News
2006-12-22
Alaska governor
says state will provide benefits to same-sex partners
Alaska governor
Sarah Palin said the state will abide by an Alaska
supreme court order to provide benefits to same-
Alaska governor
Sarah Palin said the state will abide by an Alaska
supreme court order to provide benefits to same-sex partners
of state employees as of January 1. Palin's decision
came one day after the Alaska supreme court told the
state to stop dragging its feet and implement
domestic-partner benefits, which were first ordered 14
months ago.
"We believe we have no more judicial options,"
Palin said but added that she still wants voters in a
special April election to consider the prospect of a
constitutional amendment designed to prohibit such
benefits. She signed into law a bill passed by state
lawmakers in a November special session calling for
voters to weigh in.
Voters will be asked if the legislature should
adopt a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit
the state or municipalities from providing these
benefits. If there is overwhelming support, then
legislators could pass a resolution with two-thirds support
that would go before voters in the 2008 general election.
The pending implementation is a long time
coming, says Carrie Evans, state legislative director
for Washington, D.C.–based gay rights group
Human Rights Campaign. "We haven't seen that kind of
defiance by the governor and legislature of a high
court ruling; it's extraordinary," Evans said. "Some
states just grumble. What we saw was Alaska digging in
its heels." Alaska will become the 14th U.S. state that has
a law, policy, or court decision that provides these
benefits, according to the organization.
For now, this ends a six year-battle for the
American Civil Liberties Union and nine couples who
filed a lawsuit challenging the lack of benefits for
same-sex couples employed by the state and the municipality
of Anchorage. The high court ruled in October 2005 that
denying benefits to same-sex domestic partners
violated the state's guarantee of equal protection for
all Alaskans. (Steve Quinn, AP)
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