The Starkville Board of Aldermen unanimously passed the new plus-one insurance coverage Sept. 2, which would extend coverage to employees and one other family member at a lower premium than family coverage. It also extends to domestic partners and members of the LGBT community. However, after the Human Rights Campaign, one of America’s largest civil rights organizations, praised Starkville for being the first city in Mississippi to approve this insurance, controversy broke among citizens of Starkville.
This controversy, full of shambled citizens with contrasting opinions mixed with religious views, affected the Board of Aldermen in a way that led them to vote 4 to 2 (with one abstention) on Sept. 16 in amending the original plus-one insurance coverage. This was an amendment later vetoed by Mayor Parker Wiseman two days later. Wiseman’s veto held as the board again voted 4 to 2 to override the veto on Sept. 23, but this time, Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn disqualified herself from voting.
During the Sept. 16 public board meeting, Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn, Ward 3 Alderman David Little and Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver accused Wiseman and the board’s attorney Chris Latimer of withholding information from the board, not allowing them the right amount of time and information to vote correctly.
As it is in my understanding the plus-one insurance with extensive coverage was originally passed on Sept. 2, so why the speculation now? When people question your decisions and make a controversy of them, it is only natural for one to question him or herself and become confused. However, it makes no sense that, after an extensive insurance coverage is passed with no problem, it suddenly becomes one when people have something to say about it.
There is no doubt in my mind the board was completely aware of what it was presented with on Sept. 2 when it passed the extensive coverage. After all, before accepting something like this, you are to fully review the documents, right?
According to Gallup Politics from the 2011 fiscal year, Mississippi contains the largest number of conservatives within the U.S. Mississippi is just over the 50 percent mark in population of conservatives, with Idaho, Alabama, Wyoming and Utah coming on the heels of the 50 percent mark. So it should come as no surprise that with the original passing of the plus-one insurance coverage and appraisal from HRC Mississippi’s conservatives would crawl from their speculating hiding places to stop the equality that liberally threatens their views.
A plan that extends coverage to one other family member, whether gay, straight or whatever, shouldn’t matter. The passing of this plan does nothing less than push Mississippi closer to the edge of conservative waters, reaching for dry, liberal land.
