Monday, July 15, 2002
Lawmaker wants to overturn domestic partnership benefits law in D.C.
A story released today by CNSNews.com reports that Republican congressman
David Vitter of Louisiana is looking at ways to overturn a law that would
grant marriage benefits to the domestic partners of District of Columbia
employees, a measure that conservatives said was voted on soon after Sept.
11 by lawmakers unaware of provisions in the bill that undermine traditional
families.
Vitter, a member of the D.C. subcommittee of the House Appropriations
Committee and chairman of a subcommittee for the House Republican Policy
Committee, is looking at "feasible legislative strategies" to overturn the
Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992, which went into effect last
week.
The law, approved by the D.C. City Council in June 1992, establishes a
system of registration for unmarried, cohabitating couples - including same
sex couples - that would give them benefits normally extended only to
married couples.
Peter LaBarbera, a senior policy analyst for the Culture and Family
Institute, said it was "unfortunate that this major advance occurred under
the Bush administration.
Among other benefits, the law allows unmarried people 18 and older who share
a permanent residence to register as domestic partners. The law also gives
domestic partners the right to have final say over funeral procedures and to
take annual or unpaid leave to take care o or to attend the funeral of the
domestic partner.
The Vital Records Division in the D.C. Department of Health will be in
charge of running the domestic partner registration program. Couples that
provide documentation that they satisfy the requirements for registration
and pay a $45 fee should receive their certificates within 10 days,
officials said.
