JUNE 25, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 3

ACLU fights Oregon anti-gay law as 5 more areas vote

Portland, Ore.-The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit June 10 in an effort to block the small farming town of Cornelius from implementing an anti-gay ordinance passed May 18 by local voters.

The lawsuit claims the measure violates the Oregon and federal constitutions, and their guarantees of freedom of speech, religion and assembly, and equal protection under the law.

"These efforts in Cornelius and elsewhere are an attempt to take away rights to make sure rights are never asserted by a group of Oregon citizens," said Charles Hinkle, the lead ACLU attorney in the case.

The measure, sponsored by the Oregon Citizens Alliance, prohibits municipal government from "supporting homosexuality" or granting minority class status to gay men and lesbians. The OCA is backing similar measures in 24 cities and eight other counties around the state, following the defeat of Measure 9 last November.

"The ACLU is prepared to file lawsuits in any city or county where this ordinance passes," Hinkle said.

But the OCA promised to wage an equally dedicated battle. "We're not going to give up just because the ACLU doesn't like what the majority of the people want," said Lon Mabon, OCA's executive director,

adding he was not surprised by the lawsuit.

Cornelius voters approved Measure 345-now Section 50 of the city charter-by a 956-595 margin. It was the first vote on the issue by an Oregon community after Measure 9 failed in November.

Similar measures are on the ballot for a June 29 vote in Douglas, Josephine, Klamath and Linn counties, and in the city of Canby. Ballots were mailed out June 11 for those elections. (Oregon elections are conducted by mail.) Elections also were set for that date in Crook County and Junction City, but are being challenged in court.

Another county and one city will vote on Sept. 21, and the OCA is trying for September or later elections in 20 other communities. The OCA is also working to get a second statewide measure, patterned on one passed in Colorado, for the 1994 ballot.

It also has organized in Idaho and Washington and is promoting statewide anti-gay rights measures there.

"Fear and hatred'

The OCA intends to "instill fear and hatred" across Oregon, community by community, said Gov. Barbara Roberts in the

wake of the Cornelius vote. "We cannot let

organized extremists take Oregon a piece

at a time."

Cautious optimism voiced on Ginsburg's gay stands

Washington, D.C.-Lesbian and gay activists are studying the record of Supreme Court nominee Ruth Bader Ginsburg to determine if she will be counted as a supporter of equal rights for lesbians and gay Americans. If confirmed by the Senate, Ginsburg would take the seat of Justice Byron White, the conservative jurist who wrote the Court's Hardwick decision supporting the constitutionality of sodomy laws.

Ginsburg has a reputation as a centrist, although her record prior to her appointment to the Appeals Court was as an attorney who brought several landmark women's rights cases to the U.S. Supreme Court. While her record in support of women's rights is well known, her stand on lesbian and gay issues is less clear.

"We are concerned about Judge Ginsburg's positions on issues of importance to our community," said Tim McFeeley, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund. "During the next several weeks, we will be conducting a serious study of Judge Ginsburg's record, speaking with those who know her and

working with our allies in the Senate to clarify her views. We hope that the Senate will explore Judge Ginsburg's views on the constitutionality of privacy when she appears before them for confirmation."

A particular case that came before the Appeals Court in 1984 has raised questions among activists. In Dronenburg v. Zech, Ginsburg voted with the majority on a panel that refused to grant a rehearing to a gay sailor being discharged. "There is some debate as to why Judge Ginsburg voted against a rehearing," McFeeley said. "We want to get as clear an understanding as possible of her views on the issue."

Supporters of Judge Ginsburg in the lesbian and gay community are coming forward to provide background information. Barbara Flagg, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, worked as a clerk to Judge Ginsburg in the 1980s. Ginsburg, she said, "is generally moderate, but her commitment to equality is not." Flagg, who is a lesbian, said that "if she is confirmed, our rights will be more secure than they are today."

Supreme Court upholds hate crime laws

Washington-People who commit crimes motivated by bigotry may be given longer prison terms without violating their rights to free speech or expression, the U.S. Supreme Court said June 11. The ruling upholds a Wisconsin hate crime law which includes anti-gay hate crimes.

The unanimous ruling clarifies the court's intent that, while hate speech alone is constitutionally protected, an act which is already criminalsuch as assault-may be punished more severely if it is motivated by hatred of a minority group.

At least 20 states have similar laws allowing longer prison terms for crimes motivated by bias against racial, ethnic, or religious groups. Some of these also include lesbians and gays. Most states have some type of hate-crime law. Ohio's "ethnic intimidation" law, which does not include anti-gay crimes, was struck down last year by the Ohio Supreme Court as a viola-

tion of free speech.

The June 11 ruling reversed a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that struck down the state law as a violation of the First Amendment.

In June 1992, the Supreme Court struck down a St. Paul, Minn., ordinance that banned cross-burnings, swastika displays and other expressions of racial bias. That ordinance violated the right to free speech because it sought to ban some viewpoints, the court said.

"Whereas the ordinance struck down [in the Minnesota case] was explicitly directed at expression... the statute in this case is aimed at conduct unprotected by the First Amendment," Rehnquist wrote.

The Wisconsin law allowed longer sentences for people convicted of violating existing laws if they chose their victim because of race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

Gail Shibley, an openly gay state representative from Portland, said the measure paves the way for discrimination.

"I think it's tragic," she said. "They have said with this vote that it is OK, perfectly fine, to be fired from your job because someone in your organization thinks you are gay."

Private employers in Oregon already may fire or not hire someone on the basis of sexual orientation, and the Cornelius measure puts the force of law behind such discrimination, Shibley said. The law also will allow discrimination in housing and lodging, she said.

"We don't support the willy-nilly firing of everybody," Mabon said. “Our position is to stop the recognition of homosexuality as a minority classification."

"Some of the children's books are going to be reviewed to see if they promote

homosexuality. Citizens do not want that which they pay for with their tax dollars to influence kids to wrong behavior."

Liz Kaufman, spokeswoman for the political action group Support Our Communities, said many who voted for the measure may have been misled by campaign rhetoric about "special rights" and misunderstood its ramifications.

"Equal rights are not special rights," she said. "The OCA doesn't care about the truth. They just wave their Bible around and lie."

A Cornelius retiree, who declined to be identified, said he was fed up with the Oregon Citizens Alliance.

"I don't think we should have that around here," he said. "We have too many `foreigners' trying to disturb the peace, making it hard for some of the others."

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