Ohio Republican Representative Guilty of Gay Bashing and Bad Math

Well, I can't wait anymore. I wanted to do more research on this, but quite honestly, it speaks for itself.

Ohio State Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr. has filed a lawsuit against Miami University citing its same-sex partner benefits. According to an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Brinkman is upset that his tuition and tax dollars (he has two kids attending Miami) are funding Miami's creation of what he calls "a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."

For those who don't know, Ohioans passed Issue 1, banning gay marriage and common law marriage (by accident), in November of 2004. Brinkman says that Miami's same-sex partner benefits are in direct violation of that amendment.

So, I guess that the approximately $100,000 that Miami spends a year on same-sex partner benefits, around two-tenths of one percent of the total $50 million benefits budget, is much higher than the hundreds of thousands of dollars Miami will spend defending against Brinkman's suit, funded by Arizona-based Christian legal group Alliance Defense Fund.

What an idiot. Not only is he a bigot. He can't even do basic math.

I would like to commend Miami for fighting the lawsuit. I'm sure that most of their defense is based on good business sense. There are a lot of faculty who will come here to work if we have same-sex partner benefits who wouldn't otherwise, making us more competitive in hiring. But, they're still doing the morally correct thing.

This is a national issue and every university who offers same-sex benefits in a state with anti-gay marriage amendments is watching this very closely. I'll keep you updated.