EDITORIAL
Ballot Measure 19
invites censorship
Ballot Measure 19, which would authorize state and
local governments to prohibit any materials deemed
“obscene.” opens the door to state-sanctioned censor
ship and should not be approved by voters
The Oregon Supreme Court has held that under the
state constitution, no form of expression may be pro
hibited on the grounds of obscenity, including child
pornography.
That means that the Oregon Constitution provides
more freedom than the U.S. Constitution, a fact Measure
19 supporters have correctly pointed out. They also are
correct when they claim that many other states have
passed restrictions that allow the government to prohib
it obscene materials.
But they are incorrect when they state that these lim
itations are a good thing.
There is no doubt that this measure would result in
censorship. That is precisely what is intended. It would
allow government to make decisions about what adults
should be allowed to read, see or watch.
The list of books, plays, movies and artwork that have
boon deemed "obscene” by one government agency or
another could fill this page. Clan of the Cave Hear. The
Diary of Anne Frank, the movie Homeo and Juliet. even
Michaelsngelo's statue of David. Many items have been
censored even here in Oregon, where the state constitu
tion ought to have protected them.
Passing Measure lb would only encourage more
attempts at censorship, by giving the impression that
such attempts would be successful.
Measure 19 advocates argue that their definition of
"obscenity" would bo whatever definition the U.S.
Supreme Court offers. But that definition is not hard and
fast, and we can hardly expect to be abio to just call up
the justices and ask about a particular book nr magazine
Librarians have better things to do than fight endless
censorship crusades in court.
Measure 19 supporters are banking on a couple of
things to improve their measure's chances at the polls.
For one. they know that many people believe that
pornography causes sexual crimes. And while a high
percentage of sexual offenders do possess pornography,
so do many law-abiding citizens who would never con
sider such violence. There is simply no proven correla
lion between porn use and sex crimes.
And supporters of Measure 19 know that most Orego
nians are against child pornography, and that is why
such materials are specifically mentioned in the mea
sure.
Hut the production and possession of child pornogra
phy are already crimes. It is against the law to use a child
in a display of sexual activity, or to visually record any
sexual acts involving children. It is also illegal to dupli
t ate or distribute child pornography. That's the law, and
that's enough.
Measure 19 does more than authorize the government
to prohibit < hlld pornography; it also gives the green
light to outlaw any materials deemed "obscene." even
for adults In their own homes. And that's too much.
Oregon Doily
Emerald
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■ OPINION
Statistics easily compromised
In responding to Brian Worn
at k's column [DDK Oct 14 J.
1 would simply like to defend
my views concerning the treat
ment of homosexuals Their treat
ment in the ro< ently published
sex survey still concerns me.
I am not necessarily calling
into doubt the ability of the
researchers who condut ted the
survey, bill it is important to
question what implications their
results might have Those impli
cations include whether or not
Womack himself has some poli
te x that don’t fit the data that wo
have been given by this survey.
If 4.7 percent of homosexuali
ty prevalence rates were taken
from male prostitutes, and 20 to
25 percent of the sampling came
from prison inmates, why is that
a problem' Are prisoners and
male prostitutes not "real” homo
sexuals' Are they somehow infe
rior or not "fully” gay because
they on- in prison, or engaging in
illegal activity'
I am not Stephen Hawking, hut
I am sure that even he would not
understand how that logic is
skewing ” the data
I am very com erned with
Womack's perceptions that sub
stantial anti-homosexual senti
ments do not exist Portland and
Eugene aside. Oregon is still very
conservative.
Do you remember what c ity
lies just across the Willamette
River from us? The same one that
passed a certain anti-homosex
ual measure just about a year ago?
It is true that the majority of
counties that passed Ballot Mea
sure 9 were in rural Eastern Ore
gon, hut the problem isn't really
that far from home.
The (X!A is a very real threat
to civil rights in Oregon. The
same state in which a new mea
sure is on the Nov. 8 ballot that
would set Iwu k the civil rights of
a substantial group of people sev
eral decades.
Ask any gay person. They'll tell
you just how accepted they feel
in Oregon.
It is because of groups like the
OCA that events such as Cloming
P m i Van Sickle
Out Dnv have become necessary
If people feel discriminated
against, to the jKiint that they are
scared to admit they are homo
sexual. something needs to lie
done to make sure they feel
comfortable being themselves.
No one should be committed to
living as someone they are not -
for example, straight • if they
art! not.
Yes, I did go to school on
Tuesday I thought National
Coming Out Day was an impor
tant step towards the acceptance
of homosexuals in our area 1
didn't fwd guilty about not being
homosexual I am sorry if you
did Hut giving gay people a for
mat in which they can speak out
and be heard, without being
threatened, shouldn't make any
one leel uncomfortable about
their sexual orientation. It was
intended to make everyone feel
more comfortable with every
one's sexuality.
The pro-homosexual move
ment has brought on some
important changes, only palpa
ble in recent years. The film
Philadelphia, is a good example.
No film chronicling the efforts of
a gay man to save his job and his
dignity would have been possi
ble in the 1940s when the Kin
sey report was publisher!
We have been witnessing a
change in public tolerance
toward gay people, which has
never before been seen in this
country. We should lie grateful
that such positive change is hap
pening at all. not feeling guilty
or frightened.
It's true. I am concerned with
the reporting of the number of
homosexuals in this country.
Low percentages give anti-gav
■
promoters a dangerous weapon
with which to squash further
gay-rights advances I don’t pro
mote the use of faulty data to
further one's cause, whether you
are for or against the gay move
ment, but who does it hurt
more?
People working for gay rights
aren't hurting anyone. Contrary
to what the OCA might have you
believe, no one's children is
going to he (orrupted and no
one is going to hell on account
that they believe gay people are
humans.
Conversely, those who work
against the gay movement,
armed properly, could take
away rights that have supposed
ly been given to us uncondition
ally. Millions of people could
have the right to acceptance tak
en away because of some mis
used statistics
You are partly right. Brian. 1
do tend to look at those statistii s
that meet my politics with a lit
tle more favor.
However, statistics are an
incredibly dangerous tool As
the potent and fallible thing that
statistics are, we should always
lie w ary of the information they
portray. Statistics can lie made
to show anything or favor any
body the user desires. No statis
tic should Ire taken lightly.
1 am for gay rights I admit it 1
want gay people to l>e accepted
in our society as equals.
I want them to lei able to iead
productive, independent lives
free from prosecution I wont
homosexuals to be able to get a
job when they are deserving, or
a plac e to live if they need one. I
want gay people to he able to
walk down the street holding
hands without worrying if they
will Ihi killed that evening.
Homosexuality is such a
tricky thing to define, no matter
what th«* statistics show It all
depends on who the individuals
feel they are. not what the news
paper numbers tell them.
Paul Van Sickle is a columnist
for the Emerald