In a guest column published in The Grand Rapids Press on Saturday, Representative Dave Agema–who recently proposed cutting funding to Grand Valley State University by 5% for offering benefits to unmarried employees–defended his call. The core of the column argued that GVSU is overstepping its bounds and that marriage should be defined as between one man and one woman:
“Obviously, this is America and people are free to live together without being married. However, Michigan voters and the Supreme Court supported the legal definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, reinforcing the public’s view on lawfully recognized bonds between individuals.
It is irresponsible for any public institution that receives tax dollars to use those funds for anything that goes against the accepted majority view. To reflect those wishes, I continue to propose a 5-percent reduction in state funding to any college or university that offers health care benefits to employees’ unmarried partners.”
However, rather than responding from a position of power–Agema’s column comes from a position of powerlessness. Despite his frequent publicity on this and other issues, he admits to having difficulty in bringing his proposal up for debate–hopefully it stays that way.
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