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PHOTO BY MARTY DAVIS
T
he N o on Constitutional Amend
ment 36 cam paign demanded
Sept. 14 that Oregon television
stations stop broadcasting an
advertisement tor the Yes on 36
campaign because it falsely states that Ballot
Measure 36 “does not change the constitution.”
In the ad, a camera pans slowly across an
empty law office as the narrator accuses local
officials and so-called “activist judges" of trying
to ovemile Oregon law by issuing marriage
licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
“Measure 36 doesn’t change the constitu
tion,” the narrator says. “ It only clarifies what
has always been. Marriage is between one man
and one woman.”
Steve Green, a constitutional law professor at
Willamette University, refuted the ads statement.
“Don’t be fooled,” he told Just Out. “They
wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t to create
some significant change to the constitution.”
Green said that not only would the amend
ment change the letter and the spirit of the con
stitution, it would “set a precedent for unequal
treatment of gays and lesbians” and “creates the
presumption that different treatment is the norm.”
Green compared arguments in favor to the
amendment to those supporting “separate but
equal” Jim Crow laws at the turn of the 20th cen
tury, which enshrined unequal treatment of
African Americans. “We saw how that effected
change” and created a second-class system, he said.
In a letter sent to television station managers
on behalf of N o on 36, attorney Mark Johnson
wrote: “A statement that an amendment to the
constitution ‘doesn’t change the constitution’ is
unambiguously false. The very purpose of an
amendment to the constitution is to change the
constitution.”
The secretary of state’s official explanatory
statement of Ballot Measure 36 makes it clear that
it would change the constitution, stating that a
“ ‘Yes’ vote adds to the Oregon Constitution dec
laration of policy that only marriage between one
man and one woman is valid or legally recognized
as marriage,” while a “ ‘N o’ vote retains existing
constitution without a provision declaring that
only marriage between one man and one woman
is valid or legally recognized as marriage.”
No station has yet agreed to pull the adver
tisement. No on 36 is reviewing its legal options,
said Rebekah Kassell, press secretary for the cam
paign. While disturbed that the measure’s backers
would use such blatantly false advertising, she is
unniffled by the appearance o f ads in support of
the amendment.
“It’s no surprise that our opposition has a cam
paign,” Kassell told Just Out. “We knew they
would be on TV and have signs. But we also knew
that even with all that we can win. When our
message goes head to head with theirs, we win.”
F alse A dvertising
Marriage equality foes stoop to new lows
by M eg D aly
The Poll Is in the Eye of the Beholder
T
he Portland Tribune and KOIN-TV released
the results of a poll Sept. 21 that showed a
majority o f voters in Oregon support a constitu
tional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
According to the Tribune, the poll was con
ducted from Sept. 13 to 16 by Research 2000 of
Rockville, Md. “Pollsters interviewed by tele
phone 600 likely voters statewide, who vote reg
ularly in state elections,” the newspaper wrote.
The poll indicated that 57 percent of Oregon
voters support the amendment and that 38 per
cent oppose it.
Kassell, however, is skeptical. She said the
timing of this poll— directly after the Republi
can National Convention and the launch of the
Yes on 36 ad campaign— could have affected
results.
“The truth about polls is about how the ques
tion is asked, when it’s asked and who is asked,”
she said.
A poll conducted in July for the No on 36
campaign showed distinctly different numbers,
with 49 percent of voters saying they would sup
port the amendment and 46 percent saying they
would vote against it. The poll was conducted
before either campaign was launched.
“ I don’t believe (the poll) accurately reflects
the electorate,” Kassell said.
Oregon’s First Lady
Joins Opponents of 36
M
ary Oberst, Oregon’s first lady, gathered
with constitutional experts Sept. 22 in
Eugene to oppose Ballot Measure 36.
“There is nothing less controversial than
preserving equal treatment for everyone in our
constitution,” said Oberst, an attorney who is
married to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. “Our consti
tution is not the place
to provide restrictions
or limits on our neigh
bors, family members
and friends.”
Oberst was joined by
attorneys Dorn Vetri and
Robert H. Fraser and
W illamette University
law
professor
Steve
Green.
Mary Oberst
Don Valerio, MD
Board Certified Internal Medicine
Fanno Creek Clinic
2400 SW Vermont Portland
“This amendment makes
equal treatment of all Oregoni
ans
unconstitutional
by
enshrining unequal treatment
of gays and lesbians into our
constitution,” said Vetri, a law
professor at University of Ore
gon and authority on gay and
lesbian legal issues.
Fraser, a former president
o f the Oregon State Bar A sso
ciation, added: “One of the
things that makes this state—
and our country— strong is
our ability to disagree without
diminishing basic rights for
all. TtxJay, gays and lesbians
are being targeted for unequal
treatment. W ho will it be
tomorrow?”
O ther
public
officials
opposing the amendment
include Kulongoski; former
Gov. Barbara Roberts; Secre
tary o f State Bill Bradbury; T he Yes on 36 campaign is running a television advertisement
U .S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore; claiming the ballot measure “ does not change the constitution”
U .S . Reps. David Wu and
Peter DeFazio, both D-Ore.; former state Rep.
one man and one man,” Scott’s statement is
Gail Shibley, D-Portland; and the Portland City
reported to read.
Council, among many others.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary,
a Freudian slip is “a slip of the tongue that is
Freudian Slip?
motivated by and reveals some unconscious
aspect of the mind.”
he granddaddy of psychoanalysis, Sigmund
As of press rime, Scott had not responded to
Freud, could have
requests for a comment
had a heyday with
on what that uncon-
recent slip-up by a . .1
...
/j
/, 1
scious aspect of hi
his
prominent supporter of W We COflStltUtlOn QOeSIl t Chatige mind might have been
unequal treatment of
Once a letter is sub
queers.
mitted for inclusion in
K A TU -TV reported
the pamphlet, it cannot
Sept. 1 that Oregon
be rescinded by the
House Majority Leader
author. Voters can view
Wayne Scott submitted
S co tt’s letter in the
forthcoming Oregon
a letter in support of
Mork Johnson Voters’ Pamphlet. J H
Measure 36 to be
included in the Oregon
To make a donation or to volunteer, contact the
Voters’ Pamphlet that contains a statement
N o on C onstitutional A mendment 36
that runs counter to his opposition to same-sex
campaign at 971-244'1399 or uictc.noon36.com.
marriage.
Free signs and stickers are available, courtesy of
“ It’s important to affirm what we all
TechnoDyke.com,
at the Egyptian Club, Haven,
thought was already in the Oregon Constitu
F cmk I Fight, In Other Words and It’s My Pleasure.
tion: Marriage is a sacred covenant between
T
"it statement that an amendment
the constitution' is unambiguously
false. The very purpose of an
amendment to the constitution
is to change the constitution.
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