Michigan House bans domestic partnership benefits

[WI_DEM]

Domestic partners of Michigan state employees were supposed to start getting state benefits on October 1, but the Republican-controlled state House is having none of that:
The bills, HB 4770 and 4771, prohibit any government entity in the state - including universities and city governments - from providing such benefits and prohibit unions from including them in collective bargaining agreements.

The GOP attack on domestic partner benefits began this winter when the Michigan Civil Service Commission voted to allow state employees to share health care benefits with an "other eligible adult." The OEA term is used in place of "domestic partner benefits," which the state Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in 2008, after Michigan voters approved an anti-gay marriage amendment to the state constitution in 2004. The state Supreme Court ruled that defining marriage as only between a man and a woman also means that benefits - such as health benefits - should only be shared between those who can legally marry in Michigan.

The bills' sponsor argued that "It is not the responsibility of taxpayers to support the roommates and unmarried partners of public employees," which is just a lovely and in no way homophobic thought.

www.dailykos.com

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Shame on them!

[Guilded Lilly]

2. This has gone beyond shame. These hateful Republicans are bone-mean.

[SoCalNative]

3. Then it's not the responsibility of taxpayers

to support the spouses and spawn of public employees, either. And that includes elected officials.

THIS is what the democrats need to start doing. If the thugs want to start stripping benefits and rights, let them be stripped from everyone.

[Faygo Kid]

4. Michigan is turning hard right.

My beloved home state should be deeply ashamed.

[yardwork]

5. As an aside, this is also part of an all-out assault on public universities

The University of Michigan is currently ranked the #4 public research university in the nation. All public universities are struggling with severe budget cuts. Private universities have plenty of money, as they can charge tuition as high as they want and they have lots of alums with very deep pockets who donate to endowments. AND private universities can offer domestic partner benefits - health insurance, university housing for graduate students, etc.

The leading public universities are all in states that are seeing an all-out attack on gay rights: California, Virginia, Michigan, now North Carolina. This will make it even more difficult for those states' public universities to recruit and retain the best faculty and graduate students. Why should faculty or graduate students choose a public university that treats them and their partners like pariahs when they can go to a private university that treats them equally? This affects both gay couple couples and the increasing number of straight couples who choose not to marry.

This is creating yet another barrier for public universities competing with the privates. This is a NEW problem. In a world where more and more countries, private universities, and companies are granting gay people equal rights, state universities that are denied the opportunity to do so because of reactionary right-wing decisions fall further and further behind.

The loss of influence by state institutions of higher education is a very profound loss to our country's culture and ability to compete in a global market.

The country is going to hell in a hand basket.

edit for typo