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Show 2004 Wednesday, September 2 AS EDITORIAL EWORIAK IN OUR VIEW W! . non-India- non-India- " ' AFTEROUR UVBSOVOTlRllLOJiSElilES can only end badly for the government, meaning the taxpayers will be asked to foot the bill for something that just isn't a problem. e Peyote is pretty much-in the war on drugs. The stuff makes people violently ill before the alleged enlightening effects occur. It is not a widespread recreational drug and is unlikely ever to become one because there's simply no recreation in it. And that's exactly the point: At bottom, this is not a drug case. It is a First Amendment case in which government is attempting to interfere with the free exercise of reli- BOOTSTRAPS? non-issu- ' ' gion. That should be a jolt to all m-loving Americans. Government must never dictate who can be a member of a church. It must never control who can participate in sacred rites. It should never be up to the government to decide who can receive Catholic communion or participate in LDS temple ordinances or participate in a peyote ritual. But Bryson's approach has an especially pernicious twist. He suggests not only that the government should decide but that race be used as the yardstick. It may be argued that the government has a legitimate interest in limiting the spread of peyote as a drug. But such concerns do not justify placing racial limits on American Indian rituals. Some worry that unregulated peyote rituals could give rise to opportunistic churches using marijuana, methamphetamine a possior cocaine as sacraments bility we believe is overstated. Society can afford to wait and see. There's no need to plunge ahead in a prosecutorial panic. After all, the Native American Church's use of in centuries peyote is of tradition. For now, the government should simply trust American Indian religious leaders such as Mooney to offer peyote ceremonies only to the devout. The risks to society are mi- t.i freedo- gS:- Congress must declare war on terrorists rorize the world, the loud crack of the steel trap set upon Russian schoolchildren should awaken even the most deaf of partisans. That they would select and attack with such sadistic cruelty, chil-- . in anyone's mildren, itary handbook, is irrefutable proof as to their evil and their intent. The beheadings and executions of civilians and POWs by their renegade blasphemous associates are intolerable! Those who perpetrate these atrocities are enemies to mankind. They are not supporters of religious tolerance and individual liberty! They do not foster free markets! They do not champion equal rights for women! They do not subordinate or restrict their methods of warfare to any lofty convention or law! They do riot fight for freedom! They fight for religious domination! We were attacked! Our allies were attacked! This is just the beginning. Afghanistan and Iraq are just battlefields in a larger war. Weakness and appeasement invite their aggression. We must be fervent in our united stance and relentless pursuit of those who would destroy us and our way of life. They hold no honor! They must . nuscule. Bryson should climb down from his moral high horse and leave the peyote folks alone. family unit is the foundation of society with marriage forming The chief marcornerstone. Through riage we both procreate, as well as raise and nurture our children, the future citizens of society. We teach our children through our examples as men and women, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. There is no such thing as disposable fathers or mothers, both are essential roles within the family. The -i irr-- r family, however, is under attack in our society and rtimiiiV OPINION the fight to save it has hit a critical impasse. This is a fight which must not be clouded by dubious legal arguments. Some have suggested that Amendment 3 is legally flawed. They are wrong. Opponents recite the minority legal position of the gay rights movement. Unfortunately, such attacks have left some with the impression that state lawmakers were reckless in drafting Amendment 3 and those that support it are uninformed. Neither is true. Amendment 3 is based upon the majority legal position espoused in Lofton v. DCFS, a federal case decided this year. The 11th Circuit asserted in that case, homosexuals do not have a fundamental right to engage in a homosexual lifestyle. In fact, the court clearly stated in that case that states have the right to limit homosexuality where it comes to protecting the "optimal family." Consequently, the argument over gay rights is not a civil rights issue at aO. It is over prelecting the family. Unfortunately, scare tactics are being used to confuse Utahns into thinking hard-liner- ., nuclear-enrichme- Garry Trudeau 1 1 be vanquished! Congress must do its duty and formal- declare war on these terrorist groups and individuals, listing them by name when possible, otherwise by association I 1 1 It if lO 111. and deed. This is a life or death struggle, and we are foolish if we do not recog-r- y nize it as such! Andrew Howard , Provo Amendment 3 is about protecting the family nuclear-enrichme- - Kit oHS3 Kit pect nuclear program before it's too late. The Iranians have responded with a voluntary suspenIran's defiant attitude, sion of actual uranium enrichment, Despite is nuclear watchdog but its leaders intend to continue giving the country's related programs that feed suspileaders one more chance to resolve cions of a secret nuclear program. doubts over an alleged forbidden The suspicions are bolstered by the sudden disclosure in 2002 of a weapons program The decision by the International Atomic Energy secret uranium-enrichmeproAgency to have Iran comply with gram that Iran had wrongly failed IAEA demands to stop to inform the IAEA about. This has activities by November is a prompted U.S. leaders such as Secclear signal that its board retary of State Colin Powell, a leadis determined to go the last mile in ing advocate of diplomacy, to deusing diplomacy to resolve what has clare that Iran has a secret nuclear become one of the most pressing program and that the international matters on the global agenda. community must "apply all the This is a commendable decision, pressure we can" to end it. s but it's far from clear that Iran is Already, administration and their allies on Capitol HilL prepared to back down, now or in led by Sea Rick Santorum, November. Iran would make a serious mistake to regard the