EDITORIAL
Proposed gas tax
bad idea for city
The Eugene City Council wants residents to curb their
cars.
Punishing gasoline buyers and dealers through a city
gas tax is not a solution.
The council voted 6-2 Tuesday to refer a 2.7-cents-per
gallon gas tax to voters next spring. Money from the
tax would pay for a storm water treatment program that's
already funded through recent increases in storm water
rates.
Council members who support the tax say it will
encourage automobile users to find other modes of trans
portation while decreasing storm water bills, which
jumped from $4.69 to $7.87 por month for most homes
earlier this year. If the tax is approved, these bills would
drop to about $4.50 per month for most residences.
Tho council's reasoning behind tho tax is that motorists
who contribute to tho storm water run-off problem by
driving on city streets will have to pay for the expansive
treatment.
However, Mike Sherlock, executive director of the Ore
gon Gasoline Dealers' Association, said using gas tax
money for anything other than street or highway improve
ments is against Oregon law. It’s questionable whether
storm water run-off could bo classified as road-related.
"Wo expect to challenge it at the poll." said Sherlock,
who represents 2.000 Oregon dealers. "It's just an incred
ible waste of taxpayer's money because no one expects
it to pass.”
Oregon gas prices are already among the highest in the
nation. Gas buyers in Oregon pay 18.4 cents per gallon
in federal taxes and 24 cents per gallon in state taxes,
according to Sherlock. That puts regular unleaded gas at
about Si .28 per gallon in most areas of the state. When
compared with states such as Oklahoma or Wyoming,
whore gas is closer to $1 per gallon. Oregon’s rates are
outrageous.
A citywido gas tax would be a painful setback for local
service stations, especially those close to Springfield. Gas
buyers would drive outside of city limits to avoid the tax
and tho local economy would suffer. According to Sher
lock. two service stations in Washington County went
bankrupt when county officials passed a similar tax there.
Council members discussed forming a regional tax with
Springfield to ease the burden on Eugene stations, but
two Springfield officials told The Register-Guard that
such a tax would bo illogical.
The city council should listen to its neighbors. A 2.7
cent gas tax would not decrease tho amount of automo
biles on Eugene streots. City officials must work to accom
modate Eugene’s growing population or find more effec
tive moans of controlling automobile usage. Giving
residents incentives for parking their cars, like reserving
a car pool lane, would work better than punitive solu
tions.
Council president Paul Nicholson said putting tho tax
to a vote — even if it fails — would help open debate
on ways to keep cars off the streets. However, spending
council time and money for this election is self-defeat
ing.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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■ LETTERS
Art and respect
When I walked by the black
curtains in the EMU the first day
of m hool, I wondered what kind
of dastardly demented objects d‘
art might lx< lying in wait for me
behind the protective sleeve.
Imagine my sensing some humor
when 1 saw what was displayed
behind — rude to be sure, but
hardly anything shocking. 1
thought, in that heightened state
of awareness that only truth and
art can bring, that 1 had discov
ered the nested reality that cen
sorship itself is a work of art, bril
liant and creative in its assertion
of barriers and suppression of
condoms.
Shock and confusion tame lat
er, in the form of Catherine
Burke's letter in the Emerald I
know I'm way off base as far as
the lot of linguists is concerned,
but surely I wasn't the only one
who saw the twisted, yet relevant
and completely expressive nature
of the very sign of the censorship
curtains. Burke has misplaced
not only her tolerance and sense
of humor but her vision of the
incredible scope that art uni take
once we get some perspective on
the situation
I don’t know if the curtains
wore meant to bo art or censor
ship frankly, I could uire less
I subjected myself to the sight
and I accept the punishment or
reward of my own interpretation
of it. But for future reference, I
would like to point out to all of
you artists that even if you are
called by God itself to express
yourself to mo. if you impose
yourself on me against my will
in an attempt to alter my per
ception of reality, then you (an
nul seriously see yourself as any
less of a cognitive rapist than cen
sors or television preachers, At
least you can turn the channel on
them Burke suggests it would be
best if my freedom to choose to
walk or not to walk through the
curtain lx* revoked; that my free
dom should have been denied me
by decree of the forces of art
A tired cliche, and it makes me
sound older than 1 am. But with
freedom in society comes respon
sibility and respect And, like
human sexual preference, respect
and responsibility go both ways
— and many more too kinky to
mention.
What a work of art we are, the
creative, the destructive, the
definers of truth l hope Burke is
laughing at herself, ns I laugh at
myself as I sign this.
Gary Tucker
Linguistics
Skewed voting
"Where will it all lead?” Peo
ple often ask me about the homo
sexual agenda. "Where will it all
end?”
To leant about the future, it's
helpful to study the past.
In 1973, an event foretold the
direction of the homosexual
movement in America. That's
when the American Psychiatric
Association removed homosex
uality from its list of mental or
sexual disorders.
The homosexual groups that
formed in the 1960s correctly
understood that they would got
nowhere politically if members
of their group were classified as
“mentally disordered."
Then the homosexuals intimi
dated psychiatrists across the
nation who tried to present evi
dence of homosexuality ns a men
tal disorder.
Naturally, the task force in
1972 issued its report that homo
sexuality and bisexuality are nor
mal expressions of human sex
uality. In 1973. the APA sent out
a letter that was secretly written
and funded by the National Gay
Task Force. That fad was hidden
because those in charge knew it
wouldn't get the needed votes if
members knew its source.
Only one-fourth of the mem
bers of the APA responded. A
narrow majority of those — that
is, one-eighth — voted yes. So
homosexuality came off the list,
although later surveys that pro
tected the privacy of doctors
showed more than two-thirds
still classed it as a disorder.
1 his political triijk has paid off
handsomely in swaying public
opinion and laws. More than 100
laws now classify homosexuali
ty as equal in status to race,
including one in Eugene.
Whnt's next? The AI’A has
changed the definition of
pedophilia in its diagnostic man
ual. Now adults having sex with
children is only considered a
sickness if it interferes with the
adult's work. You can visualize
the future for yourself.
Halt the march of this agenda
in Oregon and prevent teaching
homosexuality in school by vot
ing yes on Ballot Measure 13 in
November.
Patty Duncan
Director, Lane County OCA
Choose heaven
Aicording to Darrell Neet's let
ter "No minority" (ODE 8-22),
homosexuality is a changeable
status unlike gender. Lot me
point out that with today's tech
nology. gender is more change
able than being homosexual.
Neet says that "thousands"
have “left the lifestyle." But if we
did a study, we would soon
understand that thousands of
those thousands have not magi
cally turned heterosexual but are
actually choosing to remain celi
bate. The fear these chosen peo
ple have to endure is remarkable
It is no wonder they are closing
the closet door behind them.
As for Larry AIIwander's letter
“Unsafe lifestyles." church and
state are legally supposed to be
separate. Ballot Measure 13 reads
like a passage out of the Bible.
To Darrell and Larry, a few
things to ponder. You should
both know that someone near
and dear to your heart is a homo
sexual. But. unfortunately, due
to your prejudicial beliefs, that
person is either destined to live
in the closet or without your love
and support.
With all this in mind, I do hope
you can live a successful, loving
life with your loved ones with
out alienating those who are of
your genetic structure. We all
choose whether to go to heaven
or hell, and 1 choose heaven
because we will all understand
equality when we are asked to
join hands and walk through the
gates of heaven. Cod bless the
children.
Kelly Dath
Springfield