EDITORIAL
Renters’ civil rights
deserve high priority
it looks like Portland civil rights legislation may fi
nally expand its menu to include the city’s gay and les
bian community along with those experiencing hous
ing discrimination because of their income source
Portland's City Council held its final meeting yes
terday to hash over a recently proposed civil rights or
dinance that would prohibit disc rimination in employ
ment, housing and public accommodations based on
sexual orientation and income source.
Tin* final draft of the ordinance. re< ently signed by
Mayor Hud Clark and the four c ity commissioners has
the support of all five council members.
Those against the proposal say that passage of the
anti-discriminatory source-of-income legislation would
put landlords at risk by protecting those with unstable
incomes.
I bis group, however, hears no real risk I lie- provi
sion allows landlords to c hec k potential renters' finan
c ial references along with the reliability and amount of
me iiinii
So, the landlords can be sure they'll girt their mon
ey and make sure it's legit No problem, right7 Wrong
Since outright discrimination based on race, reh
gion, physical disability and age was made illegal
years ago, source ol income offers a hands way to re
ject the "wrong" people in a legal wav It only makes
sense to deny a single mother, minority family, dis
aided person or elderly couple housing because their
income may consist of disdainful moneys such as wel
fare. social sei urity or alimony
Passage ol this proposal would tear a convenient
facade from landlords, ton ing them to rent to those
they previously would have denied cm shaky ground
Raising even more of a stink is the official a<
knowledgment and protection of gay and lesbian
rights
This issue has garnered an increasing amount of
venomous reaction from conservative groups every -
yvhere. the most vocal being the Oregon Citizens Alli
ance besides officially opposing the recent proposal
(X A is try ing to push an ()reg»n constitutional amend
ment formally < Ossify ing homosexuality as abnormal
It's good to see the gay and lesbian groups' stay ing
power m the lace ol sih li fear based oppression. They
c an find strength in other persec uted groups' past and
present struggles
Prejudice against various groups remains an ugly
mark on this country’s continuing history Hut that
same history shows changes can be made, if fought for
bard enough
The proposal of this ordinanc e proves this, but the
tight won't be over should it be approved Minority
and women's groups everywhere i an attest that pas
sage of civil rights legislation is not enough to gain
true equal status in this soc tety
The reason yvhy Urns have the power to change
peoples' actions, but not the* magnitude to change fears
and misunderstandings ingrained over generations
The first step has been taken, however, y\ith this
proposal's support. It's a good sign that America may
after all be* a land of equal opportunity
.. &.
Nice try II
Presenting |amie Hakuitn s
mm uml letter, simn I" the tune
u! riinstopher I asselt s letter
[DUE ()i t t) with full t reilit
>iii(l apologies to him
In regarding I'assett's re
spouse In Kussell Mi{Jlnthlin s
letter (01)1 Sept 27) I tan
mil\ laugh and sav "nil e tr\
1 \erv time the greeks trv and
defend themselves the same
examples of h\pm ritu al inde
pendents spew forth their stuff
I he ( mnplete hypoi ris\
that I asset! speaks almilt is a<
titcilIv the fat I that even after
thev i l.ilIII to tie so ( ultuinlly
sensitive and so moral IV supen
or to the greeks independents
i ontinue to (.til greeks ' (rat I
ks and throw off campus par
ties to smoke pot and score
I nn* sometimes .1 bad .1 pp11*
rums lhi* independent reputa
lion, hut they .in• responsible
fur thru sue ml image when
tlir\ put tfieir tie-dyes oil lli.it
tlie\ paid for
So independents, don't piste
f\ your existeiue with flailing
(ieorge Mi (iovern esrjue speer h
of self righteousness Ai lions
speak louder than words espo
1 tally when vou are wearing
vour Hirkenstoi ks
lhe purpose of this parody
was not an attack oil I asset!.
nor anyone I may have alluded
to I lie entire point of my letter
was to show the idiocy of ster
eotvping either side lasselt
writes because he took offense
at being called a stereotyper,
when the letter lie writes is full
of them lie is as misguided as
those w I10 tall him a (11)1
lamie Bakum
Kappa Sigma
EDITOR’S NOTE
Two i artoons ih,il ran in Wednesdayhnwruhl U ea sei s
W .ithl ami the editorial tart non at the top of Page J (.untamed
material alxiut tin homeless ami Aim .in \meruans respei live
1\ that souit’ oi out leaders ha\ e found offensive
(Ini' of our staff s priorities is to publish material that is sensi
five to out readership ami tin- rust of tin- i oinmumiv as a whole
.Sometimes we tall short of this goal and we apprei late reader
i onunents and i om erus w hen this happens
Hi. 1nirr.ild apologizes tor running the (.artoons and regrets
am insensitivity we may have displayed
( hristopher Li hi tr
Hnwruld Editor
Think about it
Last weekend I attended a
memorial service tor a women
I'd graduated high sc hool y\ ilh
She was extremely intelligent
and talented, very hardworking
and successful. made triends
with (everyone and always
made time tor tun
She'd graduated Whitman
College in Mai and was up
there preparing her resume
She and her older brother were
driving home when a 4(1 year
old man from Oregon, driving
in a drunken stupor with a
blood alcohol level of - a (in
Washington state. 10 is legally
intoxic ated), drove his truck in
the wrong direi tion on 1 'in and
hit my friend's < ai fai e on
ending her life of only - 1 years
I ler brother is in a c oma in
c rit iiail condition The dm or
was unharmed and tried to
plead innoc ent Hoc ause of
him an unnecessary death was
caused to a very sun essful and
well-respected person, and a
tew thousand people are sutler
mg from tlie- pain and shoe k ot
the situation
Please don t drink and drive
Since it's the beginning ot
the year, and parties are bac k
and everybody is psyched
watch out tor yourselves, espe
c ially for those "other drivers
Next time it could he one of
your friends
Deborah Dirt
interior architecture
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