2008 Initiatives

The Oregonian has a sneak peak of a couple ballot measures that are now approved for circulation for the 2008 election.

One petition calls for amending the Oregon Constitution to prohibit "the use of public or private funds to facilitate the killing of any human being from the moment of conception, wholly or partially within the womb or after delivery, and the acceptance of funds for performing such a procedure." Violations would be punishable as murder or accessory to murder.

The initiative would allow ending an ectopic pregnancy or executing someone convicted of a capital offense by a jury.

Last year's Measure 43, Parental Notification, failed. In fact, the two abortion measures failed to pass in 1990 as well. Year after year these same right-wing initiatives make it onto the ballot and voted down by Oregonians. One of the main reasons I think is because people often don't know what their signing. The best way to find out what you're signing I've found is to ask who the sponsor is.

Chief petitioners are Jack Brown and Barbara Gonzalez of Grants Pass and Richard Hake of Rogue River, and they will need 110,358 valid signatures to put it to a statewide vote next year.

You see, in the signature-gathering world, over time you'll begin to see a pattern.

Two landmark gay-rights laws, signed less than a week ago by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, were officially targeted Monday for referral to voters.

Jack Brown of Grants Pass, chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon, and two other southern Oregonians filed papers with the Oregon secretary of state so they can begin collecting the 55,179 signatures they will need to put the two laws on the ballot in fall 2008.

Then of course, there's the infamous Bill Sizemore.

So next time someone asks you to sign an initiative or referendum petition, just ask who is the sponsor. There are two names from a list of many to avoid.