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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1996)
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R ights a y . i » J^Î'iî»>i.7 / / » .»/ X ».. Cc_____________ ^ X „ y X-fm. 52^ ...y.Z / y ^ / . O. .¿.»X. X -* y<. a - « & z e je n /e d 6 y T he H uman R ig h ts C am paign da ¿ A r •U4 S a tu r d a y , M ay 4 t h , 1996 P o r t l a n d M a r r i o t t G r a n d B a l l r o o m 6 PM C o c k t a i l s & 7 : 3 0 D i n n e r E n t e r t a i n me n t : G eorgi a R a gs da l e , C omic «av.at R ed R ibbon S B asic R ights S S national po n s o r s : F red M e y er , P G E , U.S. W po nso rs : northwest natural ponsors G as , 1 a i’.C 1 / — £ - est ju s t out : O U T M a g a z i n e , A m e r ic a n A i r l i n e s F o r M o r e I n f o r m ation , c a l l (503) 233-8838 HUMAN R IG H T S /.X CAMPAIGN i/'. 101 SW Main. Sir 245 Portland, OR 97204 ------ / - 1- LLUy__-// /A. ___ f .X /-. . _ _ ./..V ^ÎL. . ..y —^ r — — / t " “ * */ ~ 7 — *“ / / i a y t . . ^ l a , . ..4«! V . /^-L v 4 • y - rt-4 . « .a a ^ / # .« ^ 4 ^^. w .a -a » /f-< i -Li X ^ j L m u i— 1 4 a i / / « - 4 • / . 1RS taxes domestic partner benefits Domestic partner benefits offered by employ ers should generally be taxed, says the Internal Revenue Service. The decision came in what is known as a letter ruling, issued Jan. 19. It breaks no new ground on tax policy. But it does point to discrimination against same-sex couples not al lowed to marry, and also to limited ways to avoid that burden. “It’s inherently unequal and unfair for unmar ried employees who receive family health insur ance to face a greater tax burden than their mar ried colleagues,” Suzanne D. Goldberg, an attor ney with the Lambda Legal Defense and Educa tion Fund, told the Washington Post. The ruling states that “a Domestic Partner does not qualify as a spouse of a Qualified Em ployee unless recognized as such under state law.” A few local jurisdictions, but no states, currently treat domestic partners in that manner. The governor of Hawaii has suggested such ac tion as a way out of the gay-marriage legal chal lenge in his state, but there appears to be little enthusiasm for his idea. “It’s just one more way we are discriminated against,” said financial planner Peg Downey. “We can’t collect on our partner’s Social Security or their retirement benefits, but we have to fund the retirement benefits of partners of straight people.” The IRS did allow that a domestic partner who “receives more than half of his or her support from the Qualified Employer for the calendar year,” can qualify as a dependent. In that instance the benefits will not be taxed. For same-sex couples who both work, ben efits will likely be taxed. Those who may qualify as a dependent would likely have low or no income, such as a student, a partner staying at home with children, or someone not able to work because of a severe illness. Letter rulings legally apply only to the com pany or individual requesting the decision. How ever, tax experts follow them closely, as they indicate the agency’s thinking on a subject. Achtenberg back to HUD A n n u a l D inner C i^U JL ational news l^ x .x .4 " * - « - x « < « /x -lX -X y ., 't a a» «■•■»«/ a.*.«., - - - - - -x 7 « a a .y 4«aa- - •» . » Roberta Achtenberg will return to the Depart ment of Housing and Urban Development, which she left last April to run unsuccessfully for mayor of San Francisco. She told the New York Times she had discussed her re turn with Secretary Henry C isneros and White House staff. An an nouncement will be forthcoming. Achtenberg will be returning to an agency where she was both liked and respected. She Roberta Achtenberg will not get back her old job, which requires Senate confirmation, but will serve as a senior advisor to Cisneros. Her partner, Mary Morgan, and their son, Benjie, now in the fifth grade, remained in Wash ington, D.C., during the campaign. “I have a job I really like [at the Justice Department],” Morgan had said at the time of Achtenberg’s resignation. She also voiced the practical: “It’s the only paycheck we have right now.” Achtenberg has agreed to stay at HUD through the end of the school year. Some speculate she might find a position on Clinton’s re-election campaign. Another permanent senior position within the administration likely would not come •before a second Clinton term. Illegal strip search brings big bucks The U.S. government has agreed to pay $200,000 in settlement for an illegal strip search of ACT UP demonstrators. The incident took place seven years ago in Portland, Ore., and has been tied up in legal wrangling since then. Ten ACT UP members were arrested on Feb. 27, 1989, for civil disobedience at the Portland office of the Food and Drug Administration. They were pushing for expanded access to and ap proval for experimental AIDS medications. Wayne Harris was a central figure in the demonstration and in the subsequent lawsuit. He is a lawyer who had worked in the U.S. attorney’s office in Portland. He returned to that office prior to the protest, to choreograph the action. “I wanted them to be aware that it was going to happen so that the government would have enough resources there, so it wouldn’t be a kind of panic response where somebody might get hurt,” said Harris. Six men and four women were arrested, de tained and strip searched by U.S. marshals. The latter procedure is highly unusual, allowed only if there is reason to fear for safety or contraband. “We lived up to our part of the bargain, and they didn’t. It pissed me o ff,” H arris said. “I really believe part of the reason they did it was these people were gay and they were AIDS activ ists. I ju st wasn’t going to sit by and let that hap- pen. » Harris had clerked in federal court and “knew the civil rights area pretty well.” He knew the lawyer he wanted to handle it. Tom Steenson, an attorney in private practice, readily agreed to take the case on a contingency fee basis. Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund joined in with its resources and later re cruited a team to write the appellate brief. The government adopted a strategy of stalling and fighting. It won at trial in 1993, when the court accepted the marshals’ argument that the protest ers might have been carrying concealed weapons and posed a threat, thereby justifying the strip search. But a three-member panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals threw out that decision in June 1995. The unanimous opinion said there was “no reasonable cause” to conduct the strip search. The judges called it “invasive and humiliating,” and ordered the case back to the trial court to determine liability and damages. The government’s offer to settle was finalized on Feb. 6. It calls for payment of $20,000 in damages to each of the 10 people arrested. It also allows the plaintiffs to review materials used by the government to train marshals in responding to issues of HIV/AIDS. “We are delighted with the substantial settle ment. It shows that the government pays a high price for trying to intimidate AIDS activists and other civil rights protesters,” said Suzanne B. Goldberg, an attorney with Lambda. For Harris, “The lawsuit was never intended to enrich any individual. The whole purpose was to rap the government’s knuckles so that political activists would feel secure in engaging in nonvio lent civil disobedience. I would hope the plaintiffs consider sizable contributions to the political causes of their choice.” ACT UP I I t.4 I t . • * I » »'».!• Reported by Bob Roehr