reliance are suggesting that "regime on diplomacy as a form of weakness change" in Tehran should become official U.S. policy if Iran continues by the world community. The Bush administration has made it clear that to stonewall the IAEA. The idea U.S. patience is wearing thin. seems to be that because this policy is working so well in Iraq, it should The adrninistration first sought be implemented next door in Iran, a to have the IAEA refer the Iran issue to the UN. Security Council, vastly bigger country with more resources and more manpower than which could impose sanctions on Saddam Hussein ever possessed. Iran. In the end, U.S. diplomats Santorum's idea, we hope, will agreed to a softer line promoted by not catch on anytime soon inside Europeans to give Iran more time. But even Europeans understand the Beltway, but it points to the that Iran must eventually comply dangers of a continued Iranian standoff. Threats by mullah hardor face the consequences. liners to stop cooperating with the What does the IAEA want? For IAEA altogether only serve to Iran to stop all raise the stakes and reduce the activities, as a goodwill gesture, and resolve all doubts about its sus chances of a reasonable settlement. WjS- v. ; KRECTOKEDTOTM If anyone doubted the vicious determination of the Islamic Fascists who ter- well-found- D00NESBURY - LETTERS From the Miami Herald, Sept. 22, 2004 I 117. 111 111 r?T WEMTOCETOlirCFQllR Diplomacy better than brute force for Iran 3 kmemtft ROTMTCFSMWilR MEDIA VOICES mAummy.'j m I JSAOOMIWE Leave state law on peyote alone it is good news James Warren Eagle that the will not the court rul ing that allows him to conduct peyote ceremonies, Utah County isn't done with him yet. Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson plans to work with other prosecutors to change state law so that only American Indians can use peyote in religious ceremonies. But making a person's race the sole criterion upon which to judge the legality of an act is troubling, to say the least. The implications are profound. We can think of no other instance in which race is the determining factor in guilt or innocence. Using race to judge the validity of a person's religious experience takes exthe matter to an treme. It is dangerous doctrine. Peyote is a haHucinogenic drug derived from a cactus that grows in the southwestern United States. Some Americans Indians use it in religious rites that are designed to increase enlightenment and spiritual awareness. Mooney said peyote , is successful in curing substance abuse in that it helps addicts see the cause of their problems and the way to solve them. The government classifies peyote as a controlled substance but allows its use in Indian religious ceremonies. The question now is whether Indians alone may participate, even though peyote has the same enlightening effect on others. Mooney and his wife, Linda, were charged with violating drug to laws by allowing participate in ceremonies. Utah County Sheriff's deputies confiscated the computer from Mooney's church as well as thousands of peyote buttons he legally obtained from a licensed supplier. The implication was that Mooney's church was a front for drug dealing. But the Utah Supreme Court ruled that Mooney could allow to join his church and participate in its ceremonies. It is time for Bryson to drop his pursuit of ' Mooney. A rewrite of Utah law 111 BOARD Albert Manzi, President A Publisher f Randy Wrigbl, Executive Editor Donald W. Meyers, Editorial page editor John CastelH, Public adviser Qiristian Harrison, Public adviser Sam Rushforth, Public adviser that Amendment 3 will take away existing rights. It will not. Amendment 3 bans gay marriage and marriage substitutes; it does not impair existing or future contractual relationships. A power e of attorney to a or designaare not aftion in a will to a fected or diminished in any way. Visitation in a hospital will remain the decision of the private hospital. States, such as Nebraska, with similar amendments have not experienced any adverse impacts on contractual rights and neither non-spous- e will Utah Another scare tactic is to suggest that Amendment 3 will prohibit the Cohabitant Abuse Act from protecting unmarried persons living within the same household. This is patently false, as any simple reading of the act demonstrates. The latest scare tactic is to assert that Amendment 3 violates the bill of attainder provisions of the federal Constitu-tio- a This gay rights argument has not been adopted by any court in the nation, and given the seminal Supreme Court case of Murphy v. Ramsey (1885), it never wilL The antiquated bill of attainder doctrine originates from the practice by the British House of Commons in the 15th century of pronouncing enemies of the crown guilty of felonies by edict without the benefit of trial. The twisting and contorting of this doctrine into a r t s hammer on the will of the people is shameful, and fortunately ineffective in court. The need for a Constitutional amend- -' merit to protect the family is critical. Why? Because Massachusetts elevated gay marriage to a state constitutional I 05insw? ) -- , ' gay-right- MALLARD FILLMORE right. That changed everything! Under the full faith and credit clause of the federal Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court's philosophy in Alaska. Packers Association (1935), Utah can avoid recognizing same sex marriages and civil unions from other states only if Utah has a superior public policystatef ment which forbids those marriages and unions. A state Constitutional araejid-.- , ment is the best mechanism to provide, that policy statement and protect Utah. With regret, it appears some have. .. adopted the minority legal viewpoint without so much as making a good faith effort to find out the majority legaj position. We believe that it is important Jo people of all backgrounds to make k, formed decisions on the facts not pa , scare tactics and confusion. i. ; ; s ' Senator David L. Thomas (R, sq'' Professor Richard G. Wilkins (BYU Law School) Senator John Valentine (R), Esq. (Majority Whip) Professor Lynn Wardle (BYU Law School) Senator Greg Bell (R), Esq. Professor A. Scott Loveless (BYU Law School) ' Senator Lyle Hiliyard (R), Esq. Representative Mike Thompson (R), Esq. Senator David Gladwell (R), Esq. Representative Stephen Urquhart (R),Esq. Representative LaVar Christensen (R),Esq. Representative Greg Curtis (R), Esq. (Majority Leader) Bruce Tinsley WW I -- fflgM |