TASK FORCE DENOUNCES MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT DECISION STRIPPING HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS OF SAME-SEX PARTNERS OF EMPLOYEES AT UNIVERSITIES AND PUBLIC-SECTOR EMPLOYERS
08 05 08 - 20:23
WASHINGTON, May 8 - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force denounces the Michigan Supreme Court ruling mandating that local governments and state universities can't offer health insurance to the same-sex partners of their employees. The court ruled 5-2 that Michigan's 2004 ban against same-sex marriage also blocks domestic partner policies affecting employees with same-sex partners at universities and other public-sector employers.
Statement by Dave Noble, Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
"Michigan families, like families everywhere, desperately need health care and other basic benefits that domestic partnerships confer, especially in these tough economic times. It is shameful that many families will now be placed at risk of not being covered by health insurance that they obviously depend on. This ruling is tragic."
-30-
The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement's premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.
© 2008 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. 1325 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005. Phone 202.393.5177. Fax 202.393.2241. TTY 202.393.2284. theTaskForce@theTaskForce.org. [5/8/08]