2_________
WedNEsdAy, N ovemòer 14, 2001
Letters
Opinion
A & E Editor
Oregon Revised Statute 419C.680
says: 1. No minor shall be in or upon
any street highway, park, alley cw other
public place between the hours of 12
midnight and 4 a.m. of the following
morning, unless: Such minor is accom
panied by a parent, guardian or other
person 18 years of age or ova and
authorized by the parent; or such mi
nor is then engaged in a lawful pursuit
or activity which requires the presence
of the minor in such public places dur
ing these hours; or the minor is legally
emancipated.
Each county in Oregon has its own
curfew laws that comply with the state
law and are enforced heavily by local
police officers with good reason. Par
ents have every right to discipline and
award their children any way they see
fit If they trust their children enough
to be away from home after midnight
that’s great! But just because they are
away from home does not mean they
have to be outside, in a public place
that strictly is prohibited by law. The
law is not there to restrict parents or
teens from their freedoms. It is there to
protect the community from harm.
In 1999, Clackamas County had 454
reported sex crimes with only 'll actual
arrests, according to the Clackamas
County Oregon Uniform Crime Report
Which means there are still a possible
377 sex offenders roaming the streets.
Most of who are probably just waiting
for an innocent victim to be on the
publication. Letters to the Editor are subject to editing. We reserve the
right to not publish any letter.
Curfew laws need to be reconsidered
Curfew keeps youngsters sáfe* secure u > i
DAISY BAIN
All signed letters to the editor should be 500 words or less and will be
considered for publication if submitted by 1 p.m the Friday prior to
streets in the twilight hours of the
evening. There were also 52 reported
kidnapping cases in Clackamas
County. Only three arrests were made
in 1999. With those figures alone, how
could you not want today’s children
within closed doors?
The curfew law is also enforced to
help parents with uncontrollable teens.
Too many times I have seat my friends
get into fights with their parents that
result in the kid running away, even if
onlyforafewhours. Toaparent,afew
hours feels 1 ike an eternity.
Drug use is a problem communities
in Oregon face as a whole. Theeasiest
way to fight drugs is to start young.
The longer you can keep kids off the
streets, the better chance we have as a
community to keep them away from
the drug pushers who we all know luik
the alleys in the middle of the night
The second amendment promises
our right to peacefully assemble, so
why can’t teens assemble somewhere
indoors? My right as a resident in a
community is to know that I can sleep
at night knowing that my 13 and 17-
year old sisters are safe. If the law
helps to enforce a fear factor in their
heads, then I say great The more they
fear going out late, the. less inclined
they would be going out late. I don’t
want my sisters to be the next statistic
I read about while researching for this
paper. I commend the students who
wish to challenege the curfew laws in
the courts, but we can take faith in the
system.
________ LUKE MAHAN________
Staff Writer
“This doesn’t affect me, so I don’t
care.” ‘I had to go through it, so they
should too.” These types of attitudes
are taken far too often in regard to is
sues such as the environment, foreign
policy and in this case, curfew laws.
Almost every time I convey my op
position to these unconstitutional
laws, I am promptly supplied with a
response similar to “You’re 18j Xvby
do you care?” Only a month ago was
I liberated from the 1 lp.m. constraint
set by the Gladstone authorities. Until
I turned 118,1 was often pulled over
for merely walking to a friend’s house,
or conversing on the sidewalk with
cronies after a long day at weak. How
ever, even though I am now18,1 do
not go without run-ins with officials
who suspect me to be underage. Un
derage? You’d think I was drinking or
try i ng to get into a nudie-bar. Alas, my
only crime was being outside. O
Aside from the obvious logical and
rational flaws (including the fact that
most adolescents can’t even go to the
local 7-EIeventogetamidnight snack),
curfew laws include more serious rami
fications.
These locally regulated ordinances
undermine parents’ ability to set their
own rules for their children. If parents
allow their children to be off their prop
erty after any given time, that decision
should be respected. I am surprised
that parents have let local governments
control limits they should be setting
themselves.
Another argument against curfew
is the second amendment to the Con-
stitution, which promises our right to
peacefully assemble. Shouldn’t this
right be available at any time and not
just when local law-enforcement says
we can? We should be allowed to as
semble peacefully not just before 11
p.m. or 12 a.m., and not just after we
turn a certain age. I am sure there are
some assemblies with non-peaceful in
tentions, but I am also sure these cases
are in the minority. In honesty, it is a
small percentage of people who are
committing illegal acts “after hours”
who are thereby ruining everyone
else’s fun.
I suppose my problem is being all
theory and no action, so I consider
writing this article my action; at least
I’m bringing up the issue, which no
one seems to consider very often. A
Clackamas student named David
Scheidegger has hopes to take the fight
further by challenging the law in the
courts.
“By notfightingthis laty, we are set
ting a precedent that we will let any
unjust law made by the legislators and
bureaucrats go unchecked/’ said
Scheidegger. His efforts will hopefully
open the eyes of voters who don’t re
alize that the vay people the law af
fects have no say in the matter.
I happen to be concerned about
the freedoms of future generations
and not just my own.
Do you think there should be a curfew for people
under 18?
Scott Hunter
K£leShali^^^
Major: Undecided
Major: 2 Year Transfer
"No. It should be up to them to
make their own choices."
"No. I just think if the parents
raised them up right they
shouldn't have to worry about
curfews."
◄
◄
Ray Kauffman
Prince Brown
Major:Construction
Management
Major: Undecided
"Hell, no. I would say sixteen to
seventeen is alright My mom
let me stay out as much as I want
when I was sixteen to seventeen.
It was cool. Under that, I
understand."
"It depends on the parents."
◄
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