Human Rights in Eastern Idaho? (3/4)
Dan Yurman
/* ---------- "Human Rights in Eastern Idaho?" ---------- */
Note to readers. You would not normally think of eastern Idaho and
southwestern Montana as "hotbeds" of civil rights activity. These
reports indicate items of interest to supporters of human rights. Future
reports will be posted as replies to this one. Your comments are
welcome. Dan Yurman dyu...@igc.apc.org Idaho Falls, ID.
6/12/94
It was a busy week in Idaho in the human rights arena
Human Rights Commission Publishes 'Diversity" Notice
An advertisement featuring a message of racial diversity was published
by the Mayor's Human Relations Commission in the Idaho Falls Post
Register on June 5, 1994. Each of the persons signing made a financial
contribution to pay for the ad. A wide range of community interests and
backgrounds are represented by those listed. There has been no response
from the White Aryan Resistance group active in Idaho Falls.
Eastern Idaho Congressman Endorses Anti-Gay Initiative
Congressman Mike Crapo (R-ID), who represents all of Eastern Idaho,
the Twin Falls area, and a portion of Boise, told the Idaho Falls Post
Register this week that if the Anti-Gay Initiative gets enough
signatures to appear on the November ballot that he would consider
voting for it. Crapo's statement also appeared in USA Today. As the
filing deadline approaches supporters of the initiative only have a
third of the required signatures. The Idaho Citizens Alliance is a
direct offshoot of the Oregon anti-gay crusade.
What is interesting about Crapo's position is that he is a
Harvard-trained lawyer, and usually does not waste time with fringe
issues like his more conservative Republican colleagues on the Senate
side. Crapo's legal training may provide him with an "out." He said
that if Idaho Attorney General Larry Echohawk rules the initiative as
being unconstitutional that he (Crapo) would not support the initiative.
The Idaho Falls Post Register published an editorial on Sunday 6/12/94
directly addressing the Congressman. It said, "Don't encourage the
petition drive to place an ant-gay measure on the November ballot." The
paper also pointed out that not a single major elected official in Idaho
- including many conservatives - supports it because of its divisive
nature and because it denies people equal protection under the law.
Wassmuth Attacks Gritz
Bill Wassmuth, director of the Seattle-based Northwest Coalition
Against Malicious Harassment, wrote a guest column for the Idaho Falls
Post Register attacking James "Bo" Gritz for "bigoted Ideology." The
column reviews the racist, anti- semitic, and hate teachings of Gritz
and his followers who have established a community near Kamiah, Idaho,
named "Almost Heaven." Kamiah is located in the 'Panhandle' region of
the state which has been home to many Aryan Nation followers.
Anti-Mormon Calls Stun Idaho's Lt. Governor
Idaho Lt. Gov Butch Otter says he is "astounded" at the anti- Mormon
sentiment stirred up when he ordered state flags lowered to half staff
to honor Ezra Taft Benson. Otter, who is Catholic, said he was honoring
both Benson's service as head of the Mormon Church and as Secretary of
Agriculture under President Eisenhower. Further, Benson is an Idaho
native and was buried in his hometown in the rural far southeast corner
of the state. More than 250,000 Idaho citizens are Mormons.
Otter said that the more than 200 calls received by his office fell in
two categories. Some callers identified themselves and complained about
separation of church and state. Others did not identify themselves.
The invective was so bad from the latter group, Otter said, that he
answered the phones himself rather than allow his assistants to become
further upset by the vehement language. Otter had issued the order on
the flags in the absence of outgoing Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus who was
on a trade mission to the far east.
10 Commandments Plaintiff Withdraws
The man who filed a legal action against the Bannock County
(Pocatello) County Commissions for having the 10 Commandments monument
at the county courthouse has withdrawn from the suit. Andrew Albanese
said his reason for withdrawing from the suit is that he is leaving the
area for a job in another state. The ACLU said they would continue the
litigation without him.
The situation in front of the courthouse has reached almost comic
proportions. In addition to the original monument, the commissioners
have placed another with a statement from Thomas Jefferson on religious
liberty and a third which explains the reason for the second and the
current suit.
LDS Painting Removed from Show
[Summary from Associated Press report] A painting of a nude woman
against a backdrop of Mormon scriptures will have to hang elsewhere
after Boise Cascade Corp. removed it from their office lobby in Boise
this week. The painting, one of 67 on display as part of the Idaho
Water Color Society's 15 annual exhibition, was removed after several
employees at the company complained. The painting features a naked
woman restrained by a man in a business suit. Mormon scriptures are
written in the background.
Blackfoot, Idaho, teacher Jeriann Sabin, who submitted the piece, said
she was shocked the piece aroused controversy. A self-described
estranged member of the Mormon Church, Sabin said the work represents
her spiritual journey and being a feminist.
Watercolor Society President Ed Labadie said he would help Sabin find
another location to exhibit the painting. "Personally, I'm
disappointed," he said. He added that if Boise Cascade doesn't like the
painting, they don't have to exhibit it.
Land Use Planning Draws Armed Response
People protesting a proposed land use plan have brought guns to
meetings where the Ravalli (Hamilton) County land use plan was being
considered. The city council has since passed an emergency ordinance
banning guns in public buildings. Ravalli is near Missoula, MT, and
recently was the scene of a armed standoff between a county sheriff and
a local rancher who refused to pay his BLM grazing lease. The man said
BLM was violating his constitutional rights by trying to collect the
fees. Rather than incur bloodshed the BLM said they would pursue the
matter in court.
These incidents are worth reporting because of the increasing
polarization among supporters and opponents of environmental protection
of public and private lands in the West. A meeting near Salt Lake City
in May, reported by the Salt Lake City Tribune, told of "Wide Use"
proponents urging "armed rebellion" over environmental controls on
public lands.
Richard Foster, Chairman of the Political Science Department, Idaho
State University, says a 1992 survey of 500 Idaho citizens found a
common view toward environmentalists among lower middle-income people
who had lived in the state for more than 10 years.
Foster says they see environmentalists as anti-establishment,
anti-farming, and anti-rural. They get so swept up in reacting to the
labels they forget their own values for clean air, clean water, and an
uncomplicated lifestyle.
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