A coalition of religious conservative groups blocked the city of El Paso, Texas, from extending benefits to city employees’ same-sex partners through a successful ballot measure. The aim of the initiative: to promote “traditional family values” by limiting benefits to “city employees and their legal spouse and dependent children.” But as the Wall Street Journal reports, after being approved by 55% of the voters, it became clear that the measure also eliminated retiree health benefits for former city workers (and even for elected officials, who aren’t technically city employees).
“We don’t want to get into a holy war with the church,” said Ron Martin, president of the local police union. “I just wish they would have left us alone.” Just one of the unintended consequences of discrimination by ballot box.
8 Comments for “Unintended Consequences”
posted by Jimmy on
And people actually wonder why LGBT folk, and our friends who support full equality, exhibit hostility toward conservative Christians who pull crap like this. If they had their way, they would try to enact the kind of laws here like they help bring about in 3rd world countries. Laws which call for execution of gay people, and which create fascistic systems of informers. They want to make it illegal to even know a gay person. Failing to inform the government can cost you jail time. Nice.
These conservative Christians are not that different from conservative Muslims. Heck, if they could get the conservative Muslims to convert to their brand of Christianity (Dominionism), they would be kindred spirits as far as treatment of LGBT goes.
posted by Jorge on
Uhhh, okay.
posted by esurience on
I can’t wait for the day when we get to pass laws that says Christians no longer get equal pay for equal work. If you’re Christian, we’re gonna pay you 75% of what everyone else makes… just because we can! I guess the voters in El Paso would see no principled reason to oppose such a law…
posted by Michigan-Matt on
Stephen, unintended consequences can sometimes bite us both ways. for instance, here in Michigan in 2004, the Kerry-get-out-the-vote effort actually contributed to the passage of an anti-gay marriage amendment… the Democrat Party machine brought anti-gay urban black voters to the polls in busloads (with free pizza and t-shirts and a set of winter gloves and food coupons to McDonalds) and that helped tip the election against gay marriage to a 61-39% landslide.
With friends like that, who needs an “evil GOP”? We’re kicking our own butt down to the curb. Unintended consequences; thank you John Kerry and the Democrats.
posted by Michigan-Matt on
And by the way, here in Michigan, the Democrats have screwed us one more time… ala El Paso. The issue here, too, is extending health care benefits to SS partners of govt workers.
Yesterday, Michigan’s own incompetent Governor, Jenny Granholm (D), was rebuffed by her appointed Civil Service Commission because the plan put forward by her team was deemed “insufficient, vague and lacked a thoughtful application of law needed to extend health care benefits” to SS or non-married people residing in a state employee’s home.
Granholm and the Democrats agreed in 2004 to adopt rules and programs that would have assured SS partners (who can’t marry in Michigan) access to health care benefits of their state employed partner… but after 6 yrs, it turns out Granholm and the Democrats on the Commission didn’t do their homework and wrote rules that were vague and incomplete –even in the judgment of the Democrats on the Commission!
It doesn’t help that Granholm is now departing the govt’s helm after 8 yrs of incompetence… what an utter waste of 8 yrs when it could have been done from a position of strength, not last ditch urgency on the way out of town. Kind of sounds like Democrat leadership on DADT repeal in Washington –all over again.
posted by Carl on
This reminds me of Ohio, where the “family values” folks passed an amendment which unintentionally helped make it easier for people to get away with beating their partners, as long as they were not married.
These things getting on the ballot so easily is ridiculous. I mean look at this:
“The group that drew up the proposal to overturn the program could not find a lawyer to advise it and so came up with the wording on its own, Mr. Brown said.”
Why is this allowed on a ballot? Just any random wording?
And the people who pushed for this don’t seem bothered by any of the consequences to retirees or city employees, because it doesn’t personally affect them. Doesn’t that go against what Christianity is supposed to be?
posted by Regan DuCasse on
The zeal to challenge gay people at every turn, is so very similar to the way Jim Crow wormed into black lives, you’d think older people in former Jim Crow states would recognize their tactics and it’s result. Local ordinances, invasive government laws that only affected blacks, had similar consequences to say, white business owners and their black employees.
It’s no wonder that marriage, family and traditional values proponents have been designated hate groups.
After all, they aren’t promoting marriage and family to people who refuse to marry, care for their own children or reduce domestic violence and divorce.
If they NEVER mentioned gay people or what gay people do or intend to, I’d say that their aim to promote marriage and family was valid.
But as long as any of their political action, and information keeps asserting how bad gay people are, the label of hate group is valid and accurate.
Most of all, their tactics, baiting and switching and claiming victim status of the ‘homosexual agenda’ is EXACTLY like that of the most notoriously hateful people in history.
Bigotry tends to make people idiotic, and lacking in depth of thought. And this is but one example.
posted by PIL on
Well, it’s not all bad, at least retiree city workers won’t be able to get their free healthcare and will have to settle for Medicare and Medicaid like everyone else. I also love it that elected officials won’t get their benefits either. Seriously people, I’m sick and tired of seeing city, state and federal workers getting perks that are unheard of in the private sector. These people are PUBLIC SERVANTS, yet while we’re sleeping in the couch they’re getting the master bedroom. Well, I say it’s time to put those tax-sucking parasites in the servants’ quarters.
http://politicallyincorrectlibertarian.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/xmas-carols-silenced-after-religious-minorities-object-i-e-muslims/