living together as a family or following Christ
But brotherhood members — to distinguish
themselves from historial Christianity — don t
call themselves Christians Instead they say
they are the true followers of Christ and his
teachings — not those who call themselves
Christians
It's not the application of Jesus' teach
ings that sets the group at odds with Chris
tianity Nor the accusation that Chrisitians
aren't doing all that they should be It's the
brotherhood s interpretations of and addi
tions to Jesus teachings that go against the
2 000-year-old gram of historical Christianity
and the writings of Jesus disciples
It’s the interpretation of Luke 20 as a
mandate to believers not to marry, although
similar passages in Matthew and Mark
clearly show that Jesus is referring to mar
riage in Heaven It's the interpretation that
Jesus wasn't celibate and his disciples
weren't uptight about sex It's the belief
that the rest of the Bible contradicts or is
secondary to the gospels
And it's the addition of several writings
that Bibical scholars label gnostic " Brown
says these additional “gospels" are just
"icing' on top of the four historical gospels
although the writings vastly differ from Je
sus words recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John
For instance the Gospel of Thomas
records Jesus saying a woman must become
male to enter the kingdom of the sky But
in the four gospels Jesus made it clear
salvation is based on belief in him not on
gender
Reports from former brotherhood
members about the influence Brown welds
over the group are also disturbing One
Colorado friend — who spent a lot of time
with the brotherhood when it was in Boulder
— says the group definitely is a cult Several
former members agree
Although they haven t been proven the
charges of rape sodomy and sexual abuse
against Brown — reportedly based on inter
views with brotherhood children — are also
unseh'mg So is Brown s refusal to answer
directly to the charges
No Brown does not look like Jim Jones
— the danger is wrapped up in a less blatant
package But Jesus warned. Watch out that
you are not deceived For many will come in
my name claiming I am he, and The time is
near
Do not follow them ” (Luke 21 8)
etters
Inhuman
I urge you not to use or pur
chase the Mouse-O-Leum a
cruel and inhumane mousetrap
manufactured by Custom
Tapes Inc Chicago III This
device a folded cardboard
sheath with an inner surface of
heavy glue and mouse-attract
ing scent traps mice perman
ently but otherwise provides
no means to kill them They
thus may linger, frightened
and struggling, for days be
fore dying of shock dehydra
tion, starvation or paralysis
and self-mutilation from try
ing to escape
I know very well that rodents
often are considered pests that
must be killed or removed from
premises for reasons of health
etc but they are already on the
market inexpensive mousetraps
which can kill swiftly and pain
lessly and cage traps that do
not harm the animals at all
Please use them instead
I am supported in this fight
against the Mouse-O-Leum by
the Institute for the Study of
Animal Problems, Washington,
D C
Pat Lambert
Secretary, biology
Glass house
Why did you spend two full
columns of valuable newspaper
space to complain that too
much attention is given to Ri
chard Nixon by the press7 You
know those people in glass
houses
Also, it doesn't behoove you
as an editor a journalist or a
human being to encourage an
yone s death, no matter how
much of a scum bag he is Think
about your responsiblities and
grow up
Norma Sax
A non-student