Date: Sun, 6 Nov 1994 11:07:44 -0500
From: BoiseBear@aol.com

Reprinted without permission of the [Boise]
Idaho Statesman* Nov. 6, 1994 -- Main Editorial

The Idaho Statesman previously gave us permission to reproduce
their stories on the Internet, but now is debating it.
======================================
Our View

FUTURE OF IDAHO DEMANDS A 'NO' VOTE ON PROPOSITION ONE

Idaho doesn't deserve the divisiveness that has been created by
Proposition One.  Lines have been drawn and our people have been forced
into angry camps.  No good can come from approving such a measure. 
Citizens can begin to put an end to this divisiveness and begin the needed
healing by voting "No" on One. 

The reasons Proposition One is wrong have been recounted several times,
but just two days before voters must make their decision those reasons are
woth repeating: 

Proposition One seeks not to protect liberties, but to restrict them.  It
seeks to codify "sinful" behavior.  It sets one group of Idahoans apart,
makes them targets of scorn and ridicule, and attempts to ensure that they
cannot seek the same redress of their grievances that all other Americans
can.  Moreover, it will cost Idaho's taxpayers thousands of dollars in
court challenges. 

There is no threat from homosexuals in Idaho that could possibly justify
so hateful and discriminatory a response as Proposition One.  Supporters
of the measure are fond of pointing out that homosexuals constitute only
about 1 percent of the US population. So few people couldn't possibly
constitute a threat to anyone. 

Why then waste so much energy on this issue?  Surely the rate of juvenile
crime, teen pregancies and divorce deserve far more of the attention that
activists are lavishing on Proposition One. 

But the number of homosexuals in the population isn't the issue.
Regardless of their percentages, homosexuals are entitled to the same
rights as all Americans.  That is the issue. 

Clearly, Proposition One is a misguided effort to find something stable
and sure in a rapidly changing society.  It seeks to be an armor of moral
certainty.  But this armor inflicts wounds on those who wear it. 

Even if you believe that homosexuality is sinful, or oppose it for other
reasons, this measure is the wrong approach.  It doesn't express the lofty
values imparted by religious belief, such as forgiveness and
understanding.  Rather it leans heaviliy on the punitive, which would seem
to be an expression of failure by some church leaders to make their moral
point through persuasion. 

Voters on Proposition One will be deciding what kind of state they want
Idaho to be.  Either we an insecure people afraid of "the other," or we
are a people big hearted enough to accept differences.  Which Idaho would
you prefer to live in? 

Idahoans can make the right choice by voting "No" on Proposition One on
the Nov. 8 ballot.