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December 22, 2006

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-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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