Posted on 01/25/2002 5:51:52 PM PST by rob777
WASHINGTON, DC -- A plan for the federal government to spend $200,000 to build a church-based seniors center for gay men and lesbians in Florida is an insult to conservative Christians and others who believe that homosexuality is immoral, Libertarians say.
"This plan shows why it is wrong to use taxpayers' money to meddle in controversial, faith-based projects," said Steve Dasbach, executive director of the Libertarian Party. "Using tax money for projects like this creates controversy where none need exist.
"With this gay-friendly seniors center, some taxpayers will be forced to subsidize beliefs they consider wrong; decisions that should have been made by a church will now be made by government bureaucrats; and a project that should have brought a community together may now tear it apart. That's wrong."
In an effort to cater to Broward County, Florida's rapidly growing population of elderly gay men and lesbians, the county's Area Agency on Aging plans to spend $200,000 this summer to create the nation's first federally funded, "gay friendly" day care center, according to news reports. The facility will sit on the grounds of Fort Lauderdale's Sunshine Cathedral, a predominantly gay church. While the center will not discriminate against heterosexuals, it will "specialize" in serving the gay community.
Such a gay-friendly seniors center is admirable, said Dasbach -- as long as it's not government funded or subsidized. "According to estimates, there are 1 to 3 million gay seniors around the nation," he noted. "If they want to pool their resources to create senior centers or other facilities that specifically serve their community, that is commendable. Or if an entrepreneur wants to build such a facility to serve an untapped market, that's clever and resourceful.
"But millions of Americans fervently believe that homosexuality is a sin, and they're entitled to their opinion, too. What right do Broward County officials have to force such people to, in effect, subsidize that sin by financing a gay seniors center?
"That makes no more sense than taxing African-Americans to build a seniors home for retired Ku Klux Klan members, or forcing animal-rights activists to subsidize a store that sells fur coats."
The fact that government intervention creates unnecessary political controversy is even more important than the relatively small amount of money at stake, said Dasbach.
"Already, a Fort Lauderdale-based Christian group called Reclaiming America has denounced the proposal as 'state-sponsored discrimination' -- setting up a heated conflict where none should have existed," he said. "This is yet another example of government causing problems while pretending to solve them."
The gay-friendly seniors center should also be a wake-up call for conservatives, who will be put into the uncomfortable position of either supporting the project -- or opposing the Bush administration's "faith-based" initiative, which would funnel millions of tax dollars to religious-based charities, noted Dasbach.
"Conservatives who support Bush's faith-based funding plan are now footing the bill for a gay-friendly day care center," he said. "Perhaps now those conservatives will understand that the only way to protect religious values is to prevent politicians from subsidizing any religious institution -- not just the ones they happen to support."
One important note, said Dasbach: The Libertarian Party doesn't oppose government funding for the seniors center because it objects to gays or lesbians -- only because it believes that government should not discriminate for or against any peaceful, consensual, adult lifestyle.
"The real problem isn't the gay lifestyle; it's the politicians' lifestyle -- which consists of collecting your money and forking it over to politically powerful groups," he said. "Maybe Washington, DC needs an 11th Commandment that says: Thou shalt not force people to subsidize behavior they believe is wrong."
THIS IS AN INSULT TO ALL CHRISTIANS not just conservative ones
The old queens get some attention,
Florida's voters see some money coming back,
God gets a cut.
What's a libertarian not to like? Answer: the whole thing.
If there is profit to be made in gay-friendly elder care, someone will start one up without gov't support.
The local downtown area had an old brownstone hotel, the Eaton. Run down, in a bad neighborhood and with no parking, it had long since given up on any business other than as a long-term flophouse for indigents. The city, in its wisdom, resolved to remove this blight, so it bought the place, evicted everyone, gutted and restored the rooms, then gifted it to a company to run as a hotel. Nobody used it, and in less than a year the city had to buy out the hotelier's contract, repossess the building and pay to have it demolished.
Not having learned it lesson, the city paid to have a brand-new hotel constructed nearby, only to have it fold and revert back to the city, earlier this year.
Q) What can they do with this white elephant, other than demolish it too?
A) Latest talk is that it's to be a rent-subsidized flophouse for the same indigents they kicked out of the Eaton.
Moral? Government exists to provide services that the private sector won't pay for.
Usually because it's a waste of time and money.
So there you have it. BTW, those of you already starting the Bush bashing should realize that there is no way to withdraw funding for a project just because gay people will be using the facility. Use your heads for thinking, not your butts.
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