Tribune wants Renfroe gone
Give the Greeley Tribune credit for taking a stand. The editorial board is “upset” about Republican State Senator Scott Renfroe’s comments about homosexuality when he took to the Senate floor in opposition to Democrat Senator Jennifer Viega’s bill that would require the state to cover same sex partners that have been in a committed relationship for “one year.”
Renfroe cited the Old Testament and explained that in the eyes of God all sin is equal. The Tribune editorial board wrote that it “found his Bible reference abhorrent and even dangerous. Our state senator quoted the Old Testament as saying that homosexuals ’shall surely be put to death, their blood-guiltiness is upon them.’” The ed board went on to explain that “this quote could be seen as a call for violence against our homosexual neighbors, and that is simply unacceptable.”
The Tribune then wrote that it hopes voters make Renfroe suffer the consequences of his “dangerous” speech.
As staunch supporters of the First Amendment, we believe Renfroe has every right to voice his opinion about any subject, including homosexuality. But freedom of speech has consequences, and we hope Renfroe realizes those during the next election.
We all have issues that are dealbreakers for us. For me it’s taxes, onerous regulation, massive deficit spending that leaves my children drowning in debt, bailing out failing industries, being lapdogs for unions, rewarding bad behavior, promoting irresponsible behavior among others. I guess this gay “ human rights issue” is it for the Tribune. The newspaper may want Renfroe gone, but I doubt that voters in the 13th Senate District will oust him for that — no matter how much money Tim Gill is willing to pour into the race. Although it will be interesting to see how much money Gill et al are willing to spend to defeat one Northern Colorado legislator.
On a side note, I’m opposed to the legislation because it would cost the state $116,000 at a time when the state faces a $1 billion budget shortfall over the next 18 months; it’s impossible to verify a “committed” relationship with the “intent for the relationship to last indefinitely”; and in this legislation an adult is identified as someone “18 years of age” but in other health care legislation a dependent child can be up to 30 years old. It’s ridiculous.