The latest on Marylin Shannon, former Republican state senator, is so repugnant and irresponsible that it's worth repeating. Here's what she said: "Two laws created in Salem have established a whole new era in re-verse discrimination, with a new and alien set of moral values that have now been foisted on the people of Oregon. ... We're starting a new effort to gather signatures to repeal these two laws." That was followed by a statement from State Sen. Gary George to Basic Rights Oregon: "My ad-vice to the gay community is SHUT UP, just don't talk about it. If you walk around talking about what you do in the bedroom, you should be on the pervert channel."
Wow! My response to Shannon is that the entire state of Oregon knows that's a plea of desperation. I would ask Shannon if strip-ping someone of their basic human rights is part of her "set of moral values." Isn't that better defined as "immoral"? Measure 36 had nothing to do with domestic partnerships or anti-discrimination; it's a ruse. As for Sen. George, his comment sounds like what you might hear on an elemen-tary school playground - i.e., juvenile.
The burning question for Shannon and Sen. George is how would they feel if a group of fellow Oregonians was circulating petitions statewide to take away their basic rights, with the only reason being their "disgusting" and "per-verted" behavior in their bedrooms? They would say that's not a justifiable reason and that it's nobody's business. Precisely! That's my point - strip-ping gays of their basic human rights is not justified for the same reason either. Religion, the Bible, hatred, behavior are all irrelevant and would not hold up in a court of law. Their reasons have no legal basis. It's pure and simple prejudice of the worst kind - based solely on ignorance.
The readers should also be aware that the effort to repeal the two laws (SB2 and HB2007) is being spearheaded by four elected legislators whose constitutional duty is to protect Oregonians' rights, not undermine them! This is the first time in our state's history that such a thing has happened. The desperation becomes obvious. Don't sign their petitions un-less you want to sink to the same low level.
Bob Bates, Bend
