Oregon appears to have been the only state that allocated federal coronavirus relief dollars to individuals and business owners of a specific race. The state’s unusual approach attracted a constitutional challenge, contesting whether the aid unfairly excluded others suffering during the pandemic.
The fund has been entangled in that legal battle since October, a fight that ultimately led them to suspend grants. The white owners of a logging company in eastern Oregon and the Mexican-American owner of a downtown Portland coffee shop contend that the state illegally shut them out.
The outcome of that litigation could determine whether the Oregon Cares Fund serves as an example for future efforts or becomes a fleeting experiment in social justice.
Let’s hope this is litigated into the dustbin of history where it belongs. The GOP is absolutely bonkers, which is what provides electoral immunity to Democrats who push this racist garbage. If this “serves as an example for future efforts” we might as well throw out the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.