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Last year a too-broadly worded anti-gay ballot referendum not only rescinded domestic partner benefits for El Paso city employees, it ended insurance benefits for some retired cops and firefighters. Yesterday the city council reversed the ballot measure.

After hearing spirited arguments from members of the public on both sides of the issue, the council split 4-4. Mayor John Cook, who proposed the ordinance restoring benefits, broke the tie in favor of it despite a ballot initiative in November ending them. City Reps. Beto O'Rourke and Rachel Quintana, who will leave the council in two weeks, voted in favor of restoring the benefits. Quintana's replacement, Michiel Noe, on Tuesday said he would not have voted the way she did. "Although I think everyone should have benefits, I would have respected the will of the voters," Noe said. "Now, if the courts had decided that was illegal, then I would have voted according to what the ruling said. But they said that the vote was legal, so again I would respect the will of the voters."

Pastor Tom Brown, the author of the original measure, says he will launch a recall drive against the city council members who voted to restore the benefits.

In November 2010, El Paso's Pastor Tom Brown organized a ballot referendum banning the city from offering domestic partners benefits. Only after the measure passed did the city realize that it was so broadly written, it would also ban benefits for retired cops and firefighters. Nevertheless, yesterday a federal judge upheld the ban.

The ordinance forcing the city of El Paso to "uphold traditional family values" will stand, and elected officials, retirees, affiliated service contractors, domestic partners of employees and certain dependent children will be left out, ruled a federal judge. "This is an example of how direct democracy can have unexpected consequences," wrote Federal Judge Frank Montalvo quoting James Madison. The plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit included city employees, domestic partners of city employees, retirees and even elected officials.

They wanted the ordinance struck on two grounds. They alleged it prevented them from obtaining health insurance, thus violating the contract they had with the insurance company, and that they were denied equal protection under the law, meaning, they were singled out for discrimination. "We keep hearing from the critics that the ordinance that the people passed was unconstitutional, well, we now have a federal judge that says this is completely constitutional," Tom Brown said. He is the leader of El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values and was the man behind the movement to deny benefits. "What more does city council need?"

(Tipped by JMG reader Melissa)

El Paso police have arrested a third suspect in the beating of a 22 year-old Texas man, who remains in critical condition more than two weeks after six men assaulted him with a baseball bat outside the popular El Paso gay nightclub, Old Plantation.

The El Paso Police Department's Intelligence Unit has arrested and charged a 17-year-old male in the aggravated assault that occurred outside the Old Plantation nightclub on May 7. He is the second person arrested in the case. A 16-year-old juvenile also has been detained in the case. Ivan Gallardo, 17, of the 900 block of S. Tays, has been charged with Aggravated Assault and booked into the El Paso County Jail on a bond of $50,000.00. Roman Olvera, 19, of the 2200 block of Bassett, has been charged with aggravated assault and booked into the El Paso County Jail on a bond of $50,000. Police had previously detained a 16-year-old boy in the assault of 22-year-old Lionel Martinez outside of the Old Plantation (OP) nightclub. The unnamed juvenile was referred to the Juvenile Probation Department for the offense of aggravated assault.

Police have classified the attack as gang-related, although a witness reported the attackers using anti-gay epithets during the beating. The victim is not gay and reportedly is not involved with gangs.

On Saturday a man standing outside of popular El Paso gay nightclub Old Plantation was beaten with a baseball bay by a group of six men. The victim, who is not gay, remains in critical condition. Although police have so far refused to characterize the incident as a hate crime, the victim's family says the attackers used anti-gay slurs during the assault. El Paso's KTSM reports:

We spoke with the victim's sister, Deanne Martinez, this morning at UMC where her brother is still listed in critical condition. Martinez was there Saturday and witnessed the attack. "He was on the floor laying there knocked out and they still kept bashing his head with a bat. That to me is so cowardly. " Martinez says she and another family member tried to stop the attack but the men turned on them, she said "I was trying to pull out my brother and she was pushing off the guys. They ended up bashing her Jeep Liberty." So far police say they have no evidence to call the attack a hate crime. Martinez calls that ridiculous. She says her brother isn't gay but he was alone outside of a gay club and the men who attacked him made it clear why they picked him. Martinez said, "they were yelling gay slurs and yelling their gang name or where they're from."

The victim's sister added that she's heard of the same group of men harassing other nightclub patrons in the area. Police have not named any suspects.

A 22 year-old man is listed in critical condition today after being beaten by a group of men with a baseball bat outside the popular El Paso nightclub, Old Plantation. Media reports are light with details so far, but two JMG readers from Texas have written to say the attack was a gay bashing.

Police said the man was waiting for a ride outside the Old Plantation Night Club, 301 S. Ochoa, when a verbal confrontation began between the victim and six other males. The verbal confrontation became physical and the six suspects allegedly began punching, kicking the victim. The group allegedly also used a bat to hit the victim. One of the victim's friends, a woman, tried to help and had her vehicle damaged as she tried to do so. A suspect struck her 2003 Jeep Liberty windshield with a bat to stop her from helping the victim. The suspects then fled the area in what appeared to be a van.

I'll update this post when we know more.