Council declines to pull support from King event.Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard Eugene City Councilor coun·cil·or also coun·cil·lor n. A member of a council, as one convened to advise a governor. See Usage Note at council. coun Bonny Bonny (bŏn`ē), town, SE Nigeria, in the Niger River delta, on the Bight of Biafra. In the 18th and 19th cent., Bonny was the center of a powerful trading state, and in the 19th cent. it became the leading site for slave exportation in W Africa. Bettman on Monday wanted to drop the city's support for next week's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, but she didn't get far. Bettman's motion to withhold with·hold v. with·held , with·hold·ing, with·holds v.tr. 1. To keep in check; restrain. 2. To refrain from giving, granting, or permitting. See Synonyms at keep. 3. city support for Monday's celebration because the keynote speaker opposes gay marriage ran into a brick wall with other councilors. None of them wanted to discuss it. Another Bettman motion for the city to sponsor its own Martin Luther King Jr. Day event next year also failed to gain an endorsement from any other councilor, again preventing council debate of the idea. Bettman's proposals came about because the city's human rights commission last week reversed an earlier position and reaffirmed its support for the King celebration. The commission did so while expressing dismay about the keynote speaker's opposition to gay marriage. The speaker, the Rev. Walter Fauntroy, was an associate of King's in the 1960s. He has joined other black ministers in support of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. The human rights commission's endorsement of the event with Fauntroy as speaker didn't sit well with Bettman, who on Sunday told councilors that city code prevents discrimination because of race, religion or sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. . "The merits of the speaker's accomplishments or the right for him to speak are not at issue," she wrote in an e-mail. ` ... I do not believe the city should officially sponsor, and therefore publicly condone condone v. 1) to forgive, support, and/or overlook moral or legal failures of another without protest, with the result that it appears that such breaches of moral or legal duties are acceptable. , an event that features a speaker who advocates amending the Constitution to exclude members of our community from enjoying equal civil rights." The event is being organized by the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee of Lane County, which aims to raise $13,000 to $18,000. With its endorsement, the human rights commission gave $150. Other sponsors include the city's Library, Recreation and Cultural Services Department, which has contributed $1,500. Bettman made her motions during a joint City Council-human rights commission meeting. Afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here , Councilor Betty Taylor, a frequent Bettman ally, said she didn't second Bettman's motions because she doesn't know much about Fauntroy. And Taylor said she doesn't favor censorship censorship, official prohibition or restriction of any type of expression believed to threaten the political, social, or moral order. It may be imposed by governmental authority, local or national, by a religious body, or occasionally by a powerful private group. . "People who speak don't have to have the right views on everything," she said. Bettman said the council's lack of response to her motions shows that "the city is more than willing to talk the talk (about equal rights) but no one is willing to walk the walk." Betty Snowden, chairwoman of the MLK MLK Martin Luther King MLK Milk MLK Medialess License Kit celebration committee, criticized Bettman for choosing the work session before the regular meeting to make her proposals because public comments are not allowed at such meetings. "I think the other councilors were letting her know that the decision made by the human rights commission was the right decision," she said. In other business Monday, the City Council voted 6-2 for an ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been regulating amateur cage fights. The rules are meant to make the fights safer for fighters, who punch, kick and wrestle while battling in a cage. Councilor George Poling offered two ideas the council approved: A prohibition prohibition, legal prevention of the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages, the extreme of the regulatory liquor laws. The modern movement for prohibition had its main growth in the United States and developed largely as a result of the against minors participating in the fights, and requiring that medical personnel be on site. The council also debated whether to allow minors to attend the events. Eventually, councilors agreed with a proposal from Councilor Alan Zelenka to look into a rule that would allow minors to attend as long as they were accompanied by a parent or guardian. |
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