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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2002)
june 7 . 2002 » nTîTîUTFTnrSInews Continued from Page 6 turning librarians into thought police armed with clumsy blocking programs,” said A nn Beeson, lit igation director of the A CLU ’s Technology and Liberty Program, which challenged the law along with the ACLU of Pennsylvania and other rights groups. “The court found that these programs are inherently flawed and will inevitably prevent library patrons all over the country from accessing valuable speech online.” A t issue is the C hild ren s Internet Protec tion A ct, a federal law passed in December 2000 th at ties crucial funding to the m andated use of blocking programs on terminals used by both adults and minors in public libraries. It defines such measures as “a specific technology that blocks or filters Internet access” such as the commercially available software N 2H 2, Cyber Patrol, W ebsense and Smartfilter. Based on nine days of testimony from librar ians, patrons (including Emma Rood, a lesbian teen from Portland) and online experts, the court supported its ruling with more than 100 pages of detailed facts, which established that Civil rights leaders join U .S. Sen. G ordon Smith (center) for the “ Rally Against H ate” May 28 the programs wrongly restricted access to “at television or anyplace else. W hat’s important is least tens of thousands” of sites, including the S mith R allies A g ain st H ate finding effective solutions to this problem.” Knights of Columbus, a Christian orphanage in .S. Sen. Gordon Smity, R-Ore., led a “Rally As Cooper testified in March, such methods Honduras and several political candidates. Gin- Against Hate” May 28 to emphasize the include establishing Internet policies that pro nie Cooper, director of the M ultnomah County critical importance of hate crimes legislation. hibit access to illegal content; using handouts, Library, the lawsuit’s lead plaintiff, welcomed T h e Local Law Enforcem ent A ct— which online guides, training sessions and recommend the court’s recognition that librarians are well ed Web pages; providing terminals with option he introduced last year w ith U .S. Sen. versed in using their professional skills to help Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.— broadens federal al rather than mandatory blocking software; and patrons find what they want online and avoid installing wraparound privacy screens to main hate crimes statutes to include sexual o rien ta Internet sites they don’t wish to see. tion, gender and disability. T h e legislation tain a n o n th reaten in g environm ent. Any “The court’s decision affirms the importance has passed the Senate twice and likely will appeal of the decision will go directly to the of local control in determining library Internet pass again this year with strong bipartisan U.S. Supreme Court, which is required to hear policies,” she said. "No one wants children to be support. challenges to the law. exposed to pornography on the Internet, on U S m ith said it is becom ing increasingly easy to co n v in ce his G O P colleagues to favor pro-gay legislation. “To some who may feel {hat, as a m atter of faith or religion, they c a n ’t support this, I say, ‘As a m atter of your faith and religion you ought to support this, because th ere is n o family value or religious value served by h a tre d .’ ” Just Out asked Sm ith about the conservative Oregon Family Council, which recently distrib uted thousands of fliers indicating he opposes gay rights. He denied making the statement and said his office has contacted the organization to correct the error. “We don’t know why that is the case,” Sm ith said. “We never filled out any question naire to that effect and have registered our con cern with them that they would be representing a position that I supposedly have taken that I have not taken and, in fact, hold very much the opposite view." V a n c o u v e r P roject D ir e c t o r A il in g lyn Zephyr, executive director of the Sexual Minority Services Project in Vancouver, Wash., has gone on an extended leave of absence because of ill health. “This is not a perm anent closure of the proj ect, but all services will be interrupted at this time,” she wrote in an e-mail May 27. “I and another volunteer will continue to monitor and maintain the Rainbow Links hot line record ings, which shall be finished shortly.” Zephyr is looking for a volunteer to handle Sexual M inority Leadership R oundtable busi- L Continued on Page 10 Invest a little time and I'll take it from there . Everyone knows they need a financial plan for the future, but it's hard to find time to do it. That's where I can help. Since 1987, I’ve helped guide couples, domestic partners, families and businessmen and women towards their goals of prosperity and comfort. All it takes to start is a phone call. WADDELL <SrREED Financial Services * Investing. 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