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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1990)
The Battalion OPINION 2 The Battali ST Monday, S Monday, September 24,1990 Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs 845- Repeal bill making homosexual sex illegal Imagine this. You move into a city. Everyone looks at you funny. You find out that it is illegal to have sex with people of the opposite sex (and, unfortunately for you, that’s the kind of sex you prefer). And when you look for work, you discover that finding and keeping a job is harder for heterosexuals because of their heterosexuality. Imagine that: a cold, oppressive world, indeed! Texas is that kind of oppressive world for homosexuals. Homosexual sex is illegal in Texas, and homosexuals are not explicitly protected by civil rights legislation from unfair discrimination in employment. Homosexuals in Texas are being deprived of their civil rights and their freedom of lifestyle. The situation can and must be corrected. Law 21.06 of the 1 exas penal code must be repealed immediately. The law prohibits homosexual sex. It is obvious that such a law is unconstitutional. Two consenting adults, by having sex, do not infringe upon the rights of others directly or indirectly. The argument that homosexual sex should be prohibited in order to prevent the spread of AIDS is inane at best. Heterosexual sex spreads AIDS as well. So heterosexual sex would have to be replaced by artificial insemination if we followed the “stop AIDS, ban sex” rule. Destroying peoples’ lifestyles is both unnecessary and ineffective. Instead, people should be educated on the risks of sex, be given the information and tools to prevent possible problems, and be allowed to deal w ith the risks with their knowledge and their condoms. If people choose to practice safe or unsafe sex, the only people they can hurt is themselves. In addition to repealing 21.06, civil rights legislation that protects against unfair discrimination in the workplace should be explicitly extended to protect people of all sexual orientations. After all, all people are created equal, whether jhey are Chicano, African, European, Moslem, Christian, fascist, socialist, overweight, green-eyed, heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. Texas A&M is leading the charge for gay rights in Texas by insuring, with new anti-discriminatory regulations, that homosexuals are not unfairly discriminated against on campus. Also visible on the local level, however, are two leaders of the anti-gay f WOTHk PTCCFp/NtW Mail Call Don’t overreact to horselaugh EDITOR: This letter is in response to the letter of Jason Finger in the Sept. 19 issue of the Battalion. Hey Jason, lighten up. While I agree that it was inappropriate for people to hiss the kickoff penalty, you appear to have overreacted to this breach of etiquette. Were these people trying to be inten tionally disrespectful? No, I’m afraid not. These people his sing were making a legitimate effort to participate in the game, which is more than I saw from several spectators. If the action really bothered you so much, why didn’t you ex plain your problem to the of fenders in person? These peo ple that were hissing were merely misinformed, not rude. If every upperclassman reacted the way you have, no fresh men would ever learn what to do at a football game. Should we appoint Jason as our official A&M class watchdog? No, I didn’t think so. Get a life. John Hummel ’94 Bikers, respect traffic laws EDITOR: Some people who ride bicycles on campus seem to think that they do not have to obey traffic rules because they are on a bike. WRONG!!! Bike riders must obey all traffic rules while they are on public roads. I ride a bike. I do not run stop signs. I do not ignore signal lights. I do not ride the wrong direction on one-way streets. I ride on the right side of the street (the same as cars). I signal before I change lanes. I also yield right of way to cars when I am entering the street from a sidewalk. If you can’t obey traffic laws while on a bike, you shouldn't ride it on public roads anymore. I’m sick of get ting bad looks and having cars honk at me just because I’m on a bike. I would like to urge the bikers that do obey the law to join me in letting the jerks that break the law know that we are not happy with them. A simple “Wrong way!” of “Nice stop! ' would be enough to let the of fending party know that they messed up and you are not happy with them. It would also be nice if the campus police would start giving out tick ets to bikes again. The campus police used to ticket bikers that broke the law (mainly i mining stop signs) but I haven’t seen anyone bothered in several years. One more gripe: Most people driving in cars and trucks seem to have a problem coexisting with bikes. W 7 hen I am on a bike I have every right that someone driving a car has. While I am on public roads, cars must yield right of way at a stop sign when it’s my turn. They must also respect my right to a lane of traffic (whether it’s a bike lane or a normal traf fic lane). Try thinking of a bicycle as a slow scooter. You wouldn’t run a scooter off the readjust to get somewhere 10 seconds quicker, so don’t harass me when I have to ride in the center of the street to avoid a car parked in the bike lane (usually by the Commons and near Heaton Hall). Jesse Spears ’SS graduate student Have an opinion? Express it! Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff re- senjes the right to edit letters for style a nd length, but will make every effort to main tain the author's intent. There is no guarantee that letters submitted will be printed. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. All letters may be brought to 216 Reed McDonald, or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111. movement. First, of course, there is Clayton Williams, w ho is notorious for his anti-gay statements. I ess conspicuous is this rl*str k i s LJ.S. House representative, J( Barton (R). He has revealed his distaste >t homosexuals in at least one letter in response to a constituent’s letter. The constituent had written Barton to inquire about his position on House Bill 2273, the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill prohibits unfair discrimination against disabled people. Barton wrote back that he was concerned about the wording of the bill. Wrote Barton, “I do not want homosexual AIDS patients classified as disabled. 