Pubdate: Wed, 08 Nov 2000
Source: Statesman Journal (OR)
Copyright: 2000 Statesman Journal
Contact:  P.O. Box 13009, Salem, Oregon 97309-1015
Fax: (503) 399-6706
Feedback: http://news.statesmanjournal.com/letter_input.cfm
Website: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/
Author: Tracy Loew, Statesman Journal
Bookmark: For the Oregon initiative items:
http://www.mapinc.org/props/ut/

VOTES MIXED ON RIGHTS MEASURES

Gun-purchase laws are tightened, and mandatory sentences are
upheld.

Voters made varying decisions Tuesday on five measures affecting
individual or group rights.

Voters strongly approved a measure tightening gun purchase
laws.

They also convincingly passed a measure preventing law enforcement
officials from permanently seizing a suspect's property unless that
person is convicted of a crime involving the property.

But they overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have repealed
mandatory criminal sentences. Voters also rejected a measure
restricting the way wildlife could be trapped. Another measure that
would have allowed restrictions on where adult businesses could be
located was failing by a slim margin.

Measure 5, which requires background checks of purchasers of guns at
gun shows, was spurred by high school shootings in Springfield and
Littleton, Colo.

Federal and state laws already re-quire background checks of buyers of
handguns, rifles and shotguns purchased from federally licensed gun
dealers. But the requirements do not apply to private sellers or
others at gun shows.

Supporters of Measure 5, including Marion County Sheriff Raul Ramirez,
said the checks will help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and
juveniles. The measure was supported by many law enforcement officials
and organizations.

Opponents, including the National Rifle Association, argued that
background checks won't keep criminals from getting guns and would
interfere with people's right to own guns, which is guaranteed by the
U.S. Constitution.

The NRA gave $250,000 to the campaign against the measure.

Opponents also objected to a provision allowing law enforcement to
keep gun sales records for five years.

John Hellen, a lobbyist for Oregon Gun Owners, said his group would
investigate possible federal challenges to the law.

A similar proposal was defeated by a single vote in the 1999
Legislature.

Still, analysts said the high school shootings made Oregon and
Colorado prime candidates for the law.

Colorado voters approved a nearly identical gun control measure
Tuesday on their ballot. Outcomes of votes in both states will be
watched with interest throughout the nation.

Oregon voters also approved Measure 3, which overhauls the state's
civil forfeiture law.

Under civil forfeiture laws passed by Congress in 1984 and the Oregon
Legislature in 1989, agencies can confiscate property seized in drug
raids if they believe there is probable cause that a crime has been
committed. Cities and counties may adopt forfeiture ordinances for
other crimes, such as drunken driving and prostitution. Salem's
ordinance covers prostitution.

The measure approved strongly by voters prevents local and state
police from keeping seized property, such as cash, cars and houses, if
owners are not convicted of a crime involving the property. If no
charges are filed or if no conviction is won, the cash or property
must be returned.

The measure also limits how much police and other agencies can recover
in costs from the sale of seized property. It requires that 75 percent
of the proceeds from seized property go toward drug treatment,
education and prevention.

Among the measure's supporters were the American Civil Liberties
Union, Oregon Gun Owners, and the property-rights group Oregonians in
Action.

Law enforcement officials say the measure will take away a key weapon
in their battle against the manufacture and trafficking of illegal
drugs.

Adult Businesses

Elsewhere on the ballot, voters Tuesday were choosing to maintain
Oregon's unique brand of free speech by voting against Measure 87,
which was failing by a narrow margin. The measure would give local
governments the ability to limit where adult bookstores and nightclubs
can operate.

The vote was too close to call Wednesday morning.

The measure would amend the state constitution to permit local
governments to regulate, through zoning, where sexually oriented
businesses could locate. Cities currently must allow such shops in the
same areas where they allow other businesses.

Supporters of the measure said local governments should be allowed to
keep adult businesses away from residential neighborhoods, churches
and schools.

That would bring the state in line with the rest of the country, they
said. Oregon and Hawaii are the only two states with constitutions
that don't allow local governments to restrict the location of
adult-oriented businesses.

Opponents of the measure included free-speech advocates who argued
such restrictions open the door to censorship.

Similar measures twice have been defeated by Oregon
voters.

Mandatory Sentences

Voters also overwhelmingly rejected Measure 94, which would have
repealed Measure 11, Oregon's best-known anti-crime initiative.

Measure 11, which passed in 1994 and took effect in 1995, requires
mandatory minimum sentences for 21 violent crimes, ranging from
robbery to murder. Under Measure 94, anyone convicted of a Measure 11
crime would instead be sentenced under state guidelines in effect
before March 31, 1995. It also would re-quire that all inmates serving
Measure 11 prison terms to be resentenced.

The state estimated that more than 800 felons, including 272 sex
offenders, would be freed from Oregon's prison system if the measure
passed.

Steve Doell, president of Crime Victims United, said the results show
that Oregonians aren't willing to tolerate violent crime.

"The voters of Oregon have reaffirmed the message they sent in 1994,"
Doell said. "We recognize our obligation to protect our fellow
law-abiding citizens."

Supporters said judges should have the latitude to weigh the
circumstances of each crime and whether the person is a first-time
offender. Moreover, taxpayer money spent on warehousing criminals
would be better invested in education, social services and crime prevention.

Animal Trapping

Efforts by animal-rights activists to ban body-gripping animal traps
also were defeated.

Measure 97 would have banned the use of steel-jawed leghold traps or
other body-gripping traps to capture any mammal for recreation or
commerce in fur.

It also would have banned the use of sodium fluoroacetate, also known
as Compound 1080, or cyanide to poison any animal.

The ban would have affected nearly 850 trappers who kill about 50,000
wild animals each year in Oregon and bring in nearly $500,000 a year.

The measure could cost the state an estimated $1.1 million a year,
with an additional start-up cost of $30,000.

"We're obviously disappointed," said Wayne Pacelle, senior vice
president of The Humane Society of the United States. "We will tweak
the measure and come back again for 2002."

Washington voters approved an identical measure. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake