Back
to Gay Headline News
(Madison, Wisconsin) In January, the University of Wisconsin will become the only school in the Big Ten that does not offer health insurance for the partners of gay and lesbian employees. Under state law it would be illegal to offer the benefits, and university officials are expressing concern that the school will be unable to attract the best faculty and researchers.
The only other Big Ten school currently not offering benefits is Penn State, but faculty have been receiving them under a plan where private donations fund them, and on January 1, the university's own plan will commence.
"The absence of domestic partner benefits is really a serious recruiting issue for us," UW-Madison Provost Peter Spear told the Wisconsin State Journal. "We know of instances where we have lost outstanding candidates because of it."
The university is also concerned about a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions. Wisconsin already has a Defense of Marriage Act outlawing gay marriage.
The proposed amendment passed in the last session of the legislature. If it wins final legislative approval in January, it would go before voters as a referendum next April.
"It's an issue that's becoming more and more painful for people," Mariamne Whatley told the Journal.
Whatley, a lesbian and associate dean in UW- Madison's School of Education said: "With this marriage amendment, suddenly Wisconsin is looking a lot more hostile, and a state that was a leader (in non-discrimination matters) is really falling behind the whole Big Ten."
Wisconsin became the first state in the union in 1982 to specifically ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.
©365Gay.com 2004
Site
Map
[Future Ex-Boyfriend] [Kiss
of the Week] [Boyfriend Art] [Antique
Boyfriend] [No Porn Promise] [Gay
Boyfriends Dating Connection] [gay
gifts and books shopping] [Gay News and Info]
[streaming
gay video] [gay
sex toy superstore] [get a million bucks for
your gay boyfriend]
Gallery of FREE gay Video Clips
 Meet Gay Video Stars LIVE! |
|
||
| Gay Webmasters |
Add a Virtual
Gay Stripper to your desktop - Play with him today, he's FREE
