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The Gay Debate
 The El Paso City Council voted to provide health insurance for unmarried
and gay partners of city employees. Tom is leading the movement to overturn
city council's decision through a new ordinance.
Click here for a news story.
The Traditional Family Ordinance is
Right for El Paso
By Pastor Tom Brown
It’s official! Your tax dollars are now paying insurance benefits for
unmarried and same-sex partners of city employees. City Council did their
usual secretive “Executive Session” behind closed doors to delete the
Traditional Family Values ordinance from the agenda in order to avoid
continued bad press. They were tired of the public criticism of their action
to award health benefits to homosexual partners of city employees. Their
minds were made up—even though presumably the purpose of public comments on
ordinances were to allow arguments made on both sides—City Council showed
that their minds were closed to any sound arguments.
While it’s true
that City Council’s minds were closed, El Pasoans minds are opened. They’re
opened to sound, reasonable information about the need for the Traditional
Family Values ordinance. It reads: The city of El Paso endorses
traditional family values by making health benefits available only to
city employees and their legal spouse and dependent children.
Let’s first
clarify any misleading information about this ordinance. As one of the
authors of the ordinance I can assure the public that the only intent of the
ordinance is to stop public funding of health insurance benefits for
unmarried and same-sex partners of city employees. It is NOT intended to
change health insurance benefits for city employees—active and retired. The
critics will stop at nothing by trying to divert attention from the real
debate by using fear tactics in an attempt to steal the votes for their
radical agenda. They will try to scare retired city employees from voting on
the ordinance by falsely saying that it will change their health insurance
benefits. Despite the opponents fear tactics retirees can rest assured that
their health benefits will remain intact. Why is this ordinance right for El
Paso?
1. It is
right from a fiscal standpoint. The fire and police department
recognized our community’s fiscal crisis and agreed to forego any cost of
living pay raise because of the worst recession in recent history, but the
Council showed no self restraint in reaching into the pockets of tax payers
to begin paying out a new entitlement for homosexuals. While people in this
country are free to live any way they want, they do not have the right to
pick the pockets of fellow citizens and other city employees to endorse
their lifestyle choices. City Council did not simply increase spending at a
time when they should be tightening their belts, they did worse—they opened
a Pandora’s box by starting a new entitlement—an entitlement that has never
existed in El Paso’s history. Once you begin a new entitlement then the
financial sky is the limit. Only the Traditional Family ordinance can remove
this new entitlement and thus cut spending.
2. It is
right from a democratic standpoint. Why should a vocal minority rule the
silent majority? We are not a government where the minority—no matter how
loud and vocal they are—should govern the vast majority. An El Paso Times
poll showed by a large margin that the citizens do not support City
Council’s decision. Of course the Council loves to hide behind the idea that
we are a representative form of government and therefore we chose them to
make decisions in our behalf; it should be understood, however, that
“representatives” are suppose to “represent” the values and clear wishes of
their constituents. But instead they, along with the beneficiaries of the
domestic health benefits, have spurned our values, mocked some of our
spiritual leaders and showed an utter contempt for the views of the
majority. Soon the majority will have their say at the ballot box.
3. It is
right from a legal standpoint. The Texas Constitution defines marriage
as between a man and a woman. That is the law! The homosexual right’s
activists may disagree with the Law, but it is still the Law! City Council
skirted around the law by using our money as a tool to treat homosexual
partnerships in the exact way they treat marriages. They in essence broke
the true intent of the Texas Constitution—that marriage must be treated as a
superior partnership than any other romantic partnership. To safeguard any
attempt to dishonor marriage by making it equal to unmarried and homosexual
partnerships, the Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 7 in 2003 that
expressly forbids cities in Texas from providing benefits to unmarried and
homosexual partners. City Council broke the law. The Traditional Family
ordinance puts our city back on legal grounds.
4. It is
right from a moral standpoint. We affirm in our constitution a belief in
our Creator. We believe God exists, and with that belief comes a very
fundamental understanding of morality—that right and wrong—is written in our
hearts by God. We’re the paper, He is the author. The Creator existed before
us, and so, we do not determine what is right and wrong, God does. That
means what is right and wrong cannot change like the winds of El Paso.
Morality is unchanging. Some may try their best to change our views of right
and wrong but people do not determine morality—they only have the power to
break down morality. This is why the gay debate is central to this
ordinance. The radical homosexual activists are really trying to change our
view of homosexuality and make it acceptable. Through using our tax dollars
they make us endorse their lifestyle choices. If they can successfully make
homosexual behavior a “civil rights” issue, then they are one step closer to
destroying morality. Our ordinance protects unchanging, traditional
morality.
Vote "YES" for the
Traditional Family Values ordinance in the November Election
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