Proposed anti-peyote law is racist

[TooStonedToType]

Found this on another board.  
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/161334/

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Monday, January 23, 2006  
IN OUR VIEW Anti-peyote law is racist  

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Daily Herald    
Laws should be written to address broad issues, and not just to hammer one individual.

Unfortunately, that concept escapes Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Ogden, who is taking aim once again at James Warren "Flaming Eagle" Mooney through the legislative process.

Oda's bill, House Bill 60, would make it illegal for anyone except an American Indian to use peyote in religious ceremonies. Peyote is a hallucinogenic plant that some Indians use in religious ceremonies for spiritual enlightenment. This is the second time Oda has attempted to frame state law to shut down Mooney and his Oklevueha EarthWalks Native American Church.

Mooney has drawn fire from state and federal law enforcement because he admits non-Indians into his church and allows them to participate in peyote ceremonies. The Utah Supreme Court threw out the case filed by Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson, but Mooney and his wife are currently facing federal drug charges.

It is clear to anyone who reviews Oda's bill that it is an attempt to go after Mooney rather than to address a larger issue. The bill violates the First Amendment directive that government should not abridge the free exercise of religion. The Constitution clearly directs government to take a hands-off approach, neither favoring nor restricting a particular sect. Moreover, because nobody else besides Mooney is in question, Oda's proposal runs dangerously close to being a bill of attainder -- a law against an individual -- which is forbidden by Article I of the Constitution. Of course, the lawyers would make a technical case that it isn't, but this is clearly Oda's intent.

By stating that peyote can only be used by Indians in religious ceremonies, Oda is dictating to Indian churches whom they can admit as members. But spirituality is not limited by race or ethnicity. If an Indian can have a religious experience with peyote, then so can anyone else. Oda's measure is the equivalent of passing a law stating that only Italians can receive Holy Communion in the Roman Catholic Church.

Oda's bill doesn't just put government in the troubling business of approving religion. It is flatly racist. If government can ban peyote use as religious practice for some people, peyote must be banned for Indians as well. It must be defined as criminal drug abuse across the board. To suggest otherwise is a glaring hypocrisy. Our laws should apply equally to all, regardless of race, creed, gender, age or color.

It is up to church leaders, not government, to determine who can be received into fellowship and who should be allowed to participate in sacred ceremonies. Mormons, certainly, should understand this. If a non-Indian complies with the requirements of an Indian church, he should be admitted.

Government should not deny people their right to worship as conscience dictates. That Oda is attempting to do so on the basis of race is disturbing.

We see no evidence that Mooney or any other Indian religious leader admits people to their churches just to score some drugs. Peyote is certainly not a good candidate for recreational use: most people who use it become violently ill before its hallucinogenic effects kick in. To draw an analogy to alcohol, it's like having the hangover first.

Peyote use is not widespread, nor is it likely to become so. Even if participants in peyote ceremonies were using religion as a pretext to use a hallucinogenic substance, they represent an insignificant backwater of experience that is not worth the trouble of regulating. We don't see the peyote crowd committing violent crimes; on the contrary, reports are that peyote brings a sense of understanding and peace.

Oda should use the legislative power for things that benefit Utah as a whole, not to destroy one man and a church that traces its roots to ancient Native Americans. The principle that government should stay out of religion ought to take precedence in this case. The Legislature should leave Mooney alone.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.