From: rjwill6@pbsdts.sdcrc.pacbell.com (Rod Williams)
Subject: Concord (Calif.) Measure M Overturned
Originator: rjwill6@pbsdts.sdcrc.pacbell.com
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, California
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 18:51:29 GMT

Here's the San Francisco Examiner (front-page, banner
headline) report (11/17/92) on the overturn of Concord's
anti-gay Measure M.

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CONCORD ANTI-GAY LAW ILLEGAL
Judge Strikes Down Initiative that Tried
to Repeal Law Forbidding Discrimination

By Charles C. Hardy
of the Examiner Staff

A Contra Costa County Superior Court judge declared
unconstitutional Monday a controversial anti-gay initiative
that was narrowly passed by Concord voters in 1991.

Measure M, spearheaded by a group of religious conservatives
including Concord Councilman Lloyd Mashore, was intended to
repeal the portion of the city's human rights law that
prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation.

It also would have barred the City Council from passing
another law banning such discrimination, and forbade city
money from being spent to promote or encourage homosexuality
or bisexuality.

Because of an immediate court challenge, the measure never
took effect.  Monday, Judge Ellen James ruled that it never
would.

James said each of the three sections of the measure violated
equal protection clauses under the U.S. Constitution by
singling out gay people for unfair treatment.

Further, the judge said the part of the law that tried to
limit the council's powers violated state law; and that its
ban on using resources violated the federal Constitution and
First Amendment rights.

Attorneys who fought to have the measure overturned hailed
James's decision as a victory for individual freedom and
defeat of right-wing fundamentalist attempts to use the ballot
for gay-bashing.

"Initiatives like this are the latest fad of the new right,"
said Matthew Coles, a lawyer with Morrison and Foerster, which
joined the American Civil Liberties Union to fight the measure.
"One or two more victories showing that the courts will not
tolerate this and we may be able to stop this initiative
madness."

Coles said a similar measure had been overturned by the courts
after voters approved it in Riverside last year.  Colorado
voters adopted a similar measure earlier this month, and it is
already being challenged in the courts.

Mark Zapalik, chairman of Concord United for Fair Law, which
backed the measure, said, "We're disappointed that she took
that action."

He said his group would probably appeal the ruling, if the
Concord City Council did not.

An appeal by the council is unlikely, as Mashore was the only
one of the five members who supported the measure.

Measure M is not discriminatory, Zapalik contended.

"We feel that we are all equal and equally protected under the
Constitution," he said.  "We don't feel that sexual behavior
deserves a minority status for the purposes of affirmative
action in civil suits with landlords and employers.  What you
do in the privacy of your bedroom is your business and should
not be brought to bear in what you do with any employers or
landlords."

City Councilwoman Colleen Coll said two days before Measure M
passed by just 42 votes, 10,000 inflammatory videotapes had
been dropped on the doorsteps of voters in key precincts.

Those tapes, she said, included "graphic scenes" from San
Francisco's gay parade and were used to frighten people into
voting for Measure M.

"It was appalling and totally uncalled for," said Coll.  She
added that James's decision appeared to her to be sound.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for her," she said. "I
believe she deliberated the issue very carefully and made the
correct decision."

Concord City Attorney Mike Martello said the city would
announce next week whether it would appeal.

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rod williams -=- pacific bell -=- san ramon, ca -=- rjwill6@pacbell.com
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