Virginia taxpayers may be forced to pay for government employees’ homosexual conduct

According to Chris Freund, VP of the Family Foundation of Virgina, the scheme, introduced by liberal Democrat Mary Whipple, is sometimes referred to as a “reciprocal beneficiaries” arrangement. Under the guise of “fairness,” it permits localities the right to give away insurance benefits to any person designated by any employee. This may seem fair, but it creates an undue burden on healthy taxpayers and employees who have to foot the bill for people who make unhealthy lifestyle choices.

Study after study has concluded that married heterosexual couples are statistically healthier, and enjoy longer lifespans than the general population. Thus, one of the benefits of marriage has always been to reward married couples with shared insurance benefits as a way to encourage more people to marry and enjoy better health and longevity.

The financial costs resulting from the health consequences associated with “alternative lifestyles” are skyrocketing, which is one of the reasons homosexual activists are fighting to gain access to this and other benefits of marriage. Unfortunately when they gain these benefits, the price for their bad behavior is shifted to people who know better than to participate.

While liberal lawmakers would like to cast this issue and others like it as a matter of “fairness,” the fact is that it shifts the burden of bad behaviors onto people who are wise enough to abstain from them.

Perhaps the most discouraging news to report on this matter is the fact that a couple of solid conservatives flip-flopped and supported this anti-family legislation. Chris Saxman (R-Staunton) and Frank Hargrove (R-Hanover) both switched their votes, siding with liberal lobbyists from pro-homosexual groups who testified before the subcommittee hearing on last Tuesday night.

For more information, visit the Family Foundation of Virginia blog.