[The following was the lead story on page 1 of the 28 August Star 
Tribune.  Reprinted w/o permission.  Note why this happened - an 
election is upcoming and GLOB's are perceived to have political 
clout. -- Ned]


GAY, LESBIAN PARTNERS TO GET HEALTH BENEFITS
By Patricia Lopez Baden
Staff Writer

After nearly three years of debates, the Minneapolis City Council 
voted Friday - two weeks before a primary election - to extend health 
benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian city employees.

Gay and lesbian advocates called the move a huge step in their 
struggle to claim equal rights and protection under the law.

Marie Hanson, a Library Board employee who is suing the city over its 
earlier failure to provide such benefits, burst into tears outside 
the council chambers after the vote.

"This is so important for us," she said, throwing her arms around the 
neck of Ann Monson, her partner of 15 years.

"This has always been a matter of equity and recognizing that we are 
family, too, and we deserve the same benefits," Hanson said, red-eyed 
but smiling.

"This is a spark of light in our struggle for full civil rights."

Several critics on the council said that even while they supported a 
nondiscriminatory benefits policy, yesterday's 10-3 approval of a 
resolution by Council President Sharon Sayles Belton was a 
transparent bid for gay and lesbian votes viewed as crucial in the 
Sept. 14 primary.

Council Member Tony Scallon, who voted for the measure, nevertheless 
said that "it's obvious this was brought up so we could vote on it in 
time for the primary."

Others on the council disagreed, saying that yesterday's vote was the 
culmination of years of work.

"This is a continuum begun three years ago," Council Member Jackie 
Cherryhomes said, "We're providing the leadership we were elected to 
provide."

But no one could remove the political aspect from this issue, not 
with two major mayoral candidates - Sayles Belton and Ways and Means 
Chairman Steve Cramer - facing off on it.

Sayles Belton, although a longtime champion of gay and lesbian 
rights, lost ground with elements of that group when she voted to 
appeal a city Civil Rights Commission decision that said the city 
discriminated by not offering insurance benefits for the domestic 
partners of Hanson and two other lesbian librarians.

In January, shortly after that vote, Sayles Belton authored a 
resolution that offered limited reimbursement of insurance costs for 
domestic partners as an interim measure while talks with insurance 
carriers continued.

In April, Cramer countered with a resolution that broadened benefits 
to include other "non-traditional families," such as those who 
provide care for a family member other than a spouse or child.

Cramer's version won out when Council Member Jim Niland crafted a 
compromise that gave some health-care premium reimbursement to both 
domestic partners and non-traditional families.

Most council members thought the matter was settled at least 
temporarily - until Sayles Belton wrote a resolution last week that 
put the focus squarely back on gay and lesbian benefits.

Say Belton was calm in the face of accusations that she was making a 
play for gay and lesbian votes, saying that "there are always those 
who will say anything controversial done in an election year is done 
for political reasons.  Does that mean we're supposed to stop doing 
anything controversial at election time?  I don't think that's what 
people elected us for.  We're here to do our job.  This is something 
I believe in."

[...]

Earlier this year the state [of Minnesota] included gays and lesbians 
as a protected class under its civil rights legislation.

City officials say yesterday's resolution will take effect in 
January, providing full health benefits to partners of gay and 
lesbian employees who register with the city as domestic partners.  
Limited reimbursement will remain available for non-traditional 
families.

Dr. Marjorie Cowmeadow, an associate dean at the University of 
Minnesota and chairwoman of a university committee on Gay, Lesbian 
and Bisexual Concerns, called yesterday's vote "a terrific triumph."  
Next month, she said, her committee will ask the Board of Regents to 
extend similar benefits to university employees.


-- 
---------
 Ned Deily
   -- nad@holonet.net