EDITORIAL
OCA can’t ignore
constitution ruling
Momentum is a curious thing.
Four years ago. an initiative; known as Bailee! Meas
ure 8 was passed. It repealed an executive order by Or
egon's then-Gov. Noil Goldschmidt that made; it illegal
for the executive branch to discriminate based on sexu
al orientation. The; measure was OGA sjKensort'd tend
many considered it the; precursor te> Ballot Measure' it.
Thursday. Measure 8 was declared unconstitution
al by the; Oregon Court of Appeals The court specify
tally said the Oregon Constitution protests "free anel
open expression about sexual orientation, and that
Measure H's practie al effect vs.es to “chill speech and
"severely limit open communii ation by state employ
ees,"
The decision should signify to the OCA that anti
gay measures are not legal in Oregon and won't be tol
erated. But the OCA will hit back though the court
implied the right-wing group has no b-gal right to do
so.
Basically, the Court of Appeals turned Measure 8
into a free speech question under Article t. Section H
Of the Oregon (.{institu
tion. Section H protects an
individual's right of free
expression on any subject.
With regards to a person s
sexual orientation, the
court said .1 citizen could
not he fired from a job for
admitting one’s homosex
uality.
The decision is a sig
nificant victory for the
state and seemingly shifts
the momentum back to
gay rights supporters.
But what isn't entirely
clear is how it will impact
OCA members
have already
tapped the
emotions of
several hundred
thousand citizens
in Oregon and
believe they are
on a mission that
can*t be turned
back.
me gay rigrus uauii’. uy
implication. Measure 9. if it had passed, was unconsti
tutional based on Thursday's decision. However. Phil
lip Ramsdell. political director of the (X'A, said after
the decision, "It's more important than ever for us to
refile Measure ‘l to reinforce the will of tin; people."
Dave Schuman. a professor in the University law
school, said he believes if a new version of Measure 9
were proposed, the (X.A would have to disclaim th<®*“
Oregon Constitution and previous court rulings. In oth
er words, the measure would have to include a state
ment saying it is exempt from Article t. Section 8 of
thi? state constitution.
Yes, this is legal. A measure can be passed that is
technically unconstitutional if it asks to be exempt
from ordinary constitutional law The death penalty,
for instance, is exempt from Article 1, sections 15 and
Hi of the state constitution — the vindictive justice and
cruel and unusual punishment inclusions.
And the battle is certainly not over. Hackers of the
original Measure 8 can still appeal to the Oregon Su
preme Court in hopes of reinstating the measure. The
American Civil Liberties Union expressed disappoint
merit that Thursday’s ruling did not specifically pro
hibit government discrimination against homosexuals,
which Moasure 9 focused on.
And even if a newly worded Measure 9 were
passed with an exemption of Section 8. Sch uman said
it probably would be challenged on a federal level,
where it probably would not pass muster.
So where does the (X.A go from here? Hopefully
back home. More realistically, it will try another Meas
ure 9 with the exemption written in. OCA members
have already tapper! the emotions of several hundred
thousand citizens in Oregon and believe they are on a
mission that can't be turned back.
But the OCA should take Thursday's decision as a
signal to stop the campaigning. Measure 8 was uncon
stitutional. Measure 9 would have been. As it stands
now, the (X'A is backing itself into a corner against the
courts, the government and the majority of Oregon vot
ers in a dead-end crusade.
Victims of anti-gay measures will cite free speech
as an argument for gay rights. And the (X!A should
know that free speech is the most protected right in
America — and that its cause is hopeless.
LZ
TIME. PoR A CHA.njg£
LET'5 START W/TH DEFENSE.
WE'VE BEEN SPENDING fi/LUONS
WE don't WAVE ON weapons WE
DONV NEED 70 PP07ECT AGAINST
An Enemv wwo no longer E^srs.
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SPENOWG B/LLIOWS WE DOM’r^Ave
OW WEAPOfiS IVE D0M"T WE£Z) TO
pdptect Aga^st trouble fron\
k£V cdngress/onal districts.
Pro-choice
The state law rts|uiring stu
dents bo immum/nl against
measles ought to be repealed
The law :s an Invasion of a per
son's right to control Ins or her
body.
