Cincinnati NAACP appoints architect of anti-gay statute as legal counsel, 3/20/09
ogalat...@yopmail.com
Date: Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Subject: Cincinnati NAACP Executive Committee Appoints Chris Finney as
NAACP Attorney
To: naacp.ci...@gmail.com
On Thursday, March 19, 2009 the Cincinnati NAACP Executive Committee
confirmed the appointment of Attorney Christopher Finney as Chair of
Legal Redress. Christopher Finney has done an outstanding job fighting
against the jail tax, stopping red lights cameras from coming to the
City of Cincinnati, and trying to reform how council is elected by
supporting proportional representation (PR). Attorney Finney is
standing with the Cincinnati NAACP in placing the streetcar issue on
the ballot and recently protected our rights related to Council Member
Berding's effort to undermine the City Manager's appointments to the
CMHA board. Christopher Smitherman, President of the Cincinnati NAACP
says, "Chris Finney is an exceptional attorney with courage. The
status quo knows that we will be fighting together for fairness and
justice in Cincinnati as a team going forward."
###
From The Cincinnati Post, June 23, 1994:
In other testimony, Chris Finney, a Greater Cincinnati attorney who
wrote the language of Issue 3, said its main intent was “to take away
from council the right to pass this (gay rights) kind of legislation
and return the right to the people.” He said landlords and employers
have the right not to rent to gays or employ gays if they object to
their lifestyles...Said Finney: “Because there may be some who don’t
want their family dining next to a homosexual couple whose actions
they find offensive.”
###
No on 3’s use of Dr. King’s image ‘shameful’
Letter to the Editor, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 24, 2004
Throughout the City of Cincinnati generally and within African-
American neighborhoods specifically, one finds campaign literature
that link the image of a young Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the No
on 3 campaign.
The campaign literature is designed to make the reader believe that
Dr. King, Mrs. Coretta Scott King and The King Center do not support
the repeal of Article XII. In fact, Mrs. King and The King Center do
support the repeal of Article XII.
The King Center went further and stated that connecting Dr. King to No
on 3 is “shameful.”
I have spoken with Mr. Lynn Cothren, personal assistant to Coretta
Scott King for more than 21 years. Mr. Cothren shared with me that
Mrs. King does not support any type of discrimination. Furthermore, as
a representative of The King Center, Mr. Cothren stated that no one
from the political action committee contacted them for permission to
use Dr. King’s image on any literature.
In Los Angles on Feb. 8, 1998 Mrs. King stated, “I have been an
outspoken supporter of full civil and human rights for gay and lesbian
people for many years In my travels I still get comments from people
who say I shouldn’t be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay
people, and I should stick to the issue of racial justice.
“Well, that’s basically the same thing they told my husband, Martin
Luther King, Jr. when he began to speak out against the Vietnam War.
He responded by saying ‘I have fought too long, (too) hard against
segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral
concerns. Justice is indivisible.’
“Like Martin Luther King, Jr., I also feel strongly that justice is
indivisible, and that it is plain wrong to allow discrimination
against any minority. The civil rights movement that I believe in
thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion.”
On Wednesday at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Mrs. King stated,
“When any group experiences injustice, it undermines the quality of
justice in our society at large - it hurts us all.”
Those who oppose the repeal have used Dr. King’s image to promote
discrimination. Their actions are shameful and disrespect the legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Nov. 2, we should all keep in mind the words of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, and vote YES on 3.
Christopher Smitherman
Cincinnati City Council Member
###
More: http://tinyurl.com/cexvol
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