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February 24, 2007
Includes quote from the KFA Board of Directors Chairperson Jody Cofer.
State Senate bans health benefits for domestic partners
By: Amanda Crider
Murray State University News Issue date: 2/23/07
The Kentucky Senate passed a bill Feb. 15 that would outlaw extending health insurance benefits to domestic partners in all state agencies and public universities.Senate Bill 152 passed with a vote of 27-8-1 and now must go before the House of Representatives.Joyce Gordon, associate vice president of human resources, said Senate Bill 152 does not affect faculty and staff at Murray State."Our health insurance policies do not extend to same-sex couples," Gordon said. "From time to time, this has been reviewed, but no changes have been made thus far. From my knowledge, any changes would have to come from the faculty and staff insurance and benefits committees." Senator Vernie McGaha, R-Russell Springs, and the bill's lead sponsor, said it is meant to clear up confusion among public institutions about who qualifies for health coverage."The proposal was an extension of the state constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage," McGaha said. "The intent of the bill is to protect marriage and protect the family structure."
Jody Cofer, program specialist for the Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activities Office, opposes the bill and said it is outrageous and unnecessary."The Kentucky Senate's passage of SB 152 last week banning public agencies from offering healthcare benefits to unmarried domestic partners was not in line with their larger goal to make Kentucky competitive," Cofer said via e-mail. "However, their action was not a total surprise to me and I, along with President Ramsey at the University of Louisville, have indicated that our hope is that the House of Representatives will not support this discriminatory measure."
"I am still somewhat taken back that the legislature is moving forward with this matter. The decision should rest in the hands of individual agencies or university boards."
Steven Taylor, junior from Parkers Lake, Ky., is a member of Alliance, a student organization that supports and promotes the specific needs and interests of homosexual, bisexual and transgender students. He said he is shocked by the Senate's decision."I find this action deplorable," Taylor said via e-mail. "Depriving honest citizens of their right to affordable healthcare on the basis of marital status or sexual orientation is a sickening discrimination on the state's part."
Posted by
jodycofer on 2/24/2007
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