Ala Rep Wants End to Same Sex Benefits

An Alabama legislator has drafted a bill designed to keep the state's public universities from offering domestic-partner benefits.

Republican state representative DuWayne Bridges says his bill is ready for the next session in January.

The legislation would prohibit public universities from receiving state funds if they offer benefits to same-sex partners.

"Universities may be free to engage in whatever liberal social experiments they choose, but they should do it on their own dimes and not the taxpayers'," Bridges said in unveiling the legislation, reports TheTuscaloosa News.

Bridges's bill is aimed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, which currently allow faculty and staff members to sign up for benefits for domestic partners of either sex.