fac
ednesday, January 19, 2(XX)
NATION
I Hi: BATTALION
Page 11
^aClergy urges blessing of same-sex couples
W YORK (AI’) — Dramatizing the most divisive issue
i "'' - Arierican religion, 850 mostly liberal members of the eler-
-'tich mr||| U | other religious figures issued a declaration yesterday
A 1 giru all faiths to bless same-sex couples and allow openly
ether a t y fn misters.
1 the ftvjMmong endorsers of the statement were the retired leader
:u n the Episcopal Church, the presidents of the United Church
I credif ’Christ and Unitarian Universalis! Association, presidents
•(ttans at 15 Protestant seminaries, and numerous theolo-
>p;e£. / teachers.
ring3:*he declaration got slim backing among Roman Catholics
ih stat, id i one from any major Evangelical, black Protestant. Eastern
rtflodox. Mormon, Buddhist, 1 lindu or Muslim organizations,
rndont ^Besides homosexuality, the paper advocates open access to
d x>r ion and sex education at all age levels. It opposes “un-
s kiwi istninable population growth,” the “commercial exploitation
{"‘Ixuality” and all forms of “sexual oppression.”
n Pcu ®Eor ten> long the onh wiiccs in the public square on religion and
sexuality have been the anti-sexuality pronouncements of the reli
gious right," Debra 1 latlher, president of the Sexuality Information
and Education Council of the U.S., a secular organization, said.
A spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention, the
Rev. William Merrell, said the declaration perpetuates a “rad
ical departure from the teachings of the Scriptures.”
“1 do not believe that the moral confusion and the moral in
coherence that characterizes the time is relieved by such state
ments. Rather it is made worse,” Merrell said.
Added an Episcopal Church conservative, President Peter C.
Moore ofTrinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa.:
“(iod loves homosexuals, as he loves us all. But 1 have yet to find
any support based on Scripture, tradition or reason for the idea
that (iod approves of homosexual behavior.”
Members of 25 denominations signed the declaration, but
nearly half were from four groups with liberal policies: the
United Church, Unitarian Universalists and Judaism’s Reform
and Reconstructionist branches.
Reuters employees
icld sick-out
’ ^, I JFW YORK (AP) — Most journal
in the New York office of Reuters,
a major financial news provider.
;all J in sick yesterday amid drawn-
uyutc ^ negotiations with the company
>ve job security.
anoop^The protest came just as major
J.S. companies began reporting
ear ungs for the fourth quarter of
*cnti 19-19, an especially busy time for
QUBiness news companies.
>ed siBReuters spokesperson Bob
News in Brief
Cooke said 80 percent to 90 percent
of the 120 journalists in New York
called in sick. Ele said he was unsure
how long the action would continue.
Nursing home
files for bankruptcy
ATLANTA (AP) — The nation's sec
ond-largest nursing home operator
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy pro
tection today, blaming federal cuts in
Medicare reimbursement.
AtlantadDased Mariner Post-Acute
Network, which runs more than 400
nursing homes nationwide, said it
had secured $150 million in debt fi
nancing from Chase Manhattan
Bank and PNC Bank.
The company said the 1997 Bal
anced Budget Act had cut its
Medicare reimbursement. It filed for
protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court
in Wilmington, Del.
“The crisis in long-term care con
tinues to grow as dramatic Medicare
cuts, explosive litigation costs and
staffing shortages threaten the via
bility of long-term care providers,"
Mariner chairperson Francis Cash
said in a statement.
Clinton pushes gun control ideas
BOSTON (AE) — President Clinton appealed to Con
gress on Tuesday to begin the new century with a fresh slate
on gun control, saying “common sense gun safety” should
be the first item on this year’s congressional agenda.
Clinton requested the
lawmakers’ support for a
$280 million package of
new gun safety and en
forcement programs that
he will propose in his
budget package.
And he asked that
they “start this new cen
tury by abandoning an
other stale debate” about
whether the government should enforce existing gun laws
stronger or fight crime and prevent firearms accidents through
new gun-control laws.
“The real answer is we should do both,” Clinton said.
His budget package, he said, was designed to send an un
ambiguous message to criminals: “If you commit crimes with
guns or violate gun laws, you will pay a heavy price.”
Clinton’s usual nemesis on gun issues, the National Rifle
Association, offered cautious support for the new enforcement
tools Clinton is requesting.
Clinton wants 500 new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms agents and inspectors, plus 1,000 more prosecutors
focusing on gun crime at all levels and a program to track guns
through ballistics testing.
Calling an emphasis on increased enforcement and prose
cution “long overdue,” NRA spokesperson Jim Manown said
the organization is ready to renew its fight against two new
gun-control measures that collapsed in Congress last year.
“We certainly don’t expect the Clinton-Gore administration
to abandon their push for new restrictions on law-abiding gun
owners," Manown said.
Clinton announced his gun proposal during a visit to a
spotless new gymnasium and community meeting hall in the
Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, where reported crime was
down more than 65 percent last year.
“The drop in the crime rate has been due both to changing
laws and to better enforcement and bet
ter prevention,” the president said.
Boston’s homicide rate dropped to
a 38-year low in 1999, thanks in part
to a program that allied law enforce
ment, the clergy, community leaders
and gang members against crime.
The Boston Pilot Project is credited
with the homicide toll’s plunge from
153 slayings in 1990 to 31 in 1999. A
strong economy and declining use of
crack cocaine also contributed to improved neighborhood se
curity.
In addition to the gun plan Clinton announced Tuesday,
the administration already has said it will ask for $10 mil
lion to develop “smart guns” that fire only w hen held by their
owners.
The White House also is trying to convince gun makers
and gun dealers to agree to new safety rules, w ith the threat
of a national lawsuit if the groups don’t comply.
The White I louse hoped to win new, tougher laws in Con
gress last year, when national sentiment over gun violence ran
high in the wake of high-profile shootings such as the teen mas
sacre at Columbine High School in Colorado.
Clinton wanted to tighten rules on buying guns at swap-
meet style gun shows and to require additional safety features
on handguns and ban the importation of large-capacity am
munition clips.
A version the White House liked passed the Senate, w ith
the tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President Al Gore.
Clinton said that vote represented a defeat for “the high-
pressure tactics of the NRA," one of the most powerful and ef
fective lobbies in Congress.
''If you commit
crimes with guns or
violate gun laws,
you will pay a heavy
price."
CLINTON
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