Jun 13, 2008 9:47 am US/Central
Plan Would Help Gay City Employees Who Marry
Proposal Would Let Gay And Lesbian City Workers Who Marry Out Of State Keep Domestic Partner Benefits
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
Gay, lesbian and transgender city employees who go to California, Massachusetts or other states to get legally married would keep their domestic partner benefits under an ordinance introduced this week by Chicago's first openly gay alderman.
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) proposed the change in the wake of a recent California court decision affirming gay marriage.
Currently, same-sex couples are prohibited from receiving domestic partner benefits if one of the parties is married.
"Our domestic partner [ordinance] was specifically for domestic partners, never thinking that this day of marriage would come so quickly. Now, in this ever-changing landscape of legislation, there's a Catch-22," Tunney said.
Rick Garcia, director of public policy for Equality Illinois, said city employees are unlikely to go to Massachusetts to get married because there's a residency requirement there. But California has no such residency requirement. Anyone can go there to get married.
"It's a victory and a blessing for the gay community. On the other hand, we're gonna see all kinds of problems when people come back to the state of Illinois and say, "We're married in California. Why don't you consider us married here?" Garcia said.
Chicago's domestic partners ordinance started in 1994 with bereavement leave and was extended three years later to include health insurance benefits for the live-in partners of gay and lesbian employees.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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