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LAKE WORTH OFFICIALS URGE DEFEAT OF GAY MARRIAGE BAN
Palm Beach County Human Rights Council
(Lake Worth, Florida) On Tuesday, take Worth Mayor Jeff Clemens and the Lake Worth City Commission unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment.
Concerned that Amendment 2 might remove safeguards and eliminate benefits for families based on domestic partnerships, Lake Worth City Commissioner Dave Vespo introduced the resolution at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
"The leaders of Lake Worth clearly understand what may be at stake if Amendment 2 is not defeated on November 4th," said Council President Rand Hoch. "The city commissioners know that to safeguard Florida's families, voters must vote against Amendment 2."
If 60% of Florida voters for the amendment, a new section would be added to the "Declaration of Rights" in the Florida Constitution. The amendment would provide that, "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
"Lake Worth provides health insurance for the domestic partners of city employees," said Vespo. "Unless Florida voters defeat Amendment 2, health insurance and other benefits could be taken away from the families of our employees."
"No one really knows what the 'substantial equivalent' of marriage really is," said Lake Worth Mayor Jeff Clemens. "If Amendment 2 is not defeated, our taxpayers may have to pay significant legal fees to find out."
Last night, the West Palm Beach City Commission passed a similar resolution opposing Amendment 2.
Statewide organizations urging Floridians to defeat Amendment 2 include the Florida League of Women Voters, the NAACP, the Professional Fire Fighters of Florida and the Florida Education Association.
Editorials urging readers to vote "no" on Amendment 2 have appeared in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Florida Today, the Florida Times-Union, the Northwest Florida Daily News, the Orlando Sentinel, the Palm Beach Post, the Panama City News-Herald, the St. Petersburg Times, the Southwest Florida News Press, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Tallahassee Democrat.
None of Florida's daily newspapers has come out in support of Amendment 2.
With less than a month to go before election day, all of Florida's major public opinion polls show that support for Amendment 2 remains below 60%
"Nothing can be taken for granted," said Hoch. "There still is a lot of work to be done between now and November 4 to educate votes to vote against Amendment 2." [10/10/08]
WEST PALM BEACH URGES VOTERS TO SAY "NO" ON AMENDMENT 2
(West Palm Beach, Florida) The mayor and city commission of West Palm Beach unanimously voted this afternoon to oppose Amendment 2, the so-called "Florida Marriage Protection Amendment." > Full Story. [10/6/08]
PEPSICO, GOLDMAN SACHS AND WILLIAM C. THOMPSON, JR. RECOGNIZED FOR LEADERSHIP ON LGBT WORKPLACE EQUALITY
AUSTIN, TX and SAN FRANCISCO, CA – September 15, 2008 – PepsiCo, Goldman Sachs and New York City Comptroller and longtime ally William C. Thompson, Jr. received Out & Equal Workplace Awards (commonly known as "Outies") on September 12 from Out & Equal for advancing fair, safe and equitable work environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. > Full Story. [10/2/08]
PALM BEACH SCHOOL DISTRICT TO INSURE DOMESTIC PARTNERS' CHILDREN
(West Palm Beach, Florida) The School Board of Palm Beach County has agreed to extend health insurance coverage to include the children of employees' domestic partners. > Full Story. [9/26/08]
PALM BEACH COMMUNITY COLLEGE FINALLY OFFERS DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS
(Lake Worth, Florida) By a vote of 3 to 2, and after more than a year of delays, the Trustees of Palm Beach Community College finally voted this week to offer domestic partner health insurance to college employees.
Trustees William Berger, Wendy Link and David Tally voted in favor of the proposal. Chairperson Kenneth Kirby and former Chairperson Carolyn Williams both voted "no."
"Thanks to the persistence of President Dennis Gallon and Human Resources Director Ellen Grace, all employees of Palm Beach Community College will soon be able to purchase affordable health care for their families," said Rand Hoch, President of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
The Council, which has been in the forefront of domestic partner benefits in Palm Beach County for the past twenty years, first asked PBCC to consider domestic partner benefits in 2005.
