J« *« o«« ▼ fe b m a r y 1 8 . 1 8 8 4 ▼ 1 3
THE OTHER HAND
FUNCTIONAL ART FROM THE NORTHWEST
(AND OTHER PLACES)
The OCA loses big, again
House Bill 3500, which blocks the enforce
ment of local discriminatory ordinances based on
sexual orientation, was upheld by a Marion County
Circuit Court judge on Feb. 8.
Judge Albin W. Norblad decided that the Or
egon Legislature has a constitutional right to “pre
empt,” or to declare void before becoming law,
measures in cities and counties regarding a “sub
stantive social issue.”
“All one has to do today is read the newspapers
and watch television to determine the substantive
nature of the issue of homosexual rights,” Norblad
wrote in his ruling. "There is no doubt but that the
Legislature has the right to, and did, pre-empt this
area.”
The law was being challenged by Lon Mabon,
Paul DeParrie
and Henry
Kane. They all
claimed the
law infringed
on their free
dom of speech
through the
initiative and
election pro
cess.
Charles
Hinkle, who
argued the
case on behalf
of the Ameri
can Civil Lib
erties Union, which joined the state of Oregon in
defending the law, said this is a landmark decision
for the battle over civil rights for sexual minorities
in Oregon.
"The OCA has suffered a major setback,” Hinkle
said.
Lon Mabon, chairman of the Oregon Citizens
Alliance, said he would appeal the decision.
The state Legislature passed HB 3500 last
August. It blocks city and county measures that
would prohibit the passage of civil rights guaran
tees for sexual minorities. Elections can still be
held on those measures, but they cannot legally be
implemented because of HB 3500.
Since Measure 9 was defeated in November
1992, voters in 15 cities and counties have passed
discriminatory measures that were backed by the
OCA.
In his decision, Norblad also said that Oregon
law permits cities and counties to extend civil
rights protection to sexual minorities. Portland,
Corvallis and Ashland currently have such protec
tions.
Julie Davis, executive director of the Support
Our Communities Political Action Committee,
said the decision is a mixed bag for civil rights for
sexual minorities in Oregon.
“It’s a good tone that’s being set by House Bill
3500, in that we shouldn’t have different policies in
different places in Oregon,” she said, adding that
the decision reflects how most Oregon residents
feel about civil rights.
Despite the decision, the OCA can still put
discriminatory measures on local ballots and, if
those measures pass, create the illusion that voters
support the OCA, Davis said.
“We’re still going to have to continue running
campaigns in all the local elections,” she said.
The decision does not have any legal effect on
the current statewide campaign launched by the
OCA to put a discriminatory measure on the Or
egon ballot in 1994.
Gay and Lesbian
Pride set for July 9
The 1994 Gay and Lesbian Pride parade and
rally has been set for July 9, said Eric Brown,
interim chair of Stonewall Northwest-Gay and
Lesbian Pride, which is organizing the event.
The celebration is set for later than past years
because of lack of early coordination and funds,
Brown said. The parade is usually held in June to
coincide with the national celebration of Pride.
Because of the lack of early planning. Water
front Park could not be reserved for the post-parade
rally, as it has been in past years. Brown said that
the rally will probably take place in the North Park
Blocks this year. The group is still planning the
final parade route.
Brown was named interim chair at the planning
meeting on Feb. 2. The past chair of Stonewall
Northwest was relieved of his duties. Brown was
the co-chair of the 1992 Gay and Lesbian Pride
celebration and was on the No on Hate steering
committee. He is the secretary of the Gay Men’s
Community Project.
An outdoor dance in the North Park Blocks is
slated for the night of July 8, Brown said.
Stonewall Northwest was founded last year to
plan Gay and Lesbian Pride in the years to come.
The group is now trying to establish a consistent
structure for the future.
Stonewall Northwest is looking for volunteers
to help plan the celebration and to make donations.
To be a part of Gay and Lesbian Pride in 1994, call
295-9788.
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(503) 232-3429
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Of
More anti-Semitism on
Lewis and Clark campus
Four different pieces of literature that deny
the Holocaust ever happened were found on bul
letin boards at Lewis and Clark’s Northwestern
School of Law campus on Feb. 1, 2 and 3.
Kris Olson Rogers, associate dean for aca
demic affairs of the law school, issued a statement
on Feb. 1 denouncing the postings, saying the
action “obviously has an effect on members of the
targeted groups’ ability to concentrate on their
studies and creates an environment of hostility
and fear.”
The postings were reprinted articles from pub
lications. One article claimed that the Holocaust
was “invented” by the Jewish head of the Soviet
KGB secret police. Another claimed that “orga
nized Jewry issued a ‘declaration of economic
war’ against Germany in 1933 and launched a
worldwide boycott against the purchase of Ger
man products,” and that Hitler’s government was
simply responding to this legitimate threat.
Another flyer had been found on campus three
weeks earlier. That one claimed that “thousands
of little children” have been abducted by Jewish
people and then sacrificed in “satanic Jew ritu
als.”
In early February for the past few years, Rogers
said that similar flyers espousing this “revision
ist” theory of the Holocaust have been found. In
years past, the flyers stopped appearing after
several weeks.
Debra Hagler, president of the school’s Jew
ish Legal Society, said that the group plans to
circulate a petition among students about learning
respect and tolerance. “We want to move this into
being about showing respect and tolerance, rather
than just an anti-Semitic issue,” Hagler said.
It’s not known who has been distributing the
literature, Rogers said. A couple of conservative
groups have formed on campus in the past years
that may fuel some anti-Semitism, she said. No
connection has been traced between the groups
and the posted material.
If the people who have posted the literature are
caught, they may be punished under the school’s
Honor Code, which states that each student is
assured “an opportunity to enjoy rights of per
sonal and intellectual freedom in an atmosphere
of mutual respect.”
Hagler said that people do have a freedom of
speech and expression in the United States, but
that that freedom becomes sketchy when it “cre
ates an atmosphere of fear and discomfort.”
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Compiled by Pamela Lyons
*