From: carlosm@tigger.cs.Colorado.EDU (Carlos Maltzahn)
Subject: Did we need gay-rights laws?
Followup-To: amend2-discuss@cs.colorado.edu
Originator: gina@tigger
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 05:52:10 GMT

Reprinted without permission from the opinion section of 
Colorado Daily (11/18/92):

Did we need gay-rights laws?

Bill Callahan ("Until Proved Otherwise")

A favorite Bible lesson of mine deals with God's command to 
"be patient and of long suffering." Poor Noah was prctured 
trying to load the ark, and having to deal with the snails. 
These snails had been in sight of the ark for months, and 
Noah wanted so badly to lift them up and advance them a week 
or two. But he kept telling himself that ducks be ducks and 
snails be snails, and he had no justification to interfere 
with God's plan by letting his agenda overpower the ways of 
nature.

This little story helps me unravel a conundrum presented to 
me by the passage of Amendment 2. i question why the ballot 
proposal was needed at all, and why Boulder's gay-rights 
ordinance was ever put on the books in the first place.

Before Boulder's ordinance wnet into effect, could i really 
discriminate against gays with impunity? and now that Amend-
ment 2 makes that ordinance unenforceable, am I really able 
to fire or not hire or not rent to someone simply by (in my 
mind) labelin them as being gay? If rule outlaws murder, why 
is it necessary to spell our redundant laws against murder by 
pickax, or murder by bow-and-arrows, or murder by knife, or 
murder by tire iron, or murder by kindness? Murder be murder, 
and we should all be advised against it, regardless of the 
means.

It's the same with discrimination. We don't need an ERA for 
women or truckers or short people or any other group of 
humans. There is ample opportunity under existing laws to 
prosecute people for using such inane reasons to discrimi-
nate.

However, now that Amendment 2 has passed, I would think other 
forms of discimination would be so much easier. Suppose I 
wanted to get rid of all the blacks or womnen or Jews in mu 
employ. All I'd need to do is call them gay and kick them out 
the door. To be even more absurd, what's to keep me from fir-
ing a person because I claim they *aren't* gay? Do we really 
need to keep spelling out all the sexual preferences, and 
making sure there are ordinances to protect each proclivity?

Few of us want much governmental interference in our lives. 
As with Noah's snails, everyone is protected in their right 
to be themselves. That's what's kind of nice about this coun-
try. Boulder, Aspen, and Denver decided, with all good 
intention perhaps, to advance the snails. but where was the 
need? Noah is giong to keep the gangplank down no matter how 
long it takes, and if he doesn't, God wil hold him account-
able. All these three cities did was make the other animals 
(not in all good intention perhaps) put up a fuss.

This country is more than 200 years old. When are we ever 
going to get to the point where tolerance is automatic and 
needs no constant legislation or repeals of said same? My 
advice is to quit monkeying around with things and be patient 
and of long suffering. That's the only way everybody is going 
to have their way.

Bill Callahan lives in Boulder.

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