Skip to comments.

Posted on 11/07/2001 7:54:17 PM PST by RoyCohn

Homosexual activists won key battles in several American cities on Election Day, but voters in Houston, Tex., decided to prevent the city from offering benefits to the same-sex partners of city employees.

"The message of the vast majority of voters was clear. They resoundingly rebuffed right wing extremists trying to impose their bigotry upon these communities," said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director Lorri L. Jean. "Our community is starting to turn the tide on the religious-based intolerance that has led to these measures."

Referendums dealing with homosexual rights were on the ballot not only in Houston, but also in three Michigan communities, and Miami Beach, Florida. Pro-homosexual groups argued that homosexuals should not lose out on employment or housing because of their sexual orientation. Their opponents said such laws have been used previously, not to address any documented instances of job or housing discrimination, but as a pretext for attacking the Boy Scouts and other groups that do not condone homosexuality.

In Miami Beach, Fla., more than 65 percent of voters agreed the city should provide health care benefits to the domestic partners of city employees. A couple would have to register their relationship with the city to be eligible for the benefits.

Voters in Traverse City and Kalamazoo, Michigan, rejected amendments that would have blocked the local governments from passing laws protecting homosexuals from housing and employment discrimination.

And voters in Huntington Woods, a Detroit suburb, upheld an ordinance adopted earlier this year by the city commission that bans discrimination against homosexuals. That ordinance won 69 percent of the vote.

Despite the Election Day results in Michigan, Gary Glenn, president of the conservative American Family Association of Michigan, said the issue has not been laid to rest.

"This is just the beginning," Glenn promised, adding that there would be other ballot initiative next year in Ypsilanti and perhaps other cities. In fact, voters could face similar referendums next year in more than a dozen cities nationwide.

National pro-homosexual groups outspent conservative pro-family forces by at least two to one in both Traverse City and Kalamazoo, Glenn said.

A chief sponsor of the Traverse City amendment suggested another reason. Voters might have been confused by the wording of the ballot question, Fred Weber told the Detroit Free Press. Some people who wanted to say "no" to homosexual rights might not have understood they needed to vote "yes" on the amendment, he said.

Jorge Mursuli, chair of the homosexual activist group, SaveDade, credited the victory in Miami Beach to "consistent grassroots organizing."

But, Glenn said he hoped Tuesday's results would "be a wakeup call to pro-family individuals and orgs, in Michigan and nationally.

"Hopefully [they] will respond with the same kind of commitment in financing as homosexual activist groups to their loss in Royal Oak, [Michigan]" back in May, Glenn said. In the May vote, voters rejected a pro-homosexual ordinance.

"The so-called gay rights ordinances are inevitably used to discriminate against citizens and organizations who oppose homosexual behavior," said Glenn.

According to Glenn, in Detroit and Ann Arbor this year, the pro-homosexual Triangle Foundation threatened to sue the cities under special protection ordinances unless they cut off all funding to the Boy Scouts, denied the Scouts access to city parks and facilities, and prohibited fire and police departments from sponsoring Scout activities.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.