HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 644 NO ~CT ION TAr
RESOLUTION NO. 644
RESOLUTION URGING DEFEAT OF
PROPOSITION 18 IN THEZ NOVEMBER ELECTION
WHEREAS, the President of the United States in his proclamation, dated
March 13~ 1972, proclaiming 1972 as International Book Year in the United States
said:
"As this nation approaches the beginning of its third
century, we should remind ourselves that nothing in our
heritage is mo~e precious than the right to express our-
selves freely on any subject and the right of access to
the expressions of others" and
WHEREAS, we are deeply concerned about the continued attempts at the
suppression of the right to read which attempts rest upon a denial of the funda-
mental premise of democracy that the ordinary citizen, by exercising his
critical judgment, will accept the good and reject the bad, and
WHEREAS, the most recent attempt in suppression in California is to be
found in the Initiative Proposition 18 to be voted upon by the electorate at the
November 7th election in the preparation of the title of which the California
Attorney General has stated that the proposition "amends, deletes, and adds Penal
Code sections relating to obscenity, deletes the 'redeeming social importance'
test, and limits 'contemporary standards' test to local areas .... thus
allowing local governmental agencies to regulate these matters separately ....
permits injunctions and seizure of materials," and
WHEREAS, it is believed that parts of Proposition 18 are unconstitutional,
now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Saratoga go on record
in opposition to Proposition 18 on the November 7 ballot.
AYES:
N OE S: ~~
ABSENT: ..............
/
M~ OR ' Y
ATTEST:
CITY CL~RK
' ' NOW, IF that were it, it would be Fad enough, but
a.t least so,calh:d pon~ography ~'oald remain
62 'jan ~randst, ~ronitlt , Wed., ~. 4. 1972 the only target. tiowever, Proposi~on 1S goes much
~ther both in concept and ambi~ous verbiage.
, Fo~ example, and I am compressing -- verbaftEr and
On the Town.:n.mmimmnmmmummmmmmmmnmnn~ m context -- it would be unlawful to:
(1) "Exhibit any matter containinS any ~sual
. pube~a] maze o~ Eemale ~eni~a]s ~d~hin o~e ~He
,, any high school or public park." In o~her words, a
replica of Michelangelo's Da~d in a beauty parlor
'. Har~~ VS, ~eX. " near Calileo would land you in the slammer.
'..': (2) "'Present any live public show conbluing
explicitly verbal de~riptions of sexual
Exit a ~sters and Johnson loose, i~neve it
no~
.IN%MMON usage, the wm'd "misddef" is most (3 "Paint images t~at show sexual conduct
. oRen employed according to the dictionary defini- as to reveal genital areas." $::atch Renoir.
~ tion No. 4 (b) : "play~t, harmlos spirits; gay teas-
in ."
g ' ~d (4), "Sing any son~ which d~scribes
'0~ '
~ , So much for Gohten Gidies,
The wo~, however, ~rries mo~ aonr impli~
floes when applied tv the wor~s of Giendale's Sta~ Fm~hermore, by definition, nudity nsxv
' Senator John L. Ham~er; both in the etSqnolog "Uncovered post-pubertal buttocks" and "sexual
. ("~ come to grief")andthem~mero ann d;efinition citemeat," an issue of grave concern lo Senato~
'. -- "harm, damage or h~jury, es~ia.Hy that done Hatmet, if erie judges by re~tit~on, is "1;he sensual
' by a ~rson," ' experiences of humans x~qtm~;sjng nudity." Lastly,
for all you nasty :noHths. "obscenities" xre now de-
~d Harmer's parti~!ar mischief goes far ~- fined as sex';lal or excl'eIol'~' t'sZazl% xvol, ds ET[Jl'l~ellt.]5
yond what you migh~ ex~a of a ~lificisn, like generally rejected for regular use in mixed society."
