El Paso may put DP benefits back on ballot

by John Wright

After a ballot measure passed in November to rescind domestic partner benefits for El Paso employees, the City Council is considering another ballot measure to restore them. The November ballot measure sponsored by religious groups aimed to take away benefits for the partners of gay and lesbian employees. However, because it was so vaguely worded, the ballot measure also threatened benefits for the partners of retired city workers, and it’s now the subject of a federal lawsuit.

The El Paso Times reports on the latest development:

The El Paso City Council on Tuesday introduced a proposed ordinance for a May ballot initiative that would restore health benefits to gay and unmarried partners of city employees.

The public rescinded those benefits in the Nov. 2 election, but they remain in effect while the courts hear a lawsuit in the matter.

The council did not discuss the proposed ordinance or take public comment on it. A public hearing will be held in coming weeks. If the City Council does not vote to put the matter on the ballot, supporters still can do so by gathering enough signatures on a petition.

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Mistake in El Paso Antigay Law

By Advocate.com Editors

Encouraged by local religious leaders like pastor Tom Brown (pictured), El Paso, Texas, voters stripped domestic-partner benefits from gay workers in November, but now the city is discovering they may have also taken benefits away from retired police officers and elected officials.

The ordinance, which passed with 55% of the vote November 2 and went into effect January 1, asked voters to endorse "traditional family values" by limiting benefits to "city employees and their legal spouse and dependent children." The wording of the measure came from its religious proponents — the church leaders couldn't get an attorney to advise them on the verbiage. Now not only are El Paso's gay residents furious, but so are union leaders, because thousands of their retirees could lose benefits for their heterosexual domestic partners (the partners of elected officials could lose health benefits too, because city politicians are not considered city employees). While El Paso officials are looking at amending the ordinance, the unions are preparing a lawsuit.

"I have no regrets," Brown, the pastor, tells TheWall Street Journal. "We did what was right."

Read the full story here.

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