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| State Senator Gilda Jacobs urger her Senate colleagues to vote against the resolutions that passed. | |
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LANSING, Mich. (AP)
Oct 6 2005, 10:00 PM |
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The state Senate on Thursday approved resolutions urging the Michigan Supreme Court to block public-sector employers, including state government, from providing health insurance to the partners of gay employees until the court makes a final ruling on the issue.
-IMG-The Republican-controlled Senate voted 22-16, mostly along party lines, to pass two resolutions to prevent taxpayer dollars from being spent on same-sex benefits until the court reaches a final judgment.
The measures are symbolic and do not have the force of law.
"If we're really concerned about not disrupting people's lives, we ought to keep the status quo until the court makes a decision," said Sen. Alan Cropsey, a DeWitt Republican who sponsored the measures.
An Ingham County judge ruled last month that public universities and governments could provide domestic partner benefits without violating a constitutional amendment approved by voters in November.
Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm then said she would move quickly to ask the state Civil Service Commission to approve domestic partner benefits for state employees. The benefits had been included in new labor contracts, but Granholm put them on hold while waiting for a court ruling.
A measure passed by Michigan voters last November made the union between a man and a woman the only agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose." Those six words led to a fight over benefits for gay couples.
Republican Attorney General Mike Cox issued a legal opinion in March saying the measure bans the city of Kalamazoo from providing domestic partner benefits in future contracts. But 21 gay couples who work for Kalamazoo, universities and the state filed a lawsuit challenging Cox's interpretation.
Cox has said he will appeal the Ingham County judge's ruling, prompting Senate Republicans to push the two resolutions asking the state's highest court to block any government agencies from offering same-sex benefits until it had ruled.
Sen. Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington Woods, urged her Senate colleagues Thursday to vote against the measures. She said the debate over asking the court to intervene indicated how far gay rights have advanced.
"Is this what we want from the Supreme Court? For it to be responsive to the call of the Legislature?" she asked.
Twenty Republicans and two Democrats voted for the resolutions. Fourteen Democrats and two Republicans voted against them.
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