Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Montana Human Rights Commission rejects discrimination claim by couples
A story released today by 365Gay.com reports that the Montana Human Rights Commission has dismissed a discrimination claim by two couples seeking partnership benefits.
The women, University of Montana assistant professor Carla Grayson and her partner, Adrianne Neff, and Carol Snetsinger, of UM's division of biological sciences, and her partner, Nancy Siegel, say they will now go to district court.
The couples say the university system violated the Montana Constitution by denying health and other benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees.
The state offers health insurance only to employees, their spouses and children. Heterosexual couples who are not officially married but file an affidavit of common-law marriage can also qualify for benefits. However, since gay and lesbians cannot legally marry or be united in a partnership union in Montana, they cannot qualify for benefits.
In rejecting the case, the Montana Human Rights Commission said sexuality is not covered, but Beth Brenneman, an ACLU attorney representing the women, said going to the commission was a necessary step.
"The law requires exhaustion of discrimination claims before proceeding in district court. We felt we needed to meet that exhaustion standard," she said.
