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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2001)
July 20. 2001 ’ ju st out 2 news posed changes in the Federal Register, a period for public comment and issuing of a final rule. But, Henderson said, “If a religious entity choos es to participate in the public marketplace, using federal dollars to carry out its program, then it should he regulated by the principle that no federal money should be used for discriminatory purposes.” It can discriminate with its own money, he added. og Cabin Republicans spokesman Kevin Ivers believes the story was poorly handled by the Post and has been overplayed. He said the W hite House contacted them on the evening of July 9, alerting them to an inquiry by the reporter a few hours before the article went up on the newspaper’s Internet site. The contact said that the Salvation Army had an opportuni ty to express its views but that the administra tion made no commitment of support. That made sense to Ivers. He remembered that in the heat of the primary campaign, can didate Bush passed up an opportunity to com ment on California’s anti-gay Proposition 22, saying it was a local matter not a national one. Ivers didn’t see the administration “doing a 180” degree turn on an issue like federalism. Ivers did go on the attack against the Salva tion Army, saying, “This is an organization that discriminates against gays and is proud of it.” He thinks the incident will “raise serious questions about their credibility” to deliver social services in an unbiased manner. L he Salvation Army issued a statement say ing its concerns were raised in the context of being asked “to identify harriers in govern ment-provided social service funding.” It noted federal law provides an exemption for religious institutions where policy conflicts with faith. T The W hite House released a statement saying it will not pursue the change in the Circular ♦ A -102 regulation suggested by the Salvation Army. It believes existing laws and the faith- based legislation passed by the House Judiciary Committee offer sufficient protections both of civil rights and of religious organizations’ "right to hire individuals who share their religious faith.” U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., had offered a clarifying amendment requiring chari ties to adhere to all state and local nondiscrimi nation laws. It was defeated in a party-line vote. HRC announced July 13 its opposition to the bill in its current form, saying it was “highly flawed” and “would create a situation where many Americans would be publicly subsidizing their own discrimination.” Another concern is that the measure does not adequately ensure practical secular alternatives are available for people who do not want to participate in a faith- based program. But the House thwarted HRC’s efforts July 19 by voting 234T95 to make this version of Bush’s faith-based initiative untenable. The move fol lowed the July 17 defeat of an amendment by Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., in the Committee on Rules to address the problem and was the cham ber’s last opportunity to fix the bill’s deficiencies. “This was a hollow victory for the adminis tration and the House leadership, because in ignoring pleas to fix the bill’s shortcomings, they have made passage in the Senate demonstrably more difficult,” said Elizabeth Birch, HRC exec utive director. “We are also struck by the incon gruous position of ‘states rights’ conservatives, who have long trumpeted local control, only to run roughshod over state and local civil rights laws in order to ram through this discriminatory initiative.’ ’ i n I mmediate O utcry R eaction to the Post article was swift and severe: i i r I 'hese secret, and possibly illegal, meetings are 1 an outrage and demonstrate a contem pt for the rule o f law and for the rights o f the most vul nerable Americans. W e need to know who was in on these meetings, what had been promised, who authorized the meetings and why the public was not notified that the right to live free from discrimina tion was being brokered away in a back room.” U .S . Rep. Jerrold Nadler D -N .Y . « r i p his proposed arrangement would create a JL kind o f civil rights-ffee zone in w hich reli gious organizations that receive federal money would be able to flout laws passed by state and local governments to protect their citizens from work place discrimination. It is a shockingly hypocritical agreement, especially coming from an administra tion that claims to be committed to the protection of state and local rights.” Ralph G . N eas People for the American Way « r i p he adm inistration’s theory, unsupported by X any hard evidence, is that religious groups do a better job than secular organizations or gov ernm ent at providing social services and [that] rules against discrim ination and proselytizing need to be lifted to encourage religious groups to take over the job.” Michael Adams Lambda Legal D efense and Education Fund JEWEL A. ROBINSON Who can you turn to in times like these? OFFICE (503) 281-4040 VOICE MAIL (503) 301-4283 E-MAIL Jewel2U@teleport.com 1730 N.E. 10th Avenue Portland, OR 97212 There is no question the markets are more volatile these days. That’s why more people are turning to independent advisors to help them achieve their financial goals. www.griffonfinancial.com They want a financial planning professional who is on their side with the freedom to recommend strategies and investments best suited to their individual needs, without any pressure or incentives to sell proprietary products. 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