From: knapp@spot.Colorado.EDU (David Knapp)
Subject: Re: Amendment #2
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Distribution: co
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 20:47:40 GMT

In article <1992Nov6.144630.4049@ncar.ucar.edu> tmayer@neit.cgd.ucar.edu (Tom Mayer) writes:
>In article <Nov06.060107.50183@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> valeria@lamar.ColoState.EDU () writes:
>>To those that are moaning and complaing about how Amendment #2 is going to 
>>
>>bring the end of the world to the gay community, let us examine the  
>>
>>Amendment as it was written on the ballot. 
>>
>>	Shall there be an Amendment to Article II of the Colorado Constitution
>>	to prohibit the state of Colorado and any of its political subdivisions
>>	from adopting or enforcing any law or policy which provides that
>>	homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, conduct, or relationships
>>	constitutes or entitles a person to claim any minority or protected
>>	status,quota preferences, or discrimination.
>>
>>My question to the fools and idiots is: Where in the law does it say that
>>
>>discrimation is lawful. Once again the press, the gay rights groups and the
>>
>>poltical groups are misleading the people of Colorado.l voted for #2 and still
>>
>>have no problems sleeping.
>>
>>I know that I will be called all types of names and will be flamed for these
>>
>>comments but who cares about narrow minded bigots.
>>
>>It was a good day when #2 passed.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>	To valeria@lanar......
>
>
>	Before you starting calling people fools and idiots perhaps you
>	should read the amendment again.  As it says above, it is illegal
>	to adopt or enforce any law which provides that gay orientation
>	or conduct entitles a person to claim discrimination.   I am
>	surprised that they allow people to graduate from high school with
>	such limited powers of reading comprehension.
>
>	One final point on how deceptive the framers of this ballot question
>	have been.  In all of their promotional literature they talked
>	about sexual "preference", but on the ballot question we find 
>	the term sexual "orientation" used.  There is a big difference.
>	Maybe the proponents of this initiative don't believe their own
>	propaganda that being gay or lesbian is simply an individual
>	"preference".
>
>				Tom Mayer	

Unfortunately, 'Valeria' represents, and stunningly well I might add,
the general state of reading comprehension among the voting masses in CO.
Objective  and critical thinking skills are *not* our state's or our
country's strong point. (thank you Ron and George for dismantling the 
educational system.)

Many of those who voted for 2 simply thought of it as the 'gays are bad' 
ballot, because they cannot see that there is more than one issue
tied into the amendment. CFV *worked* for that, obviously, because they
worded so to net as many poorly educated readers as possible. 

Blah blah no special treatment for gays... blah blah no quotas... blah 
blah 

And it is all reasonable to there, which is probably where most CO voters
fell asleep and said "yeah yeah, that's a fine idea." IF that was *all*
that was on the bill, I would have voted for it myself! *Nobody* deserves
special treatment (not even Senators' sons) and quotas skirt the *entire*
issue of prejudice.

Now the clincher. 

blah blah Gays should not be allowed to claim discrimination.

Consider a scenario where we vote on a law that says 'fundamentalist christians
should not be allowed to claim discrimination'.  Take just a wild stab
at it and  *guess* if that would pass here. I'll bet you a donut it wouldn't.
And why? Because that would include the CFV and the homophobes! And *that* 
would be bad. But you see, this is the heart of prejudice and bigotry and
this is why passing something like 2 is bad. You can substitute any group
of people you want instead of 'homosexuals' in Amend 2 and it will still be
bad because it legalizes prejudice. The side-taking it is invoking is also
breeding ignorance and ignorance breeds ignorance.

-- 
David Knapp                                      University of Colorado, Boulder
Perpetual Student                                   knapp@spot.colorado.edu
Newsgroups: co.general,co.politics,co.politics.amend2.discuss