Suit Filed in Arizona to Block Stripping of Domestic Partner Benefits

In September I posted about a bill signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer eliminating state domestic partner benefits a year after they were implemented.

The Arizona Daily Star reported at the time: "A bill signed by Gov. Jan Brewer redefined a 'dependent,' canceling the rule change made by Gov. Janet Napolitano that allowed domestic partners to receive benefits. Also eliminated are children of domestic partners, full-time students ages 23-24 and disabled adult dependents. The legislation is in legal review. About 800 state employees are affected, according to the state's administration department."

Brewer, as you may also remember, takes direction from God when deciding how to solve the state's problems.

Lambda Legal has now filed a case attempting to block the move: "The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix claims the move amounts to a violation of constitutional protections that guarantee equal treatment of all individuals. Specifically, attorney Tara Borelli of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said denying benefits to gay workers that are available to others amounts to paying them less for the same work. 'These gay and lesbian state workers just want the same thing that workers at the next desk, in the next patrol car, get,' she said. That argument was echoed by Tracy Collins, a senior patrol officer with the Department of Public Safety, one of the 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. If the change takes effect as scheduled next Oct. 1, she will lose the benefits that now go to her partner and the children they share."

The suit's plaintiffs come from the Arizona Highway Patrol, the State Department of Game and Fish and state universities, according to Lambda Legal.

Said Staff Attorney Tara Borelli: "This is an issue of equal pay for equal work.By stripping away these vital benefits from loyal state employees, the state isn't just paying them less for the same work than their heterosexual colleagues — it's pulling away a vital lifeline that all workers need. This is simply cruel and saves the state next to nothing."

Equality Arizona Lays Off Staff, Hasn't Offered Specifics

AZ Central reports that Equality Arizona has laid off its staff of two:

"The group, which is Arizona's only statewide advocacy organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, laid off executive director Barbara McCullough-Jones (pictured)  and field coordinator Meta Goforth-Zinn on Friday. McCullough-Jones, who became the first openly lesbian woman to seek political office in Arizona when she ran for Tempe City Council in 1994, had led Equality Arizona since 2005. "We're being careful in what we say right now," said Annie Groth, co-chairwoman of the Equality Arizona board, when we spoke with her on the phone this afternoon. Groth confirmed the layoffs but would not address the motivation behind them, saying she first wanted to speak with a lawyer. McCullough-Jones did not immediately return a call to her cell phone."

Groth said that the group will be "re-characterized" and a statement may come today.

A message on the group's website cites the economic downturn and falling revenues.

Arizona Governor Takes Away State Domestic Partner Benefits Says 'God Has Placed Me in This Powerful Position'

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has eliminated state domestic partner benefits a year after they were implemented, the Arizona Daily Star reports:

"A bill signed by Gov. Jan Brewer redefined a 'dependent,' canceling the rule change made by Gov. Janet Napolitano that allowed domestic partners to receive benefits. Also eliminated are children of domestic partners, full-time students ages 23-24 and disabled adult dependents. The legislation is in legal review. About 800 state employees are affected, according to the state's administration department...Liz Sawyer, a UA staff member, said the exclusion is 'deplorable and it's tragic.' Sawyer is a spokeswoman for OUTReach, a staff group that lobbies for domestic-partner benefits at UA. Last year 170 UA employees signed up for domestic-partner benefits, she said. Forty were same-sex couples and the remainder were unmarried, opposite-sex couples, she said."

Did God tell Brewer to do it?

"Gov. Jan Brewer said Wednesday that she believes 'God has placed me in this powerful position as Arizona's governor' to help the state weather its troubles. In a wide-ranging speech on the role of religion in politics and in her life, Brewer detailed to a group of pastors of the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church how she relies on her faith and in prayer to deal with many of the issues she faces as the state's chief executive. Brewer also said there are times when, during a meeting with staffers, one will suggest praying about an issue. ... But Brewer also said she recognizes the difference between bringing her faith to the office and having an 'agenda.' ... 'The problem with having a political agenda is that we give the impression that we have God's truth,' the governor said. 'We think we can convert God's truth into a political platform, a set of political issues, and that there is 'God's way' in our politics,' Brewer continued. 'I don't believe that for a moment, any more than you believe that God's way is exclusively the Lutheran way.' The governor said, though, she believes it is right — if not inevitable — that elected officials bring their faith to their offices."

Gag.

Gay Couple Mocked, Slurred, Told to Remove Rainbow Flag

A gay couple in Mesa, Arizona are involved in a dispute with the Cambria Ocotillo Home Owners Association over their rainbow flag:

"The Vanderrans, who are gay, argue that their request to fly the gay pride flag was approved in 2003 by a previous management company. They took the flag down in August 2008 after receiving a complaint from the association. They still display several holiday-themed gay pride flags. A letter to the couple from Olcott said the association’s design guidelines permit holiday flags. 'The board interprets the term ’holiday’ as the recognized national holidays. Those are New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4, Veteran’s Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day,' the letter said. 'A day celebrating Gay Pride is not yet a nationally recognized holiday.' Steven Vanderran said that argument doesn’t jibe, pointing out that Easter isn’t a nationally recognized holiday either, even though the board permits Easter decor. ...The couple says it has been the subject of slurs and mockery since the dispute began. In a May 11 posting on a local blog, a writer said the decorations were offensive and 'If they want to flaunt their preferences in sex partners like that, they need to move into a gay community.' Olcott said the association’s intention is only to prevent clutter and it’s not singling the couple out."

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