Ban on benefits enrages gays, lesbians

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Ban on benefits enrages gays, lesbians

By Marlon Vaughn, The Flint Journal, February 05, 2007

Lapeer resident Gale Crooks said he's disappointed by the state Court of Appeals decision that the same-sex marriage ban also blocks domestic-partner health benefits, but he's hardly surprised.

"It just keeps going - there's no end," said Crooks, co-chairman of the Lapeer County Equal Rights Alliance, an advocacy and support organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.

"It's discrimination. It's another action aimed at demeaning GLBT people." Area gays and lesbians view the court's decision as the latest in an ongoing series of attacks on their rights that began with a 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. It reaffirms what many feared - that the ban's impact would extend beyond the ability to legally say "I do."

"Now they're taking away the benefits of your partner, who you can't marry, to receive health-care coverage," said Regina Stantz of Flint Township. "It's an all-out assault on us right now."

The Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the gay-marriage ban also blocks state universities and state and local governments from providing health insurance benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian employees. The ruling also applies to unmarried heterosexual couples.

An alliance of same-sex couples is expected to seek a stay and appeal to the state Supreme Court today. If they are unsuccessful, they will file suit in federal court, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

"The Appeals Court could not have gotten it more wrong," said Jeffrey Montgomery, executive director of the Detroit-based Triangle Foundation, the state's largest GLBT advocacy organization, in a statement released Friday.

"Partner benefits have never been regarded as part of the marriage question," he said. "This ruling will result in families being robbed of their health care and other basic necessities that are fundamental to protecting their well-being. This is a tragic ruling."

Officials from the American Family Association, an organization that opposes gay-rights initiatives nationwide and supports bans on same-sex marriages, could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Crooks said he feels the court decision is an attack on the humanity of gays and lesbians.

"It's insulting. I feel indignant," he said. "It's a question of people struggling for civil rights. First it was the amendment, now it's the courts. I feel like there's going to be a railroad car waiting to take me away."

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