04/08/1981 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Mr. Lindberg noted that this kind of harassment appears to be a wave throughout the country. He speculated on its cause. He said it was incumbent upon the council to indicate that that kind of behavior would not be tolerated. He supported the suggestion that they draft an ordinance to consider a refinement to the City Code. Ms. Schue observed that the council appeared to be in support of an ordinance that would indicate that Eugene was a humane and caring place for everyone who wants to live in the city. She favored hearing from those who would like to testify. Jane Alward, 2100 Madison, wished to inform the council on the kinds of racial harassment that could occur. A year or so ago, she applied for a permit in the downtown mall for a group to speak on Mother's Day. In going through the process of getting the signatures on the cards, she asked someone what the insurance performance bond was for and she told that it was required for situations like when the black students from the campus came around and wanted to hold a cele- bration on Martin Luther King1s birthday, trying to make it a national holiday. Staff was afraid that a group opposing them would come in and there would be trouble. So they would want to have an insurance bond in force. She feels that is the kind of discrimination that the ordinance should address and that the City Council should concern itself with. Council should be aware that someone whose salary is paid by the City is making that kind of statement. She would like City employees to be aware of the problem. The statement was not said with any kind of malice. It was a statement of someone's feelings. Ms. Wooten added her support for development of an ordinance. She asked if Mr. Lindberg expected the ordinance to apply to all kinds of minority group harassment. He said that that was entirely reasonable. He did not wish to be explicit at this time, but wished to direct staff to explore possibilities. Ms. Miller suggested that this go to the Human Rights Council and commissions as well as Human Rights staff and to the City Attorney. She was unsure whether they would want to hold a public hearing or how they would approach it. She felt that they were in touch with the affected people and wanted to see them work for the best solution. She referred to the memo and pointed out some of the State statutes that had been ruled unconstitutional. Those rulings would have a lot to do with the kind of ordinance that would be reasonable for council to try to pass. Ms. Smith supported Ms. Miller's suggestion and pointed out that the Human Rights Council and commissions supported the four bills now in the State Legis- lature. In approving the minutes of the Legislative Subcommittee, council went on record in support of those bills. In working toward an ordinance, these proposed bills would need to be considered. She would not want to wait on the State's action however. Mr. Gleason suggested that the documents originate in the Attorney's Office. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 8, 1981 Page 10