Jflhruary 15.2DQ2 ?
IJWJl. Will news
Activist Rick Galena helped foil an anti-gay ballot
ing insurance and other benefits.
Secretary o f State
Dan Gwadosky
announced Jan. 29 that anti-gay groups failed to
collect the 42,101 signatures needed to place a
question on the ballot. The measure would have
repealed a recently enacted law requiring all
health insurers to sell policies with domestic
partner benefits to any business that asks for
them. It also contained a dangerous provision
aimed at prohibiting the state from ever legally
recognizing gay marriages or civil unions.
“W e...firmly believe that this is a direct
result of Maine voters seeing this issue for
what it truly is,” said Rick G alena, Maine Les
bian Gay Political Alliance executive direc
tor. “It is not about ‘gay rights’ but about
every person’s ability to have access to health
insurance, regardless o f their marital status or
sexual orientation.”
in the mail that said,
‘Die dyke.’ "
Grayson
told a
roomful of reporters and
supporters Feb. 4 that
she was a plaintiff in the
lawsuit against the uni
versity, where she is a
professor, because Neff
needs to have health
benefits in order to stay
at home and care for
their baby. “I’m doing
this to protect my fami
ly,” she said.
Workers at the
Montana University
System’s seven campus
es can get health insur
ance, disability cover
age and other benefits
for their spouses. Even
unmarried opposite-sex
couples can provide
their partners with ben
efits by simply signing
an affidavit of common
law marriage.
“This is a matter of
basic fairness—of wheth
er gay employees should
be compensated less
than straight employees
for doing the same
work,” said Scott Crich
ton, ACLU of Montana
executive
director.
Along with actual salary,
he noted, health and
measure effort in Maine
other benefits make up a
substantial portion of how employees are
compensated.
The lawsuit is based on protections in the
state constitution that the A C LU said are in
most other state constitutions, including funda
mental rights to privacy and equal protection.
Attorneys said the taxpayer-funded university
system is violating these basic rights by denying
lesbian and gay employees equal access to health
insurance and other benefits.
“We are working with local and university
officials and law enforcement to ensure that this
heinous crime is fully investigated and prosecut
ed— and that the families involved in this law
suit are not vulnerable to further attack,” Coles
said. “The case is being handled as a triple
attempted homicide, and federal officials have
become involved in the investigation.”
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North
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COLORADO
MONTANA
lesbian couple’s home in Missoula was gut
ted by fire Feb. 8 because they are part of a
lawsuit seeking health benefits for same-sex
partners of University of Montana employees.
Shortly after 3 a.m., Adri-
anne Neff and Carla Grayson
took their infant son and
headed for the front door, only
to find a wall of fire. Back in
the bedroom, Neff passed the
baby out the window to
Grayson, then struggled to
escape herself. The house was
surrounded by fire, which offi
cials said was almost certainly
the result of arson.
“Whoever set this fire did
not intend to simply frighten or
intimidate this family. They meant to kill
them,” said Matt Coles, American Civil Liber
ties Union Lesbian and Gay Rights Project
director. “Two days after the case was filed, all of
the plaintiffs received anonymous death threats
A
A
state Senate committee voted 4-3 to pro
hibit discrimination based on sexual orien
tation and gender identity Jan. 23. The bill was
headed to the full Senate.
A similar measure passed the Senate last
year but died in a House
committee. It was at least the
fifth time such a measure
failed in the Colorado Legis
lature, according to The
Associated Fress.
“It’s beyond me why sexual
orientation would be any dif
ferent from sex, religion, race
and the other characteristics
we already prevent discrimina
tion on," bill sponsor Sen.
Doug Linkhart, D-Denver,
told the AP.
The measure would exempt religious organi
zations that do not receive taxpayer funding. JH
Compiled by News Editor J im R adosta , who can
be reached at jm @ justout .com.
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