Burnt Orange Report

Austin Mayor Opposes Prop 2 (update)

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Austin's Mayor Will Wynn publicly opposed Constitutional Amendment 2 today at a Press Conference in town. I havn't seen it hit any wires online yet, but here is the text release of this statement. He was surrounded by a plethora of local elected officials who didn't speak but stood with him in opposition.

A listing more or less of those officials are as follows. In italics are those that did not join the coalition of officials calling for a "no" vote on Amendment #2.

Mayor Will Wynn
Mayor Pro Tem Danny Thomas
Council Member Raul Alvarez
Council Member Betty Dunkerley
Council Member Jennifer Kim
Council Member Lee Leffingwell
Council Member Brewster McCracken

County Commissioners
1- Ron Davis
2- Karen Sonleitner
3- Gerald Daugherty
4- Margaret Gómez

Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos
Rep. Dawnna Dukes
Rep. Elliot Naishtat
Rep. Mark Strama
Rep. Eddie Rodriuez

Travis County Constables
4- Maria Canchola
5- Bruce Elfant

District Clerk Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza
Tax Assessor-Collector Nelda Wells Spears
Treasurer Dolores Ortega-Carter
County Attorney David Escamilla
Sheriff Greg Hamilton

There are two primary reasons that I’m standing here today to voice my opposition to Proposition 2, which will appear on the November 8th ballot. This proposed amendment would place in our state constitution the definition of marriage as being solely the union of a man and a woman.

First, I’m a proud American who believes that the First Amendment of the American Constitution prevents us from making any laws that codify religious values. I understand full well that a lot of well-intentioned folks oppose gay marriage on the basis of their religious beliefs. And, I respect the First Amendment rights of these citizens to speak their minds about their opinions. I don’t, however, want their - or my - feelings and thoughts about religion put into law. It’s not an accident, in my opinion, that the same amendment to the American Constitution that guarantees free speech also forbids laws regarding the establishment of religion. We can talk about and practice our religious faith with wide latitude here in America, but we will not make laws about it. The founders of this great country knew all too well that the mixture of religion and law produces a fatally divided society, and they were not about to let the mistakes of past empires and nations be repeated in the new republic that they were building.

Further, the wisdom of our country’s founders regarding the separation of church and state reflects not only their observations of history, but also the Christian heritage that they shared: it was, after all, Jesus who said, "Pay Caesar what is due to Caesar, and pay God what is due to God."

Second, I’m very proud to be a sixth generation Texan with roots in the Austin area going back to 1843. And, to me, one of the great cultural characteristics of Texas is that, here, we mind our own business. In Texas, there’s more than enough room for a lot of different people with a lot of different opinions. We may not like something that someone else is doing, but unless it’s really hurting somebody, we just go our own way and let it be. I like this aspect of Texas culture a lot—a whole lot, in fact. I think it comes with being such a big and wide-open state, and I think that it, more than almost any other mindset, defines what it is to be Texan. So, let’s
just not get into the habit of taking our opinions and trying to turn them into the laws of the land, particularly constitutional amendments: every time we let this happen, we lose a big part of what it is to be of and from the Great State of Texas.

Thank you all.

Will Wynn