Although 1 understand the
desire of those who wish to
protect students against mea
sles. the only course consistent
with personal liberty is educat
ing students about the dangers
of the disease The state has no
right to forcibly Inject students
with a vaccine And. Iiecause it
is forcing them, it is a double
violation of their liberties to
charge them for such coercion
I was raised by naturopath
parents who believml our bod
ies have natural defenses
against disease
I don't follow my parents'
practices today, hut 1 strongly
believe they had the right to de
cide on -health treatments for
themselves and their i hildren
In many ways, the health estab
lishment is just lieginning to ac
cept the ideas of disease pre
vention and proper nutrition
thal my parents practiced 0(1
years ago
When 1 was horn, tonsils
were routinely removed at
birth. Today this is considered
unnecessary and never done
My mother gave birth with
out drugs with the assistance ol
a woman doctor at a time when
women were routinely drugged
before birth (to eliminate the
pain) and spent 10 days in the
hospital recuperating
In short, each individual has
the responsibility for his or her
own health Students ought to
make their own decisions re
garding inoculation
Tonla Nathan
Media coordinator
Libertarian Party of Oregon
Respect sacrifice
Wednesday, Nov 11, 1902
Just another day of classes at
the University. A university
that prides itself on honoring
diversity and being politically
aware
This being the case, it's ap
palling that tho University and
the Emmilil failed to suffi
i lentlv at knowledge Veteran's
l)ay. a day in which we should
all take time to remember those
men and women who served
and died doing their duty for
their country
Ail political issues aside, and
forgetting about whether the
war was justified, I believe the
University should acknowledge
this holiday” in some lashion
Whether it tie putting up a ban
ner at the l-IMU or (God forbid)
suspending classes for one day,
attention must lie paid
As for the Emm Id, one little
Today in History” blurt) at the
bottom of tlie front page does
not constitute suffic ient cover
age How easily we forget the
events in our country's history
that we deem wrong or unpop
ular, and m so doing also forget
those men and women who
made the ultimate sacrifice.
Perhaps people in my genera
tion would rather read about
the trials and tribulations of
skaters in Lingerie or about the
Public Linemv concert or about
a ridiculous ballot measure that
was already dedeated Perhaps
people in mv generation no
longer c are or arc1 no longer in
terested in what occurred 20
years ago in a small country
halfway around the world
As the son of a Vietnam vet
eran, I do care and I hope I'm
not the only one
Mike McLemore
Business Administration
Enemy no more
There seems to lie some con
fusion regarding the rap group
Public: Enemy and their sup
posed ''unti-Jewish'' sentiment
If Pat Bryan (ODE. Nov. 12)
had done his research, instead
ol believing the letter printed In
the Emcruld (Nov t>) acc using
PL! of being "anti-Jewish," he
would have found the true sto
ry
Tho truth is that in 1UH0, one
member of PE, Professor Griff,
made anti-fewish comments, af
ter which he was released from
the group. Griff has no affilia
tion with PE currently and has
not appeared with the hantP
since 19R9.
The group Public Enemy, as
was displayed at their concert
at the University, supports a
world without prejudice and
racism. Just because one former
member of PE made these com
ments years ago, there is not
justification for setting them up
as Jew haters
if anything, Chuck L) and
Flavor i-'luv showed their sup
port of equality hy kicking Griff
out of the group
To quote Pit's song "Letter to
the New York I’ost, " when it
comes to the PE, "Get your (ex
plolive) correct!" ^
Defenseless hunks of con
crete everywhere are vulner
able to the selfish acts by ruth
less vandals known as skate
boarders. These persistent
punks ere out to have fun at tin
expense of worthless, useless
drah and otherwise ignored
bunches of processed rocks No
curb, trench or wall in the city
is safe.
And it you’re an innocent pe
destrian, never-mind tire roller
bladers and out-of-control bicy
clists. the sidewalk terrorists
will rip you to pieces
But don’t fret, the Eugene po
lice department and the Uni
versity Office of Public Safety
waste plenty of time and mon
ey attempting to stop these
freaks.
In one rare capture, three
OPS officers were able to stop a
single skateboarder caught in
the act of threatening the gener
al concrete and pedestrian pop
ulations It was 3 a.in. on a
weoknlght during finals week,
in an empty and secluded area
of Campus.
Needless to say, the arresting
officer awarded the menace a
ticket, then sent him home to
bed
Without EPD and OPS to
control tile madness, our streets
probably-wouldn't even be safe
Jason Port<|
Studen
Curb it
Eric Schoenborn
Student