City to extend
benefits to same-sex partners
By CHAD WEIHRAUCH,
Home News Tribune Online, March 10, 2006
PLAINFIELD, NJ — City
officials have announced that in the coming week, they plan to float a measure
that would extend benefits to same-sex domestic partners of public employees.
Many communities have enacted such local laws since the state approved the
Domestic Partnership Act nearly three years ago, but many others have not.
The law made available pension and health benefits to same-sex domestic partners
of state employees, and permits local governments — counties and municipalities
— to do the same for their workers.
City Councilman Rashid Burney said he was compelled to introduce the resolution
extending benefits because of a case late last year and early this year that
gained statewide attention.
"When I saw that videotape, it really moved me. It really tugged at my heart.
And I thought, this was an issue of basic humanity, offering these rights,"
Burney said.
In that case, from Ocean County, Lt. Laurel Hester, a 23-year veteran of the
county prosecutor's office, was dying of lung cancer. Though seriously
ill, she fought to secure benefits for her partner of six years, Stacie Andree,
whom she said would be unable to keep the couple's home after she died without a
$13,000 death benefit.
Republican freeholders who resisted the change for months reversed themselves in
January and voted to give benefits to same-sex partners. Hester died about three
weeks ago.
Joan Hervey, founder of the gay activist group Plainfield Area Equality and vice
chair of Garden State Equality, said there is a difference between the same-sex
marriage debate and the issue of domestic partnership benefits.
"It's a small subset of benefits that people work for, and are entitled to take
advantage of," she said. "People earn these benefits through working for
the city, and they should be able to use them like any other employee."
Burney said the new resolution will not have a huge economic impact because the
number of gay city employees is not overwhelming.
"No one really knows, but it's not any big number at all," he said.
Plainfield's demographic makeup contributes to a unique environment. There
is a strong religious community, some of whose members opposed the same-sex
marriage measure. On the other hand, the city has an active gay community;
according to the 2000 Census, almost 200 households consist of same-sex
partners.
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