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Tuesday. September 14, 1993
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE
Sharon Bottoms lost custody of her child last week because of her supposed immorality and her admission that she had engaged in oral sex with her mate. This activity is a felony in Virginia.
THE BACKGROUND
About half the states in the United States, including Kansas, have statutes called sodomy laws which prohibit homosexual activity, intercourse between unmarried persons, extramarital sex, oral-genital sex and anal intercourse. Legislatures of these states consider these activities to be abnormal or antisocial.
THE OPINION
Laws against sodomy should be struck down
Should a copy of the penal code replace the Tao of Sex on people's nightstands? If one has a child or a career then probably so. It is ludicrous that in the late twentieth century there are puritanical laws in Kansas still in effect, and utilized, to dictate morality between consenting adults. These laws are unnecessary and should be struck down.
The kind of discriminatory use of the Virginia sodomy laws, which are similar to those of Kansas, as seen in the Sharon Bottoms case is dangerous for all people. Should the single mother lose her child because she engages in sex without the " sanctity" of marriage? Should the married man who gets drunk at the office party and has sex with a co-worker in an empty office have his child taken away? As one can see, if the answer is yes then the next question should be: Who will care for the children? Not Jim and Tammy Faye because they too have broken these laws. If one looks at the statistics of commission of the above listed activities, one will see that almost nobody could have custody of the children.
The only way to prevent this kind of discriminatory use of these archaic laws is through legislation. Before another child is taken from a loving family or another life is adversely affected due to the government's presence in our bedrooms, the legislature should be urged to remove these laws from the books.
MICHELLE SMITH FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
South Africans prepare for multi-racial election
To the people of the United States voting may seem a simple, four-year routine of which we are often persuaded to take advantage, but to Black South Africans, the vote will mean they are no longer an invisible, silent majority but voices that must be heard in their own homeland.
This transition to democracy has not been without violence, chaos and killings. Last Wednesday, gunmen in minivans drove up to a line of people, killed about 21 Blacks and wounded about 25 others in two attacks.
Next April will be a historic month for South Africa when the nation will hold its first multi-racial election. Many Blacks are preparing for that moment by attending workshops that are aimed at teaching them the basic steps in election voting. Such basics include how to fill out a ballot, fold it and put it in a ballot box.
MUNEERA NASEER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Such senseless killings serve to remind us that we take our election process for granted. Unlike South Africans, we do not have to fear rioting or massacre at the hands of political opponents. Perhaps in our criticism of government and its laws, we forget that our system allows us to elect the person of our choice and the peaceful transition of power from one leader to the next. The right to vote should be appreciated and taken advantage of by all legal voters.
KANSAN STAFF
KC TRAUER, Editor
JOE HARDER, CHRISTINE LAUE
Managing editors
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
BILL SKEET, Systems coordinator
Editors
Asistant to the editor ... R. J. Claiborn
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AMY CASEY
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Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas must include class and homeunet, or faculty or staff position. Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed. The Kansas university the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can also be brought to the Kansas newroom, 111 Stauffer Flint Hall.
South's views on homosexuality narrow-minded, disrespectful
I grew up in the South, and recently my mind has been returning to it. There are a few reasons. The first is a documentary on the civil rights movement I saw recently on PBS. The second is Cobb County, Georgia, which condemned homosexuality and decided to forgo all funding for the arts next year. The third is a decision handed down in a Virginia court that says, in effect, that homosexuals do not make good parents.
It is great to see that hatred is alive and well in the South.
The documentary, which was called 'Eyes on the Prize' was, at times, difficult to watch. It is hard to believe that 30 years ago African Americans were sprayed with fire hoses for the offense of wanting to sit in the same lunch counters that whites had occupied for years. So much hatred for something so simple as equality.
Equality certainly was not the issue last month in Cobb County, Georgia, a county just outside Atlanta. On Aug. 10, the county commission voted to condemn homosexuality. Though the measure has no legal implications, it certainly shows where gays are not
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wanted. Two weeks later, the commission voted to deny funding for the arts next year so the it would not have to determine which art should be funded and which should not.
The latter vote sounds like a child who has an extra piece of gum and two friends and, unable to choose which friend should get the gum, decides to keep it for himself. The former vote does have interesting possibilities — maybe Douglas County should condemn Fred Phelps — but I do not think county commissions should be in the business of setting moral standards for everyone.
her child. The reasoning, said Judge Duford Parsons, was based, in part, on a 1985 Virginia Supreme Court decision which held that parents could lose custody of their children if the adults are homosexual. In the words of Judge Parsons, "The mother's conduct is illegal and immoral and renders her an unfit parent."