1 do not consider homosexuals to be deserving of the same treatment as paraplegics.” It is obvious, from Barton’s statements, that he wanted to make sure that no homosexual would be protected by the Disabilities Act, no matter il the homosexual had AIDS or was disabled in some other way. It is noteworthy that Barton saidthi; homosexual AIDS patients shouldt receive protection. He said nothingof heterosexual AIDS patients. It seems that just as long as homosexuals dom receive protection, everyt hing is cool with Joe. The forces working to keep homosexuals opressed are strong. Fortunately, the times are a changin’. Homosexual sex used to beafelonyin Texas. Now, it is a misdemeanor. Butii is we, the people’s, responsibility to insure the emancipation of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation,li is time for a state referendum that give homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals. Irwin Tang is a junior political scim< major. Free press not squelched by Israeli censorship ef fort Hail freedom of the press! Our elected interpreters of the Bill of Rights have just shown that, despite such issues as flag-burning and the 2 Live Crew’s raunchy recordings, they continue to make decisions reflecting the true light of the First Amendment's meaning. The case in point is a new book by Victor Ostrovsky, a former case officer of the Mossad. Mossad is, essentially, Israel's equivalent of our G.I.A. In short, Ostrovsky quit the Mossad and proceeded to write a kiss-and-tell account about the organization in his new book, “By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmasking of a Mossad Officer.” Israel was enraged and claimed that, by spilling his guts about the Mossad, Ostrovsky did the same to others, literally, by exposing Mossad surreptitous activities. So they took him to court which is where our Constitution stepped up to the plate. In this instance, Israel is simply trying to cover its own hindside under the pretense of security reasons. The real issue is the opinion taken by the masses, not the enemy. Newsweek detailed some of the charges made in Ostrovsky’s Geraldo- type work, none of which seem to endanger anything but Israel’s reputation. For instance, in 1983, a Mossad informer in Beirut reported that radical Shiites were outfitting a truck with tons of explosives. The Mossad concluded that there were “only a few logical targets.” But the Mossad declined to give the Americans a specific warning and 241 American servicemen died in the truck bombing of their compound. An Israeli official supposedly commented, “No, we’re not there to protect the Americans. They’re a big country.” Ostrovosky also included details of the Mossad’s spy training program and instruction on t he use of weaponry. He also charged that the Mossad teaches developing agents that there are “three major ‘hooks’ that are employed for recruiting people: money; emotion, either vengance or ideology and sex.” So what’s new? Any James Bond diciple has known these things since the 1960’s. Israel wants to save face. Facing the music is a more appropr late metaphor. Ostrovsky was taken to court for his book in New York and 'Toronto and the Israeli attorneys won restraining orders Matt McBurnett Columnist against the book's publication. Last week, Israel was the appellee in anothf! New York trial and they lost, sotheban was lifted. By the next day, the book had sold out of its first printing. 1 can see how the initial gag was in order, but 1 am encouraged thattheful rights of the press were upheld. In most instances, if the press didr tell us, no one would. Reporters, and authors in this case, are anxious tobreal a big story or inform the public about something controversial. Whetherthe motivation be money, fame or whatever, members of the press ate hungry for information. They only write whatthe public wants. The media is our fourth branch of government. It keeps all of the other branches in check, and balances the heavyweights of the other branches against public opinion. In most instances, if the press did not tell us, no one would. Reporters, and authors in this case, are anxious to break a big storj or inform the public about something controversial. Whether the motivation be money, fame or whatever, members of the press are hungry for information. They only write what the public wants. As for Israel, good try. 1 suggest that you try another country with a differti constitution if you want to practice censorship. Whatever gag agreements that are made between the Mossad and its agents, present and past, are left to your prosecuters to enforce, notour courts. I am proud that we do not suppress freedom of the press. Matt McBurnett is a senior electrical engineering major. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Cindy McMillian, Editor Timm Doolen, Managing Editor Ellen Hobbs, Opinion Page Editor Holly Becka, City Editor Kathy Cox, Kristin North, News Editors Nadja Sabawala, Sports Editor Eric Roalson, Art Director Lisa Ann Robertson, Lifestyles Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-sup porting newspaper operated as a commu nity service to Texas A&M and liryan- College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial boaid or the au thor, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M tegu lar semesters, except for holiday and ex amination periods. Newsroom: 845-3313. Mail subscriptions ate $20 per semes ter, $40 per school year and $50 per full year: 845-2611. Advertising rates fur nished on request: 845-2696. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col lege Station, TX 77843-1111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send addiess changes to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-411 1. Adventures In Cartooning by Don Atkinson Jr, XM Looms FOR VOUR bONEHCFD OWMOR. U€ HASN'T hCCN 70 W0R}\ A WeXKf wo wcrx just Gcrnm TV rue PARI OF TH6 STOW mow X TRf to \RXSCUC HIM. D.A. speaks He keeps thi