Louisiana court dismisses challenge to DP benefits law

A Louisiana judge threw out a lawsuit Monday that challenged a 1999 New Orleans law allowing same-sex domestic partners of city employees to be included in family benefit plans. A lawyer involved in the case said the lawsuit had been filed by Shreveport resident Mike Johnson and was backed by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group based in Scottsdale, Ariz. ADF argued that providing benefits to gay or lesbian partners conflicts with the definition of marriage under Louisiana state law, which defines marriage as a union between a man and woman. The suit was thrown out on pretrial motions. "I think it's very important that the court recognized the impropriety of this suit seeking to take away benefits designed to treat gay and lesbian employees equally," said Brian Chase, an attorney for a couple who would have been affected if the law was overturned. "There's been a tremendous amount of antigay activity going on in the far right as a result of marriage equality, so we always take these threats very seriously."