Religious liberty, public safety, limited government, common sense and love for one's neighbor
won out at the Goshen City Council meeting Tuesday evening/Wednesday
morning. Though I have had little experience with the City of Goshen
and it's residents in the past, I am now a big fan of this Hoosier city
with the small town feel. Thanks to the opposition of Goshen residents and the work of many pro-family organizations and elected officials, ordinance 4551 was defeated by a 4-3 vote.
ADF Chief Legal Counsel Glen Lavy, IFI President Curt Smith and State Representative Wes Culver at Goshen High School after successfully defending families in Goshen.
Goshen residents were remarkably well researched, logical and
respectful. As someone who deals with these sorts of issues every day,
I was surprised by how many good points I was introduced to that I had
not thought of prior to the meeting. Of course, there were a few disrespectful and unhelpful testifiers on both sides, but unfortunately that is a given at these sort of meetings.
Though Indiana Equality and other local and state self-identified GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender) organizations spent months prior to the meeting attempting to whip up support for ordinance 4551 and opponents only had a couple of weeks to cut through the propaganda and get Goshen residents the truth, by my count there was more testimony in opposition to the ordinance than for it. What's more, proponents of the ordinance even admitted that it was unenforceable and could be very costly for the city and it's residents by exposing it and them to frivolous lawsuits.
IFI President Curt Smith testified in opposition to the ordinance and mentioned that the concepts being debated (adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" into local law) are vague, imprecise ideas. They are not fixed legal concepts, like race or gender, that can be carefully evaluated. Nor were these terms even defined within the proposed ordinance.
Smith advised the Goshen City Council that "This ordinance is bad law, and I urge you to vote it down." He also thanked the Alliance Defense Fund's Chief Legal Counsel, Glen Lavy, for coming all the way from Arizona to speak to some of the legal problems this type of ordinance presents.
The real hero of the evening/morning (the vote did not come until around 1:30 a.m.) was Councilman Chic Lantz. A World War II veteran and a very fair and thoughtful man, Councilman Lantz changed his mind and voted against the ordinance after learning of problems that these sorts of ordinances have brought in other parts of the country.
Goshen City Councilman Chic Lantz
The problems with the ordinance were numerous as was seen by the wide ranging testimony against it (over 150 people testified in total and some estimated that there were as many as 700 in attendance). Self-identified GLBT ordinances like this one infringe upon the religious liberty and the personal and professional freedoms of citizens. This ordinance, and others like it, do not take into account Christian businesses that attempt to apply their faith in the workplace.
For example, if this ordinance would have passed, citizens of Goshen who might have wanted to form a counseling center to help those who struggle with unwanted same-sex attraction gain freedom from their unwanted desires would not have been able to refuse to hire someone who self-identifies as homosexual, practices that lifestyle and urges others to openly do so as well! Hiring someone who embraces same-sex attraction to teach people how to escape same-sex attraction defeats the purpose, does it not?
Public Safety is also a concern with these type of ordinances because they open the door of the women's restroom to men who claim to be women, dress as women and demand to use the women's restroom. This opens up government and private business to either sexual harassment lawsuits (if they allow cross-dressing men to use women's restrooms against the wishes of women) or discrimination lawsuits (if they refuse to allow cross-dressing men to use the women's restroom, for example).
This is also an issue of common sense, common decency and the real meaning of loving one's neighbor. I was struck most by the testimony of those Goshen residents who had escaped the self-identified GLBT lifestyle and those who gave their stories and the stories of their family members who were sexually assaulted as children by homosexual adults. Two different women shared their personal stories of victory over their unwanted same-sex attraction. One woman and her husband both escaped the homosexual lifestyle and begged the Council to oppose the ordinance because it would send a message to those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction that their personal quest for change is meaningless and will help trap them in the lifestyle they wish to leave.
Stories of homosexual family members who have died young because of AIDS were heart wrenching and reminded me of one of the main reasons why I will always fight the self-identified GLBT agenda. Man is made in the image of God and as Christians we are called to love our neighbor as our self. Proponents of the ordinance attempted to use that thought to push their cause. However, true love is not doing what is popular (and the GLBT lifestyle certainly is today more than ever in America), it's the affectionate concern for the well-being of others.
I could tell that many Goshen residents opposed to the ordinance were uncomfortable. They are good people who love their neighbors and don't enjoy conflict. However, for many of them, loving their neighbor overcame their uncomfort with the topic and won the day. Their love for their fellow man would not allow them to support a public policy that promotes a lifestyle where the average lifespan of a homosexual man is 47 and where AIDS and other health factors are widespread (60% of AIDS cases in this state are men who have sex with men).
At the end of day this was a victory for many things: religious liberty, public safety, limited government, common sense, etc. However, the biggest winners were the people of Goshen themselves who came out to love their neighbors as their self, even when it was controversial and uncomfortable. It shows that places like Goshen really don't need these sorts of "anti-discrimination" policies. Whether testifying for or against the ordinance, Goshen residents said time and time againt that Goshen is a very welcoming and friendly city. These courageous opponents motivated by love for their neighbor proved that as they received the vote they were hoping for in the wee hours of a Wednesday morning in a cramped high school auditorium.
I would be remiss if I didn't thank all the great work by pro-family leaders like Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana, Patrick Mangan of Citizens for Community Values, Eric Miller of Advance America and pro-family elected officials like State Representatives Wes Culver and Jackie Walorski and State Senator Carlin Yoder who showed up to support the people of Goshen and even more folks who helped get information about the ordinance out prior to the vote. Christian radio station WFRN should also receive our thanks and support for their coverage.
As great as it is to see success in Goshen for Hoosier families, we must stay vigilant as this same ordinance will continue to be shopped around the state thanks to Indiana Equality's Human Rights Ordinance Project, "supported by the Tides Foundation’s State Equality Fund, a
philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr.
Fund, the Gill Foundation, and anonymous donors."
That's right, the same Tim Gill that has pumped millions into state legislative races across the country to elect legislators who will promote self-identified GLBT activism.
Victory for families in Goshen is but one success in a long war that self-identified GLBT activists are waging statewide. We must be prepared when they come to your part of the state. Would you please consider supporting the work of the Indiana Family Institute to continue successfully and lovingly articulating and defending family values statewide? Though 6 Indiana cities (Indianapolis, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, West Lafayette and Michigan City) have adopted this sort of ordinance, Goshen proves that this sort of expansion of government can be defeated.
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