LPM OnlineJune 23, 1998 |
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I will be out of town starting June 25 and won't be back until after the LP Convention (July 7). The newsletter system is designed to run by itself and has been fairly problem free for quite some time now. Therefore, there shouldn't be any glitches while I'm gone (bad addresses, wrong format, etc.). If you do have a problem during that time period, please be patient until I return. Thanks.
The following article is the latest in a series of Op-ed articles written by LPM Chari Tim O'Brien and submitted to news outlets across the state for publication. This latest article appeared Mondy, June 15 in the Detroit News. The very tolerant townsfolk of Ypsilanti recently voted against repealing an anti-discrimination ordinance enacted by the city council last year. The reaffirmed measure bars discrimination in 14 areas, including race, height, weight, religion, disability and -- the instigating category -- sexual orientation. Violation of the ordinance carries a possible $500 fine. The issue arose when the owners of a local print shop turned down a job to print raffle tickets for a gay group, citing their fundamentalist Christian beliefs. This was regarded by the more enlightened Ypsilanti officialdom as insufficient justification for the shop owners to decline the business, so they adopted the ordinance to ensure tolerance for diversity in the future. Any regard for the property rights (not to mention the First Amendment "freedom of association" rights) of the shop owners never even merited so much as an honorable mention before the new law was passed unanimously. And, though legal protection against discrimination based on religion does fall within the purview of the ordinance, such concern apparently did not extend to the religious convictions of the shop owners. This entire facet of anti-discrimination law -- that is, that commercial establishments may be compelled to do business with whomever walks through the door, the owner's wishes notwithstanding -- goes back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a Supreme Court decision called Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States. In that precedent-setting case a bigoted business owner had a policy against serving blacks, maintaining that it was his motel which he would, therefore, operate any way he pleased, and that those who didn't like the policy were free to seek lodging elsewhere. The Justice Department disagreed with this line of reasoning and sued. As with the failed attempt to secede from the union a century earlier, the Heart of the Atlanta was broken again. The court ruled that the business was a "public accommodation" and thus in one breath-takingly sweeping act of obtuseness erased the distinction between public property (like, for instance, a state park) and private property open to the public (like, for instance, a motel.) This ruling was so utterly muddle-headed that, as when the "separate but equal" doctrine enunciated in the nineteenth century Plessy v. Ferguson decision was finally and flatly repudiated in Brown v. Board of Ed in 1954, there will undoubtedly be no way around the chagrin of some future court having to simply admit that the learned Justices of the civil rights era were just plain wrong: there is a crucial difference between "public property" and "private property open to the public." Libertarians have long known that in rising to the defense of the rights of the unpopular one is invariably accused of having the ulterior motive of secretly harboring those self-same views. Members of the Illinois chapter of the ACLU discovered this unhappy consequence as well when they chose to defend the free speech and assembly rights of Nazis in the predominantly Jewish town of Skokie some years ago. But in point of fact one need not be a bigot to defend the constitutional rights of bigots. Indeed, it is in precisely this arena that the battle to defend our American heritage of liberty must be fought. The First Amendment is not needed to protect popular speech. The same can be said of all the rest of the protections guaranteed in the Constitution, as well. The weekend after Ypsilanti voters endorsed the notion of using the coercive power of the almighty state to force private businesses to engage in commercial intercourse whether they like it or not, a group of several dozen Ku Klux Klansmen staged a rally in downtown Ann Arbor. Considering the reaction to their demonstration I would be surprised if the Klan didn't encounter some difficulties in getting their hate literature printed there. I would imagine that some printers just might be offended and rather not do work for a group whose raison d'etre is to remove Jews, homosexuals and others they regard as undesirable from our midst. Fortunately for the hate-mongers (and unfortunately for the rest of us), the KKK can now simply take their business to neighboring Ypsilanti. Under the new ordinance printers there can be required to serve them since they have from the beginning maintained that their message is all about God's special affection and plan for the white race. And, as we have already seen, it is only the rights of customers and not those of store owners that are protected under law. If a Christian-owned shop can be required to do printing for gays, a Jewish-owned shop can likewise be required to do printing for the Klan. I believe they call this: diversity.
LOS ANGELES, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Reason, the monthly magazine of `free minds and free markets,' this week issued the first official edition of Reason Express, a weekly e-mail newsletter with information and commentary on hot topics in the news. Reason Express covers diverse subjects ranging from education reform to tobacco policy, and places a special emphasis on developments involving government regulation of technology. ``Reason Express will offer the same brand of sharp, alternative commentary that readers of our magazine and visitors to our website have enjoyed for years,'' said Reason Editor Virginia Postrel. ``We're very excited about the opportunity to now supplement our in-depth monthly coverage with brief analysis of news events of interest to our readers on a weekly basis.'' This week's edition includes stories on the Federal Communications Commission's failed policy on high definition television, the hype over the bad behavior of some airline passengers, the bleak outlook for reforming U.S. encryption policy, and the Supreme Court's recent ruling on firearms possession. Reason Express is written by Washington-based journalist Jeff A. Taylor and draws on the ideas and resources of Reason magazine's editorial staff. Each story includes links to related articles on Reason's website, Reason Online ( http://www.reason.com ), and to other relevant Internet resources. This week's launch of Reason Express follows a four-week trial period during which reader suggestions on content and delivery were incorporated. Reason Express is available by e-mail in either plain text or HTML format, and subscriptions are free. To subscribe, send e-mail to: majordomo@free-market.net with the following text as part of the body of the message: -- For the plain text version: subscribe Reason-Express YOUREMAIL@Wherever -- For the HTML version: subscribe Reason-ExpressHTML YOUREMAIL@Wherever For more information about Reason Express, visit Reason Online at http://www.reason.com. SOURCE: Reason
Hello Michigan I'm Lorna Tate. Currently I am the Secretary of both the Oakland County Party and the Michigan Party. Over the last few months I have had some major computer problems which have kept me from doing my jobs as well as I'd like. This has created some confusion and has led to a few bits of misinformation as to the location of the LPOC general meeting place. This does not help the image of our party and for this I apologize. The LPOC is currently in transition as to it's meeting facilities, because we are hoping to find a location that can accommodate both our smoking and non-smoking members. My computer problems has kept me from disseminating this information in a more timely manner, but now I am back, up and running with two new computers. Now we just have to find a meeting place and untill we do, please call me to confirm any meeting locations that do not come directly from me. Thank you for your patience and support.
For those of you who can't get to Washington for the National Convention, we've got a great alternative! The LPOC has been planning for parade walkers with a horse drawn carriage for the Clawson Parade and an outreach booth in the fair grounds. Our theme is 1700's and the Declaration of Independence. We still need people to walk the parade and pass out candy and our original Declaration of Independence. We encourage all walkers to wear 1700's clothing, but it's not a requirement. Our booth has not been confirmed, however even if we don't get one, we'll set up a picnic spot in the Clawson City Park. We still need people to help man this booth, especially in the afternoon. If you are interested in attending either and/or both events, please call Lorna at 248-588-6103 for more information. |
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