ju st o u t ▼ aprii 2 1 , 1 0 0 5 ▼ 13
Travel th e w o rld ,
but c a ll us first...
Another battle won
An Oregon Court o f Appeals ruling upholds HB 3500
saying the state has the right to pre-empt local
authority on some issues
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1995 WESTERN
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OCA activists sent their children out in support o f Ballot Measure 13 with signs reading Protect Our
Children. A recent Court o f Appeals ruling upholds the rights o f all children.
Understanding Viatical Settlements
roponents of an Oregon law that pro
hibits the enactment of local initiatives
targeting gay men and lesbians say
they are pleased with a recent court
ruling upholding that law. They admit,
however, they’ve won the battle but not
“We’re pleased because the ruling clearly says
that the state has the right to pre-empt local
authority when it comes to important issues like
gay and lesbian rights,” says Jann Carson, associ
ate director of the Oregon
chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union.
Earlier this month, the
Oregon Court of Appeals
upheld an anti-discrimina
tion measure approved by
the state Legislature in 1993.
The law, known as House
Bill 3500, prohibits local
governments from enacting
or enforcing measures that
grant special treatment to, or
single out, citizens or groups
due to their sexual orienta
tion.
Following the defeat of
Ballot Measure 9 in 1992,
the Oregon Citizens Alliance
was able to identify and target its solid bases of
support. While the harshly worded Measure 9 was
defeated statewide, 21 of the state’s 36 counties
approved it. OCA supporters quickly revamped
the initiative, creating watered-down versions of
the measure that gained approval in more than
two dozen local elections. HB 3500, which was
designed to head off the so-called “Balkanization”
of Oregon, effectively nullified those local initia
tives.
“The Court of Appeals ruling essentially pre
P
vents the state from becoming a patchwork quilt
of discriminatory measures,” says Carson.
Citing a 1978 state Supreme Court ruling, the
three-judge Court of Appeals panel unanimously
agreed with Marion County Circuit Judge A1
the
Norblad
war. that the state has the authority to pre
empt local governments in areas of “substantive
policy,” including issues of gay and lesbian rights.
The OCA had argued that HB 3500 was un
constitutional because it violated local govern
ments’ right to home rule.
OCA officials vow to bring
their case to the Oregon
Supreme Court.
Though supporters of
gay and lesbian rights say
they are pleased by the re
cent Court of Appeals rul
ing, Carson says a more
important decision is on the
horizon. She says the state’s
high court will soon review
an appellate decision in
volving a case brought by
Janet Boytano of Klamath
Falls. That ruling essentially
concluded that OCA-type
measures could not be
banned from the ballot no
matter how constitutionally shabby they might be.
“The Boytano case looks at whether issues of
an initiative’s constitutionality can be addressed
pre-election,” says Carson. “The Court of Ap
peals ruling regarding HB 3500 only looked at
issues involving measures that had already been
approved. We don’t think these initiatives should
even be going for a vote, because they’re uncon
stitutional.”
The Boytano case, says Carson, will address
that very critical question.
“The Court of
Appeals ruling
essentially prevents
the state from
becoming a patchwork
quilt of discriminatory
measures.
—Jann Carson
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