From mills@aztec.al.bldrdoc.gov Thu Jun 9 19:48:48 1994 Received: from indst.indstate.edu by vector.casti.com (NX5.67d/5.931230) id AA22691; Thu, 9 Jun 94 19:48:48 -0400 Received: from amber.indstate.edu by indst.indstate.edu (IBM VM SMTP R1.2.2MX) with TCP; Thu, 09 Jun 94 18:49:46 EST Received: from AMBER/MERCURY by amber.indstate.edu (Mercury 1.11); Thu, 9 Jun 94 18:47:29 GMT-5 Received: from MERCURY by AMBER (Mercury 1.11); Thu, 9 Jun 94 18:43:18 GMT-5 Resent-From: "Thomas W. Holt Jr." Resent-To: QRD@vector.casti.com Resent-Date: Thu, 9 Jun 1994 18:43:12 EST Received: from MERCURY by AMBER (Mercury 1.11); Thu, 9 Jun 94 16:10:27 GMT-5 Received: from BROWNVM.brown.edu by amber.indstate.edu (Mercury 1.11); Thu, 9 Jun 94 16:10:25 GMT-5 Received: from BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU by BROWNVM.brown.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 1289; Thu, 09 Jun 94 16:38:57 EDT Received: from BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@BROWNVM) by BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 4860; Thu, 9 Jun 1994 16:38:55 -0400 Date: Thu, 9 Jun 1994 13:45:39 -0700 Reply-To: Mills Mike Sender: Information Repository for News of Interest to GLB* Folk From: Mills Mike Subject: City Benefits for Portland's Gay, Unmarried Couples X-To: GLB-NEWS@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU To: Multiple recipients of list GLB-NEWS Message-Id: <253823C7D2D@amber.indstate.edu> PORTLAND, Ore (Reuter) - Portland's city council made city health benefits available to gay and other unmarried couples Wednesday when they erased legal marriage as a requirement. The council voted unanimously in favor of extending health insurance coverage to the partners of gay and other unmarried city employees. To qualify, a person will have to sign an affidavit stating that he or she has been in a domestic partnership for at least one year. ``We have broadened the definition of family,'' declared Portland City Commissioner Mike Lindberg after the vote. ``This is actually pro-family. We should be doing everything we can to support families and keep them together.'' The action drew fire from conservative citizens groups. ``This is a policy from the political left to put the stamp of approval on the homosexual lifestyle,'' said Bill Casey, a spokesman for the Traditional Values Coalition. The action also contrasted with moves over the past 18 months in more than 20 rural Oregon communities and counties to adopt ordinances that prohibit the recognition of gay rights, including extending city benefits to gay couples. The Oregon Citizens Alliance sponsored the ordinances after voters in November 1992 rejected a statewide ballot initiative that would have prohibited recognition of gay rights. The initiative failed mostly in urban counties. Since that election, the alliance has targeted rural communities where the initiative received majority support and succeeded in placing a similar measure on local election ballots. The Oregon Legislature last year passed a law which sought to void the local ordinances, but the alliance challenged the new law in court and an appeal is pending. The new Portland ordinance had the backing of unions representing city employees. It was included in two new labor contracts and is expected to be included in agreements covering five other unions. The $224,000 annual cost will be offset by reductions in health benefits and increases in the amount employees must pay for doctors' office visits.