Governor Kaine has proposed to extend state health insurance benefits to "Other Qualifying Adults" and their dependents if the other qualifying adult (OTA) is at least 19 years old and has lived in the state employee's household for a period of 12 months.  Current policies do not cover health insurance for children of state employees after the year in which the child turns 23.   However, a state employee's live-in companion of the same age will be eligible to receive benefits under Governor Kaine's plan.

This new policy will provide health insurance to homosexual partners and unmarried heterosexual partners courtesy of taxpayers.  Sadly, homosexual behavior causes serious problems requiring greater medical intervention and health care expenditures.  And the provision that partners must live in the state employee's household for only 12 consecutive months will enable state employees to provide tax subsidized health insurance for multiple partners over a lifetime.  How will Virginia enforce the 12 month residency requirement? How does providing health insurance to live-in partners benefit Virginians? 

Most social scientists agree that the institution of marriage gives children the healthiest start in life, which benefits society at large.  Forty percent of all births are now out-of-wedlock.  Providing health insurance to multiple unmarried partners who live in a state employee's household for a year at a time is not conducive to strengthening marriage and family. The revolution which promised fulfillment from unbridled sexual activity has resulted in new venereal diseases, sterility, premature death and a myriad of health and social ills that has increased tax-paid government services to attempt to fill the void left by the broken family unit.  Such policies add to our economic troubles, not to mention that the missing 55 million individuals lost to abortion would have contributed to the economic vitality of our nation.

Virginia should not enable or encourage behaviors that violate the norm of nature.  Only God knows our hearts, but while man sometimes forgives, and God always forgives, nature never forgives transgressions of her laws. 

Despite the sexual revolution, Americans still recognize standards of right and wrong evidenced by the public reaction to the recent sad saga of Tiger Woods' and Governor Sanford's infidelity to their wives.  Americans apparently still overhwelmingly believe that faithful, permanent marriage between one man and a one woman is a good worth protecting.  Promiscuity, adultery, lying, cheating, greed and murder are behaviors which continue to be disdained throughout history.

For the wellbeing of our children, our Commonwealth, and all Americans who benefit from the stability of a strong family unit, the Commonwealth should not encourage or enable homosexual and unmarried sexual behavior by extending health benefits to non-family members of state employees.