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ACLU could join
Salt Lake City in DP benefits lawsuits

ACLU could join
Salt Lake City in DP benefits lawsuits

The American Civil Liberties Union could be joining Salt Lake City in defending a policy to provide health benefits to the domestic partners of unmarried city employees. The ACLU's Utah chapter has been contacted by city officials and others about the challenges to Mayor Rocky Anderson's executive order extending health benefits to unmarried domestic partners--gay or straight. "Right now we are doing some investigation," ACLU of Utah staff attorney Margaret Plane said. "We're doing some fact-finding. There are a lot of avenues we could take, but it really depends on what we learn." The ACLU is asking to hear from gay and lesbian city employees in the city. City attorneys are already defending Anderson's order, signed last month, in court. The city responded in third district court Wednesday to a petition filed by the Public Employees Health Program, which has asked the court to determine whether the proposed benefit change is legal before administering it. Anderson's executive order would offer benefits to the domestic partners of city employees, regardless of sexuality. Opponents of Anderson's order say it violates state law by offering gay couples and unmarried heterosexual couples the legal equivalent status of a traditional marriage. The measure also is being challenged in a civil lawsuit filed by an Arizona conservative group, which alleges that the order undermines the institution of marriage and is illegal. (AP)

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