GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

January 27, 2012

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www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

Cuyahoga panel seeks to define 'domestic partner'

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland-Benefits for the domestic partners of Cuyahoga County employees inched forward along a winding road to passage January 13, as a council committee sent the measure to the Human Resource Commission for further work.

The domestic partner benefits had made it to the full council for a vote on December 6 but it was sent back to committee, in part so the council could get a full definition of "domestic partner" from the human resources commission. The move took some councilors by surprise, and a bemused Edward FitzGerald, the county executive, noted that the definition is readily available and it is not a new issue.

Six of the 11 county council members are sponsors of the measure, which would extend to domestic partners the same health benefits now given to employees' spouses.

Franklin and Lucas counties-home to Columbus and Toledo already offer the benefits to their workers, as do the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights and Columbus. Other local employers who have them are Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Fairview Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, KeyCorp and University Hospitals of Cleveland.

While the Human Resource Commission

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state senate, but died in the House of Delegates after failing to garner the 71 votes needed for passage.

On January 24, the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee passed a marriage equality bill on a vote of eight to four. The bill, however, has been promised a veto from Gov. Chris Christie if it passes the legislature.

Christie said that he believes the issue of marriage equality should be decided by voters directly.

"The last time to my knowledge we put a civil right issue on referendum in the state of New Jersey was in 1915 and it was woman's suffrage issue and the vote went down," State Sen. Loretta Weinberg said during the committee hearing, according to Think Progress. "Women were not allowed to vote. This is our responsibility in this legislature."

The legislature passed a civil union law after a 2006 ruling in favor of marriage equality by the state supreme court that left the specific palliative to lawmakers, but a 2008 commission found that civil union

has no specific timeline in which to return the legislation, it is expected to be back on the table by the end of March.

If the commission approves the measure, it will go to the full council for a vote; if they require more information, it will return to the committee.

At the January 13 meeting of the Human Resources, Appointments and Equity Committee, Councilor Julian Rogers of District 10, who has emerged as one of the strongest supporters of the measure, moved to amend the ordinance to allow marriage certificates or civil unions from other states as documentation to receive benefits. Committee chair Yvonne Conwell of District 7 seconded the motion, and they and District 5

Councilor Mike Gallagher, the final member of the committee, unanimously approved the amendment.

Conwell then moved to refer the measure to the Human Resource Commission for review, and Rogers seconded. Again, Gallagher assented.

Three people spoke before the committee-Joseph Jacoby, Rev. Allen Harris and Rev. Craig Hoffman. Harris is the minister of Franklin Circle Christian Church, and his partner, Hoffman, works for the United Church of Christ.

In the December meeting, Rogers expressed his disapproval at the delay in a vote. "We currently discriminate against gay and lesbian ... employees in our county

Councilors Julian Rogers, Michael Gallagher, Sunny Simon, and Yvonne Conwell

falls short of providing the equality mandated in the court's decision.

Meanwhile, a bill that would allow people to refuse to provide goods and services related to a marriage that goes against a person's conscience or religious beliefs is in front of the House Judiciary Committee in New Hampshire, where it has also been promised a gubernatorial veto.

The bill, however, does not specify samesex marriages, which means it could be used to allow a secular business to refuse service to an interracial couple seeking to marry, or a couple where one or both members have been divorced, or an interfaith marriage.

The bill, even if it makes it past the promised veto, would likely fail in court, since federal civil rights laws already preclude much of the discrimination that it allows.

New Hampshire lawmakers will also take up a bill next month to completely repeal that state's same-sex marriage law. That measure will also face a governor's veto, but Republicans in the legislature may be able to override it. ♡

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people who attended the Tuesday-night meeting.

"People have been very thoughtful in their responses," Bowser said, "They're not just throwing together something."

A committee of five people have been exploring possible new locations for the center since last fall. A decision was expected by March, but there is no deadline, Bowser said.

"We removed the crush of a deadline from our deliberations,” he said, adding that to limit the time to spring or summer would be shortsighted. "It won't hurt to take our time we've been here 11 years."

Another factor is that the committee's search for a new location has not turned up anything suitable. The possibility exists of the agency remaining in the current space but remodeling it.

However, "This facility is too large for what we actually need,” said board president Bob Sferra. It is 7,000 square feet, and with the current 14 programs and three fulltime staffers, 2,000 to 3,000 square feet would be comfortable.

Bowser later gave highlights from the online survey. Along with the 72% who want the center to stay in the city of Cleveland, 57% want it to be at street level. To the question of whether or not to move at all or remain in the current space, 44% said "Move," 29% said "Stay," and 26% had no opinion.

People at the town-hall were asked to write what they like about the current facility, and what they would want in a new one.

government, and our government shouldn't be in the practice of discrimination, period. And, you know, some of the things that I heard today, particularly the idea that discrimination saves our society, is just complete nonsense," he said, echoing the sentiments of many in the room following comments by a few county residents using talking points provided by Citizens for Community Values, an anti-gay organization in suburban Cincinnati.

"I really want to move forward on this legislation. I'm fine on moving it to the Human Resource Commission for their description and definition of what a domestic partnership is, but I think that, for the weeks and months that we've been discussing this issue, I just wanted to express my disappointment for not voting on this today and apologize again for all those on both sides of this issue that came out expecting a vote today," Rogers concluded at the earlier meeting.

The change to the benefits was introduced last summer by District 11 Councilor Sunny Simon, and has been approved by county law director Majeed Makhlouf, who has said that it is not affected by the state's 2004 marriage ban constitutional amend-

ment.

The first list included, "Lots of space," "Easy to get to," "Hip neighborhood," "Homey feel," "24-hour bus line,” “"Parking," "Good kitchen and lavatories," and "The price is right."

The second one noted, "Ground level," "Rooms with windows," "More flexible meeting space; moveable walls," "More parking," and "Clean floors." Bowser added that many people taking the online survey also asked for parking, natural light and cleanliness.

At the end, Bowser asked people to stand where they would like the new center to be, with one end of the room being Cleveland Heights and University Circle, the middle being downtown and the other end being the Edgewater area.

Most people gathered between downtown and Edgewater, which would be Gordon Square the center's current location.

The center has had six addresses since it began in 1975 as the Gay Education and Awareness Resources Foundation. After a Gay Hotline was operated out of an office near West 25th and Clark, the first Gay Community Center opened in May, 1977 on the third floor of the Coventryard building at Coventry and Euclid Heights Blvd. Eight months later, a fire destroyed the building. GEAR reopened in late 1978 downtown, then moved to West 14th and Auburn in Tremont, then to a house near Fulton and Lorain. The name was changed for a 1988 move to the Man's World building at West 29th and Detroit, and the center moved to its current location in May, 2000.

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