From: klf@druwa.ATT.COM (FranklinKL)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: Won't be in Colorado...
Keywords: Att: Ken Murphy
Date: 10 Nov 92 20:08:56 GMT
Distribution: rec


In Message <2929@monarch.array.com>
kenm@array.com (Ken Murphy) posts a response:

|John Howard Osborn (osborn@cs.utexas.edu) wrote:
|: Well, I was planning on going through Colorado this winter on my way
|: to visit friends in California after Christmas.  Various people even
|: 
|: However, Colorado yesterday enacted a new state constitutional amendment
|: enforcing discrimation against gays and lesbians.  I will, therefore,
|: not be spending any money (and therefore) time in the state.  In fact,
|: 
|: If you live in Colorado, I'm sorry.  I encourage you to fight from
|
|I do, and I'm not.
|
|: From soc.motss:
|: >It would amend Article 2 of the Colorado Constitution by the addition
|: >of Section 30, which states: NO PROTECTED STATUS BASED ON HOMOSEXUAL,
|: >LESBIAN OR BISEXUAL ORIENTATION. Neither the State of Colorado,
|
|[...]
|
|John,
|
|Read the above carefully.  It says that homosexual, lesbian or bisexuals
|may not be given protected status.  It does NOT say that they will be
|discriminated against.  I don't believe ANYONE should be given ANY 
|special rights or protection based on their sexual preference, skin 
|color, heritage, political affiliation, or anything else that might
|otherwise create an INDIVIDUAL. 
|
|
|: >Put simply, this amendment says that no town or other governmental
|: >subdivision will ever be allowed to vote on the matter of
|: >non-discrimination for gay and lesbian people. And if anybody voted on
|
|Sorry, I disagree.
|
|[History lesson deleted]
|
|

Ken,

Wake up and smell the coffee!  Amendment 2 is NOT about "protected status".
Basically, Amendment 2 stipulates that no governmental entity within Colorado
can enact legislation that prohibits discrimination against gays, lesbians or
bisexuals, based on sexual orientation.  Note that GAYS, LESBIANS and
BISEXUALS are specifically singled out here.  Any city is perfectly free
to protect heterosexuals from discrimination based on sexual preference.

In other words, according to Amendment 2, it is illegal for a city to
prevent discrimination against gays by their heterosexual employers
BUT PERFECTLY LEGAL for a city to legislate that a gay employer cannot
discriminate against heterosexual employees simply because they are
heterosexual.

Amendment 2 specifically targets gays.  The campaign to pass Amendment
2, run by Colorado for Family Values, was cleverly done.  They carefully
refrained from talking about the actual text of the amendment, instead
preferring to use out of context stories  and innuendo as well as outright
lies.  The pro 2 campaign was aimed straight at the lesser educated
citizens of Colorado and it succeeded.

I am from Colorado, and I'm ashamed as hell of this state.  To think that
we as a state could have been sucked in by the lies and propaganda of
a bunch of right wing, pseudo religious fascists really pisses me off.

Colorado for Family Values has NOTHING to do with family values.  This
group is out to target gays as part of the overall agenda of the
religious right.  The use of Family values in the name is part of a ploy.
These fanatics KNOW  that they can't make anything happen on their own.
The need support from the moderate majority of voters. They get that
support via the ploy of giving their organization a high sounding,
motherhood and apple pie, name.  Who would have supported them if they
had named their organization after it's true purpose?  WHO in their right
mind would support an organization called "Coloradans against Gays"?
Or perhaps "A Small Group of Religious Fanatics against Gays".
Another indication that they gave not a shit about family values
was their selection of that hypocritical butthole, Bill McCartney,
as a spokesman.  Here's a man who publically condoned his daughters
giving birth to an out of wedlock child, and we're supposed to
believe he gives a damn about family values.

I realize that you are posting from Colorado Springs, Ken.  I don't know
if you are a supporter of Colorado for Family Values or not but given
that the Springs is the headquarters of the pro 2 supporters and that the
Springs and El Paso county voted overwhelmingly pro 2, coupled with your
stand in your posting, one could be led to suspect.

Fankly, I don't give a damn what your stand on gays, or gay rights is.
Just don't hide behind a lot of flowery words to hide the fact that
the recently enacted amendment is nothing more than a thinly disguised
anti-gay action.  I suspect that it is only the first step in a much
larger agenda for the radical religious right.  Makes me shudder.


--
Ken Franklin 	They say there's a heaven for people who wait
AMA     	And some say it's better but I say it ain't
GWRRA           I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
DoD #0126       The sinners are lots more fun, Y'know only the good die young