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This would be funny if it wasn't so sad...

CriticalThought

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Alex Blaze: Anti-Gay Ballot Initiatives Hurt Straight People, Too

Anti-Gay Ballot Initiatives Hurt Straight People, Too

The only anti-gay ballot initiative that passed this week that I know of was in El Paso, Texas. Surprise surprise, it was poorly-worded and now everyone's getting benefits cut:

By a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent, voters passed an initiative saying, "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."

In response, the city attorney's office released a statement Wednesday saying there could be legal challenges, but the city will eliminate health coverage of:

* Gay and unmarried partners of city employees.
* Children such as foster kids who are not dependents under the federal tax code.
* Grandchildren of city employees.
* Retirees who are eligible for health coverage through another employer.

That is interesting. The same thing happened in Utah a few years back and it turned out that far, far more unmarried heterosexuals were hurt by the change than any gay people. I think they even lost some of their best employees out of the deal. The funny part was a lot of those unmarried people actually voted for the initiative because they thought it only applied to gays and it sounds like that might have happened here as well.
 
:doh

The people are a threat to themselves at this point for god-sakes.
 
Discrimination against homosexuals is simply bad policy. When it causes collateral damage, it is even worse policy.
 
:doh

The people are a threat to themselves at this point for god-sakes.

indeed. that's why their betters need to step in and - for their own good - rule them; if necessary, against their (poorly defined, poorly thought out) will.
 
indeed. that's why their betters need to step in and - for their own good - rule them; if necessary, against their (poorly defined, poorly thought out) will.

(Irony drips, thick and gooey, from that post)

The initiative process is a double edged sword. The voters aren't always willing to look critically at what is being brought up for a popular vote and consider the unintended consequences.

On the other side, laws passed by representatives of the people tend to be crafted more with special interests (read: money) in mind than what is in the best interests of the people.

There is no perfect way.
 
Are you suggesting the use of activist judges? :D

they aren't "activist judges" they are simply wiser, more educated individuals capable utilizing the fact that the Constitution is a living, breathing document whose meaning is malleable to make public decisions better than the less - informed masses. naturally they need to be protected from recall or remonstration by those masses, or else their vital ability to independently overturn the will of the people will be threatened.
 
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Hey, man they voted away their benefits out of their (Hate? Misinformation? Ignorance? Fear? Mania? Bad reading comprehension?). Nobody needs to enforce anything. With things like this happening the situation is darwinian already :p
 
how does this, in any way hurt straight people?

By a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent, voters passed an initiative saying, "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."

In response, the city attorney's office released a statement Wednesday saying there could be legal challenges, but the city will eliminate health coverage of:

* Gay and unmarried partners of city employees.

If you are a straight city employee and you are not marrried, you should not expect the city to cover your "partner" with health insurance anyway

* Children such as foster kids who are not dependents under the federal tax code.

foster children are covered under medicaid, therefore they do not need to be covered under the city employees insurance policy. again, no harm to straight people (and FWIW, don't know about TX, but in AL foster kids can be claimed as dependents under federal tax code)

* Grandchildren of city employees.

what insurance company anywhere covers the employee's grandchildren? if you are raising them for your children (in which case you must have done a crappy job raising your children) because your children cannot afford to... they should be eligible for medicaid. once again I fail to see how this "harms" straight people (or gays for that matter)


* Retirees who are eligible for health coverage through another employer.

If you have health coverage through another employer....why would you need coverage from the city??? again.....how does this harm anyone?
 
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:D



:lol: Truth, Justice, and the antiAmerican way :D

some people are into politcs and some people are INTO politics. :shock:
 
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