OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, January 25, 1993
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Colorado's law can be defeated with a boycott
The Kansan opposes the boycott of Colorado for passing Amendment 2, outlawing gay rights. Cited in an editorial was a recent study showing that a boycott would be ineffective. History proves otherwise. Arizona voted against celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. After a boycott of the state and loss of millions of dollars in revenue, Arizona recanted.
Since passage of Amendment 2, influential organizations, including the US Conference of Mayors, cancelled conventions in Colorado. Many cities, including Washington DC, banned public employees from travelling to Colorado on city funds. Some, including Philadelphia, went further by banning city dealings with Colorado. Corporations, including the Women's Sports Foundation, decided not to relocate to Colorado because of Amendment 2. Among others, endorsements for the boycott came from the New York Times, the National Organization of Women, and the Colorado Springs based gay rights group Ground Zero.
It is time the world be shown that discrimination is wrong. Colorado passed a law encouraging discrimination and hate. Since its passage, gay bashing has increased 375 percent. I praise Boulder, Aspen and Denver who voted against the amendment. However, the new law must be enforced there, too. I will not spend my money supporting an economy openly encouraging hate, violence, and discrimination.
The Colorado State House of Representatives is drafting a constitutional amendment to repeal Amendment 2. Minority Leader Sam Williams warned, "We've got to do something, it's costing us too much." In the first 30 days, an estimated $30 million in revenue was lost.
Colorado must be taught that discrimination is not acceptable. Retaining this amendment places the entire nation at risk for victimization by similar measures. I urge all who support the right of people to boycott Colorado.
Eric O. Moore Kansas City, Kan., sophomore
Reader mourns 20th anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Friday, Jan. 22 was a day of mourning in the United States for the millions of us who recognize abortion as the murder of unborn children. This was the day that marked the 20th year of legalized abortion in our nation. Since Jan. 22, 1973, more than 20 million unborn babies have been removed from what should be the safest place in the world for them — their mother's womb.
On this day, I ask each individual to reconsider his or her perception of what "pro-life" means because it is so often misunderstood. It is not amusement that is out to take away someone's rights, or to get into anyone's body. It is not a movement of hate. Pro-life simply means trying to defend those who are not able to speak for themselves. And, pro-life believes that life is a gift, not a burden.
Under the new presidential administration, it will be easier than ever to keep the status-quo. But, as one who was born after the Roe vs. Wade court decision, I can say I am so grateful that I was given a chance to live. Today, more than ever before, there are positive alternatives.
Abortion is not an issue on which one should take a stance without much thoughtful consideration. Although our nation loves the quick fix, this is truly a matter of life and death. The truth is not always easy to take, but it is true that abortion stops a beating heart.
Chad M. Bettes Shawnee sophomore
Criticism of Rush lacks evidence proper research
Where are the quotes? After reading Lisa Cosmillo's scathing commentary on Rush Limbaugh, I have to admit that I was shocked. Who was this demon that she so spitefully tore apart in her article? I immediately reread the work for a better understanding and looked for the evidence
that supported her remarks. I wanted to see the incriminating facts that would prove Limbaugh believed that women were supposed to be "wives, mothers, teachers, raped when our countries are at war and lower than men on the income scale." To my amazement, there was none to be found. However, as hack might have it, I just happen to be an audiver listener and fan of Rush Limbaugh. I also have his book, "The Way Things Ought to Be."
Burdened with the possession of evidence against Limbaugh, I have no choice but to share it with Cosmillo. That dastardly demon actually has the audacity to say "I love and respect women." He also states that women "establish enduring values that are handed down from generation to generation." Also, on the subject of women in the workplace he says, "I'm all for making adjustments at work to allow women the flexibility to handle their roles as parents." This man is definitely out of control!
Now, the word "feminazi" is, of course, often misunderstood. It was actually created by Tom Hazlett, professor of economics at the University of California at Davis, who states that the term refers to "any female who is intolerant of any point of view that challenges militant feminism." This definition severely limits its application. It is not intended to encompass the whole feminist movement or to show disrespect toward women as a group. This is obvious to anyone who has done any research on the subject. Up to the end of the article, I was still able to chuckle at her absurdity. However when she stated, "so it is to be expected that this would see women gaining power and they think this means their loss," I finally became angry. I can only assume that "they" refers to Limbaugh, her father and most men. If Lisa Cosmiillo would get off her soapbox for a second she might actually get a glimpse of reality. Most men are busy just trying to survive in today's environment. With an ever-increasing, competitive world filled with competent women and men, there is no room for oppression, much less time to worry about whether men are losing "power."
David Shumway Jr.
Overland Park junior
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PRO-CHOICE LIBERTINES ARE ALWAYS WRONG
In a letter to the January 16th Journal-World, Ken Wilson claims that "anti-abortion, Bible-beaters" are "fundamentalist reactionaries" who practice "McCarthyism." Mr. Wilson, an intelligent and articulate man, feels that abortion clinics are liberating entities which are important branches on "the tree of liberty."
Because McCarthyism is the making of unsubstantiated charges, it is the pro-choice contingent which is guilty of McCarthyism. In 1973, when the Supreme Court legitimized abortion, it claimed an unborn baby was a "potential life." Yet the scientific community has recognized for over a century that life begins at conception. Irritability is one of the properties of life. Webster's Third New International Dictionary notes that irritability "permits...living organisms...to react to environmental changes." In other words, each unborn baby feels pain as life begins at conception.
The Eighth Amendment to our Constitution prohibits the infliction o" "crual and unusual punishments" while the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments bar depriving any "person... of life...without due process of law." Although our pro-choice judiciary now holds otherwise, Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines a person as "an individual human being."
Because a libertine is unrestrained by convention or morality, Mr. Wilson and his pro-choice compatriots are libertians who want our government to continue condoning the savage killing of some 1.6 million unborn babies every year. Although Mr. Wilson thinks the pro-life contingent consists of "self-righteous crusaders" committed to oppression, the unwitting enemies of freedom are those who wish to ignore our Constitution's essence.
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