shorL-sheeting a crippled grandmother or dropping Bull ....,
water bullies from the 5~nk of America's Carne-
lian Eoom. No, the mischievous State Senator and * *
the buffoons who ~uF, port him % .....larger ....~'+;.~'~ X~7151~L. AS SATIRISTS Jcnh,y ure io,.~i ,.,~
.................... in~, ~he reality of ~:~¢~vernment a.c'd~ifies
'.- --an attack on the First Amendn~en~ of the Consti- creasb~gly ~'oes beycan Imri~sql~,e~ ~:;~?~'~":a'~'3
~. rution, the California m~d UniLed States Supreme sat:ire :impoh'tory. For that r'c~s~nt ~ am 'i,,..;~;~e~ to h>
Cotl~s, hl~all nature and common ~I1~. su~t y91lI' i:nte. Hh~encc by s~;~ah~:,:; out i~;';,,~ ~::t~>st m-
TIlEFOCUS of this ~i~,r~ proieet is Proposition the c:nfarccment; of Prcpc,.~iicn t~;, sit~ml;,:~ ;;
:18 on the upcomin~ Novemb~ b:,~.lio~, xshhql, ill St:ill, to in~aill. your h~teI~;~cnce, it x~'onld ~:n~?:.;,~
the dry tcrminok,gy of legal ~sessme~d;, is an st~ the fi>Houix:.~, areira:: othcms, w~3ud[ be in !~L~.x'~
lempt. "to restrict dis~,!:ndna!ion of ~H~scenf~ nm '~:eri- ardy: Sf:~::e ~ "ihdc"; irihn --- "]..<~v.~
als." l'hi$ ex'en l:his "oh weth. e" description i.~ fraudu- Mal;:~.z~,e (]lih.ra ry )--tLu'p.er's; Ha..q:n ~ine ( ~;~c
lent. for t he dhslL'nlis' ::iion cff obscene mate:tin. Is i~ a~ ) -.- !q:a yht~y; }h ~,,.tiu~; .-- ?Z'ica sso; Sci:~ '~ !~, ~.d~ -_
and natio nat low. X"; Bai hli. g--the '.!]'ran ~ a meri.~a l'yrami d.
What, in fact. Prop3:;ition 18 would do is create Indee,::l. even a son~ about a fireman rcs;cu h~ q :n
an entirely new definition of obscenity. eliminate old lady d;~h~:lina~ fcGm a flu[:pole like "~rq"l ,:..~.
the necessity of search warn'ants, eliminate the test i'm Cornf n::'." mi[:h~ be Stlbj&C:: tO SiCtile I'~2~:i';~T
or "socially redceminr: importance," eliminate the scrutjny. !nd,:,~<l. scrutiny itself mi~[ht be in t
cmlcept oi a slatewiC:e "conlz~ilLl:aity" (~leax;ilxl~ 'Lbat But f3~,~ ulthnate irony 'i.~ cc, n~:dm'd i~ ~4, hi
a filnl acceptable ill ~Ti]l Va.[;ev 127Li;::~t Lie i! ,::i~.:(al in ~:ument in ft~%'<r n[ Prpt~osilicls ~8" '~,' ......
Belvedere} and, astonish uSdy. sxvk'~ch the b'Lwden of tor ]1~3 r~l('l" ~httd iwo ('OCOll'~.[~i]'~d,Ol'5. }]t {a'?.'.~i~ ~ 3.:i~ i'
proof in some cases fx'orn prosecution to deSrose; a laws: "'rh,~ 1LS. Sa~prcyme Court a:~:-,;:..; x,;..
concept previously unthinkable in our system of jvs- l'ig~l t and d h: ~ y of ~:,;t"¢~. ~es to i:rro~'id ;, ~or ,~ ;, .;; ~: ~: :!
Nonser}se. Thst is the hoax of this m,:,::, ~;:lre.
J'al'e [i'5 [ts.~ l'ef:;:,;()l's lll'~ ch, 3{l x%']l h 5v.' ~fl l]:~. irk