Perhaps the most galling example of hatred occurred last week when a lesbian mother in Virginia lost custody of
What a perfect statement. According to last Thursday's Kansan, Virginia has a law forbidding oral sex. Thus, the state of Virginia can evoke custody rights based on where a parent places his/her body parts. I can envision somewhere in the Virginia State Code a table with the headings, "Penis," "Vagina," and "Mouth" going across and down and little "legal" or "illegal" marks in the table cells. Vagina and vagina? Nope. Penis and mouth? Not a chance. Only penis and vagina in this state, boys and girls.
Apart from sarcasm, something is sickening with the idea that sexual orientation relates to someone's ability to be a parent. There are many complicated factors involved in being a parent; to single out sexual orientation as a determining factor is hopelessly narrow. What's next? Shintoism as a determining factor? Once I saw a televangelist discuss the "satanic" principles of Shintoism. I can just see some judge from, say, North Carolina, who says that Shintoists can lose custody of their children because their religion is immoral.
The word "hate" is at times thrown around too loosely. But denying rights — not special but equal rights
—to a group of people whose actions are private implies a lack of respect for those individuals. Once we condemn adults for their private, consensual actions, how can we be considered a free country?
In the movie "Something Wild," Jeff Daniels buys a T-shirt which reads, "Virginia is for Lovers." The irony of the motto now makes me laugh. Or cry — I'm not sure which.
[Postscript: There will be a candlelight vigil in support of the Virginia woman. The vigil will be held at 8 tonight in front of Wescoe. Bring your own candles.]
Nathan Olson is a Lawrence graduate student in English.
Keen observations about singers, pedestrians and Barrow, Alaska
So here goes...
Sometimes I feel it's necessary to let some of the keen observations I've made out into the open. Other times, I forget that my column is due and can't come up with a great idea. I've decided to integrate these two things.
Keen Observation (KO.1) 1 What ever happened to Patrick Swayze's once sky-rocketing singing career? I thought his big album "I Can't Act, but hey, I Can't Sing Either!" was a great effort. Now don't tell me that "She Likes to Swim" wasn't your favorite song too. Or was it "She'S like a Him"? No, no matter.
K. O. 2) Why is it that when Peter Cetera sings, his jaw doesn't move? His lips move and his facial expressions change, but I think he has lock-jaw. If you watch Chicago's video for "Hard to Say I'm Sorry", which could be called "Sorry I jerked you, but will you take me back because I have lockjaw?" you'll notice that Al
STAFF COLUMNIST
from "Home Improvement" sings. Further research reveals that he was also one of the Doobie Brothers.
K. O. 3) Have you ever noticed how people walk on this campus? It's really an interesting science. It's funny, because even though there may be a several thousand-pound vehicle barrel toward them as they nonchallantly transcend the crosswalk, they just lay that "I am pedestrian, hear me roar!" look on the driver and think the vehicle will stop in its tracks. As the
Saturday Night Live dwelt would say,
"It's called a brain — look into one."
K. O. 4) One thing that interests me is when you're riding the bus, and you get some happy person who rings the "neat bell." You'll be coming up to someplace, like oh, I don't know, Wescoe for instance. This person will wring the bell like the driver isn't going to stop at Wescoe or something! Then they stand next to the back door, looking like if they don't get off that bus quickly, they're going to pee their pants or something. They also think that a bus driver that doesn't give a crap whether they're 10.15 minutes late to a stop, cares that this cretin is standing next to the door. Meanwhile, you're pissed off because you have to go to a 7:30 a.m. Spanish class, and you'll face it, no one wants to screw around with a foreign language at all, much less before your brain neurons wake up. Oh, come on, don't look at this page like I'm the only one
this has ever happened to!
K. O. I) I have to credit my geography lab instructor for this K.O. The other day, while pouring over maps, I noticed a place called Barrow, Alaska. I'm sure you're familiar with it. I couldn't help wondering what it would be if you were a second grader in Barrow, and your family moved to somewhere like Kansas City. The first day of school, one of the "cool" kids would almost surely come up and ask, "Hey, where are you from?" You'd say, "Barrow, Alaska." Then the other kids would laugh as the cool kid announced, "Hey everybody, better watch out for this kid. He may want to BARROW something from you. HA-HA-HA!" Then you'd probably end up crying and the cool kid wouldn't get to go to recess or something. Man, kids these days can be so cruel.
Chris Ronan is a Overland Park sophomore major in radio and TV broadcast.
For the Birds
by Jeff Fitzpatrick