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In a progressive move designed to give the University of Louisville a competitive advantage when recruiting new faculty, the Board of Trustees voted almost unanimously to initiate a domestic partnership benefits plan. The plan, approved in June 2006, ensures that the approximately $3,600 required to cover same-sex partner benefits is covered by the university.
For some reason, Frankfort politicians are again fighting to prevent U of L improving itself.
Representative Stan Lee (R-Lexington) decided to bang the same gay-hating drum that led to the approval of the gay-marriage amendment to the Kentucky Constitution in 2004.
Lee requested that current state Attorney General Greg Stumbo issue an opinion on the plan, implying that U of L’s policy violated the amendment which states that “legal status identical or similar to marriage” not be permitted to unmarried people and emphasized that marriage was to be between a man and a woman.
Stumbo responded by encouraging the university not to use any policy that recognized legal status resembling a marriage. His statement did not necessarily condemn the university, but serves as a warning that a difficult fight may be ahead.
Only 14 received domestic partner benefits from U of L last year out of nearly 6,000 faculty and staff. However, Lee seems to think that their health care is his business, despite the fact that U of L does not use state funds for these benefits.
Is it a coincidence that Lee is currently behind Democrat Jack Conway in the attorney general race, according to latest poll numbers? Probably. But U of L should continue to be outraged that members of our state government use partisan politics to undermine the progress of our university. Without passing judgment on whether or not gay marriage should be legalized, our Board of Trustees decided that our school would be better off if we included a domestic partner benefit plan.
They are the ones who understand U of L and have its best interests in mind. It’s frustrating to see the state continue to foil the school’s attempt to improve itself.
