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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2007)
FEBRUARY 16. 2007 jUStjOUtjl? $136,900 Cete 1RD/BA Condo near FCC Rock Creek * major buslines. Pool/Spa onsite. Nook for office/ dea/dfaiag. ML* 6107127. Call Randall! All Purple Tags 20% off In February! Randall Smith REAL ESTATE BROKER Open Tues 9am-7pm. and Wed-Sat 9am-4pm 503-246-1235 (503)471-3573 DIRECT randalhniiih0rbsral.com randall-smith com . 8426 SW 22nd 1/2 block South of Barbur Blvd From left, Stonewall Communities board member Alice Fisher, Stonewall Communities president David Aronstein, Wheelock College vice president of academic affairs Suzanne Pasch and Stonewall communities board member Michael Connolly are partnering to create a gay-specific college. insurance for the domestic partners of gay and lesbian state employees. “After serving the state for 25 years, 1 hoped to retire with the same peace of mind as my straight colleagues,” said Ellen Novak. “But retirement has meant that my partner has had to switch to costly private health insurance with inferior coverage at the point in our lives when we are most likely to face health problems. I worked just as hard as my colleagues, so it doesn’t seem fair that my family has been saddled with this burden.” Novak, who has been with her partner, Linda McCreary, for 15 years, was forced to retire in 2004 after being diagnosed with a chronic lung condition. When she was still working for the state, she was able to provide McCreary health insurance as her domes tic partner, but because of the state’s policy of deny ing retirees domestic partner coverage, McCreary’s domestic partner coverage was terminated when Novak was forced to retire. Carried couples in the same situation are permitted to continue to provide health insurance to their spouses after retirement. The lawsuit charges that the state’s policy of denying gay and lesbian state retirees equal health insurance for their partners violates the New Mexico Constitution’s equality guarantees. Unlike their straight colleagues, gay and lesbian employees are barred from marrying in the state and therefore, in the absence of domestic partner benefits, are denied equal compensation. In 2003, Gov. Bill Richardson issued an execu tive order providing state employees, both gay and straight, with the option of providing their partners health insurance through domestic partner cover age. Under the order, domestic partner coverage is not available to employees after they retire, while spousal coverage is provided. MASSACHUSETTS Gay Learning Institute Opens A learning institute designed for and by queer adults will open March 29 in Boston. The Stonewall Communities Lifelong Learning Institute at Wheelock College will offer eight-week courses plus "lunch and learn” events, social net working opportunities and much more. Students will have access to various facilities and programs at Wheelock College and will be able to participate in other activities, social events and trips. While there are other Lifelong Learning Institutes in the greater Boston area, this will be the first ever to be designed specifically by and for the sexual minorities community but open to all. Lifelong learning is a rapidly growing social and personal growth movement for people older than 50. Sometimes called “senior colleges” or “learning communities,” there are no grades, tests or require ments. There are more than 26,000 older gay people in the Boston area, and part of the appeal of a lifelong learning program is the sense of com munity enjoyed by its members. “Lifelong learning matches Stonewall’s mission, goals, expertise and networks. We are dedicated to creating social, residential and educational opportu nities for older lesbians and gay men, as well as support, connections and empowerment,” said Stonewall Communities president David Aronstein. “We believe that our LL1 will help create a culture of aging in Boston’s LGBT community that is marked by generosity, compassion and vision.” For more information call 617-369-9090 or visit www.stonewallcommunities.com. couxueu. BANKER □ SEAL riorums (503)643-7325 JMV The Law Office of John V. McVea, P.C. 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When voters passed the amendment in November 2004, they were told that it would not affect domestic partnership benefits that provide health coverage for same-sex couples. “Providing health insurance to same-sex domestic partners is vastly different from recogni tion of a marriage and the over 1,000 benefits and rights that marriage confers^" the American Civil Liberties Union argued in the appeal brief. In April 2005, the ACLU of Michigan filed the lawsuit on.behalf of 21 families in Ingham County Circuit Court seeking a declaratory ruling that Proposal 2, which amended the Michigan Constitution to prohibit marriage for same-sex couples, allows public employers to offer health care insurance, or domestic partnership benefits, to gay and lesbian families. © Compiled by JAYMEE R. CUTI It is our goal to lit everv borrower with the mortgage that best suits their interests ami goals. 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