NO ON CENSORSHIP. NO ON MEASURE 19. Oregon's Constitution Guarantees Greater Freedom Orego

NO ON CENSORSHIP. NO ON MEASURE 19.

Oregon's Constitution Guarantees Greater Freedom

Oregon's Constitution has prevented government interference in personal
expression since 1859.  Article 1, Section 8 of the Oregon Bill of Rights
currently reads: 

       "No law shall be passed restraining the free expression of opinion,
or restricting the right to speak, write, or print freely on any subject
whatever, but every person shall be responsible for the abuse of this
right." 


What Does Measure 19 Do?
	It would revise the Oregon Constitution's free expression
protection to allow for the creation of an unlimited number of different
local censorship laws.  With 240 cities and 36 counties, Oregonians could
have to deal with 276 different sets of laws restricting freedom of 
speech.  Here is the actual text of Measure 19:

       "Article 1, Section 8 of this Constitution shall not be interpreted
to prevent the people, the Legislative Assembly, or any City or County
from enacting laws regulating or prohibiting obscenity, to the extent
permitted by the United States Constitution.  For purposes of this
section, the term "obscenity" shall have the meaning given it by the
United States Supreme Court, and in addition shall also include child
pornography." 


Won't Measure 19 Just Protect Citizens and Minors From Stuff We Shouldn't
See or Hear Anyway? 
	No.  Today, we can decide for ourselves what we and our families
should read see and hear.  If Measure 19 is approved, those decisions will
be made by government officials. 
	Measure 19 allows books, music, art, magazines, pictures, videos,
personal diaries and other expression to be banned.  Here are examples of
works censored elsewhere which Oregon's current Constitution would
protect: 

	BOOKS: The Diary of Anne Frank; Are You There God, It's Me,
	Margaret; The Color Purple; the children's books In The Night
	Kitchen and Where's Waldo

	MOVIES: Howard's End, Cape Fear, Pretty Woman, Gone With The Wind 

	MUSIC: Frankie & Johnny, She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain


How Will "Obscenity" Be Defined?
	Measure 19 doesn't tell us what the definition is.  The U.S.
Constitution doesn't tell us, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions don't
define obscenity. 
	Supporters of Measure 19 will tell you it is not their intent to
ban the titles above, but with no clear limit on their definition of
obscenity, cities and counties would have extremely broad power to decide
what you could read, see and hear. 


Doesn't Oregon Already Have Child Pornography Laws?
	Yes. Oregon has some of the toughest prohibitions on child
pornography in the country.  Anyone using a child in a display of sexually
explicit conduct, visually recording sexual conduct by children,
possessing these kinds of depictions, duplicating or distributing them, or
transporting child pornography into the state can be charged with a
felony.
	Measure 19 does nothing to change these laws.  These laws have
already withstood three separate constitutional challenges in the Oregon
Court of Appeals.  Prosecutors are using the current laws to gain child
pornography convictions. 


What Can Be Done To Regulate Adult Businesses Without Changing The State
Bill Of Rights? 
	Local governments can regulate the nuisance aspects of adult
businesses under our current constitution.  What government can't do is
prohibit a particular kind of business because of the content of the
expression taking place there -- even the U.S. Constitution doesn't allow
that.  But if a business causes crime or other activities that would be
incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood, a city or county can hold
that business responsible. 


What Can I Do To Stop Censorship?
=================================
VOTE NO on Measure 19, on November 8th

MAKE A CONTRIBUTION to the "NO CENSORSHIP - NO ON 19" Campaign

CONTRIBUTIONS may qualify for an Oregon Tax Credit of up to $50 per
individual or $100 per joint tax return.  Send your contribution TODAY to:
"No Censorship - No On 19" P.O. Box 40407, Portland OR 97240.  Don't
forget to list your type of employment or employer on your check! (State
law requires that we report that information.)

Authorized by the "No Censorship - No On 19" Committee, P.O. Box 40407,
Portland OR 97420

=============================================================
ACLU Free Reading Room   | A publications and information resource of the  
gopher://aclu.org:6601   | American Civil Liberties Union National Office
ftp://aclu.org           | 
mailto:infoaclu@aclu.org |  "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"