Last year, the Florida Community Colleges Risk Management Consortium also asked the college to offer domestic partner health insurance. The Consortium provides health insurance for PBCC and 21 other Florida community colleges.
While both Gallon and Grace have long advocated for domestic partner benefits, two trustees -- Carolyn Williams and Kenneth Kirby -- consistently opposed offering domestic partner health insurance to college employees.
"Trustees Carolyn Williams and Kenneth Kirby sought to impose their narrow personal opinions as to what constitutes a family on the college's faculty and staff," said Hoch.
"Until this evening, each time the trustees were poised to provide equal access to family benefits, Williams and Kirby prevented that from happening," said Hoch. "Today they finally ran out of ways to delay and deny."
When President Gallon first asked the Trustees to approve domestic partner health insurance in August the summer of 2007, Trustee Williams expressed her "philosophical difficulties" with domestic partnership matters. Trustee Kirby also questioned the fiscal impact. Since there were only four trustees serving at the time, their two votes prevented the college from implementing domestic partner benefits for a full year.
At a meeting last month, Dr. Gallon reintroduced the domestic partner health insurance proposal. However, Williams raised a new concern. She questioned whether a new state prohibited PBCC from offering domestic partner benefits. Despite assurances from President Gallon and the college's legal counsel, Williams convinced her colleagues to table discussion on the matter until today's meeting.
"For more than a year, Trustees Carolyn Williams and Kenneth Kirby prevented Palm Beach Community College employees with domestic partners from purchasing health insurance for their families," said Hoch. "Ironically, during that same timeframe, the college implemented a program allowing college employees to purchase health insurance for their pets."
Under a program announced eleven months ago, Palm Beach Community College employees may use payroll deductions to purchase health insurance for their pets. The policies, written by VPI Veterinary Pet Insurance, include everything from office visits and prescriptions to surgeries and hospitalization.
"While the domestic partners and children of PBCC employees have remained uninsured for a full year, their puppies and kittens have been covered," said Deidre Newton, a PBCC graduate who serves as Vice President of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. "Starting in January, college employees will be able to purchase affordable health insurance for their domestic partners and children, as well as for their pets."
"Our next task is to ask PBCC to offer employee's domestic partners and children the same family dental insurance that is currently offered to the families of married employees," said Newton.
> Full Story. [9/11/08]
DESTRUCTIVE IKE TARGETS HOUSTON
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – September 11, 2008 – The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports Hurricane Ike could cause widespread damage in Galveston and Houston area in Texas on a level not seen since Hurricane Alicia tore a path of destruction through the city in 1983. > Full Story. [9/11/08]
RECENT POLL: NOVEMBER AMENDMENT 2 VOTE TOO CLOSE TO CALL
This November, Florida voters will vote on Amendment 2, which seeks to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman only and prohibit recognition of any other legal union that is the "substantial equivalent" of marriage. Florida law already prohibits recognition of marriages by gay or lesbian couples-the proposed amendment would write that discriminatory ban into the constitution and its broad wording would also ban civil unions and likely domestic partnerships as well. > Full Story. [9/8/08]
SPECTER OF GUSTAV ON KATRINA ANNIVERSARY
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – August 29, 2008 – Preparations to protect lives and property ahead of the arrival of Gustav continue today along the U.S. Gulf Coast on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. > Full Story. [8/29/08]
FREEDOM TO MARRY RALLY
Freedom to Marry Rally
WHP CBS 21 Harrisburg • Feb. 14, 2008. 06:54 PM EST > Full Story. [2/15/08]
FLORIDA STATE SCHOOL BOARD SHOULD REJECT RELIGIOUS RIGHT EFFORT TO WEAKEN SCIENCE STANDARDS, SAYS AMERICANS UNITED
FLORIDA STATE SCHOOL BOARD SHOULD REJECT RELIGIOUS RIGHT EFFORT TO WEAKEN
SCIENCE STANDARDS, SAYS AMERICANS UNITED > Full Story. [2/12/08]
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