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Date:         Thu, 17 Dec 1992 14:11:49 MST
From:         Dave Weinstein <dweinste%server@CARL.ORG>
Subject:      re: Civil Rights? Why?
              "BENSON@POKVMCR3.VNET.IBM.COM" at Dec 17, 92 3:38 pm

At the risk of throwing some facts on the fire:

   o The passage of ammendment #2 did nothing to affect the hiring or
     firing of teachers Denver, Boulder, and Aspen schools. Why? Because
     all three ordinances *specifically* exempted religious organizations,
     public and private schools, owner-resident rentals, and small businesses
     from their scope. So all of the "scare stories" about "gay teachers"
     or "I don't want no queers in my house" are just that. Stories.
     Nor were there any "special rights" for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.
     But more on that below.

   o None of the pre-existing Colorado ordinances mentioned the words
     gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Instead, they refered to "sexual
     orientation". Gays, straights, bisexuals, asexuals, and lesbians, were
     all covered under the law. Ammendment #2, on the other hand, forbids
     any protection against discrimination for Gays, Lesbians, and
     Bisexuals. Apparently, forbidding discrimination against "sexual
     orientation" is perfectly all right with the CFV as long as that
     orientation is "straight".

   o Despite all of the scare talk about quotas, there is not a single
     ordinance in this country which calls for hiring quotas based on
     sexual orientation. And anti-discrimination laws do *not* imply that
     quotas are forthcoming. How many unqualified Buddhists did you have to
     hire to make your "quota"?

   o Not only does Ammendment #2 attempt to nullify the Denver, Boulder,
     and Aspen anti-discrimination ordinances, it goes much further. It
     forbids any governmental agency in Colorado from adopting *or
     enforcing* any anti-discrimination polices that would concern gays,
     lesbians, or bisexuals. For the conservatives out there, that means
     that agencies *funded* by the entire populace are *forbidden* to enact
     policies that require them to give equal treatment. If a doctor at a
     public hospital doesn't want to treat a lesbian, he or she cannot be
     disciplined. If a police officer doesn't want to work too hard on a
     gay-bashing crime, bias cannot be punished. This is *obscene*.

   Quite frankly, the whole issue of Ammendment #2 has reflected quite
   badly upon the Evangelical community in Colorado. Every other major
   denomination (and a number of what are usually considered "conservative"
   denominations) that I know of came out against it. But the so-called
   Coloradans for Family Values, with help from Dr. Dobson's organization,
   ran an *extremely* dishonest campaign. They claimed that they were
   attacking "special rights"*, yet the only practical effect of the
   ammendment is to deny equal rights. They claimed that the ammendment
   would not remove discrimination protection, but the plain text of the
   ammendment clearly does so. In fact, they never included the text of the
   ammendment in any of their literature... perhaps for fear it would put
   the lie to their rhetoric. And they refused to disclose the source of
   a $50,000 donation just days before the election until after the
   election was over. If this is the fruit of "Evangelic Christianity", it
   springs from a bitter seed indeed.

* Religious groups which rail against "special rights" are hypocrites of
  the first order. Not only are religious beliefs protected by
  anti-discrimination laws, religious organizations are *exempt* from those
  selfsame laws. But you rarely see these groups protesting their own
  "special rights".

--Dave

Disclaimer: As always, on discussion lists, I speak for myself, and not
            my employer.



--
Dave Weinstein
dweinste@carl.org
CARL Systems, Inc. - Systems that Inform
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