DOMESTIC PARTNERS
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Wikipedia:
Domestic
Partnership
Carnegie Mellon:
Info on Domestic
Partnerships and
Gay Marriage
Buddy Buddy:
Partners Task Force
(DP Benefits)
Stephen Hyland:
LGBT Couples
Law
State Lawyers:
DP Definition
Free Dictionary:
Domestic
Partnership
Alternatives
to Marriage
Project
Lambda Legal
LINKS
The Laurel Hester
Story
The Reeler:
Freeheld
YouTube:
Freeheld
Movie Trailer
Movie Database:
Freeheld
Real Time News:
Freeheld
DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP
Definition of a Legal Relationship
A
domestic partnership is a legal or
personal
relationship
between two individuals who live together and share a
common domestic life but are neither joined by a
traditional
marriage
nor a
civil union. The terminology for such unions is still
evolving, and the exact level of rights and
responsibilities conferred by a domestic partnership
varies widely from place to place.
Some legislatures have voluntarily established domestic partnership relations by statute instead of being ordered to do so by a court. Although some jurisdictions have instituted domestic partnerships as a way to recognize same-sex unions, domestic partnerships may involve either different-sex or same-sex couples.
In some legal jurisdictions, domestic partners who live together for an extended period of time but are not legally entitled to common-law marriage may be entitled to legal protection in the form of a domestic partnership. Some domestic partners may enter into domestic partnership agreements in order to agree contractually to issues involving property ownership, support obligations, and similar issues common to marriage.
Nations that allow same-sex partnerships
and civil unions:
Croatia
Civil partnerships for same-sex couples have been granted since 2003.
Denmark
Legal civil partnerships have been allowed since 1989.
Finland
Has offered registered partnership benefits since September 2001.
France
Pacte Civil de Solidarité” (PACS), or “Civil Solidarity Pacts,” were
instituted in France on November 9, 1999.
Germany
Gay couples can register as "Life Partnerships," granting equal the same
financial and pension benefits as marriage.
Great Britain
Domestic partners can register under the Civil Partnership Act. This
legislation took affect in December 5, 2005 giving registered same-sex
couples rights similar to marriage in areas such as pensions, property,
social security, and housing.
Hungary
Gay couples have been protected under common-law marriages since 1995;
however they are not eligible for legal marriage.
Luxembourg
Civil partnership legislation modeled after France's PACS were
introduced in Luxembourg in 2004.
New Zealand
In December, 2004, New Zealand enacted legislation recognizing same-sex
civil unions.
Scotland
Civil partnerships have been afforded to same-sex couples since 2004.
Switzerland
Same-sex couples are given limited legal benefits with civil
recognition.
New to the list:
Andorra, Austria, Brazil, Columbia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greenland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Uruguay.
Same sex partnerships
and civil unions recognized in some jurisdictions:
Australia, Mexico, Venezuala.
LINKS:
Wikipedia: Civil
Unions
Wikipedia:
Domestic Partnerships
UAB OFFERS DP BENEFITS
Employees Now Get Domestic Partner Benefits
As of January 2010, domestic
partners of UAB employees (faculty and staff) will receive the same
benefits as heterosexual married couples.
The new policy will cover both dependent adult and sponsored dependent
child insurances.
“Effective Oct.1, 2009, UAB faculty and staff were able to enroll
eligible sponsored adult and child dependents in medical, dental and
vision plans. The university made the decision to expand its benefit
eligibility categories in the context of one of our strategic goals,” a
UAB spokesperson said.
University president Carol Garrison said UAB is striving to maintain
excellence in the fields of academics and research, but to do this the
university had to modify employee benefits to attract a better pool of
faculty applicants.
“We strive to create a positive, supportive and diverse work environment
in which faculty and staff can excel. We believe this change will help
us remain competitive from an employee recruiting standpoint,” the
spokesperson said.
Other universities across the nation competing with UAB in many fields
such as medicine have adopted similar policies to acquire faculty
members.
“We were not able to offer the families of potential faculty, staff and
researchers access to the same sorts of benefits packages comparable to
those of our top NIH-funded medical school peer group, which includes
Vanderbilt, Duke, Johns Hopkins and others.
Jade Delisle, director of “One Closed Door After Another,” a film that
addresses the lack of availability of domestic partner benefits for gay
and lesbian employees at UAB has spent time talking to UAB faculty who
cited personnel losses due to the old policy.
“A lot of people left for this reason,” Delisle said.
Delisle also notes that UAB is one of the top 20 universities on the
list of the American Research Universities. Of the top 20 only three of
them did not offer domestic partner benefits.
“UAB was one of those three universities,” she said. “UAB employees did
not have access to the same healthcare for their partner and children
even though they paid the same money.”
The plan outlines an eligible partner as someone who “shares a primary
residence, not as a renter, tenant or employee, with the covered UAB
employee, and has lived with UAB employee at least 12 months prior to
effective date of coverage, is at least 19 years old, the age of
majority in Alabama, is not a relative and is not married,” according to
the university’s human resources benefits website.
LINKS:
Inside UAB: Domestic Partners Gain Equal Benefits
Film About UAB DP Benefits Shown at SHOUT Festival
I Love UAB: Same Sex Benefits Offered
FREEHELD
The Laurel Hester
Story
Freeheld is the
new Academy Award winning documentary by Cynthia Wade. The film tells
Laurel Hester's story...
Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester spent 25 years investigating tough cases in Ocean County, New Jersey, protecting the rights of victims and putting her life on the line. She had no reason to expect that in the last year of her life, after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, that her final battle for justice would be for the woman she loved.
The documentary film "Freeheld" chronicles Laurel's struggle to transfer her earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree. With less than six months to live, Laurel refuses to back down when her elected officials - the Ocean County Freeholders -deny her request to leave her pension to Stacie, an automatic option for heterosexual married couples. The film is structured chronologically, following both the escalation of Laurel's battle with the Freeholders and the decline of her health as cancer spreads to her brain.
As Laurel's plight intensifies, it spurs a media frenzy and a passionate advocacy campaign. At the same time, "Freeheld" captures a quieter, personal story: that of the deep love between Laurel and Stacie as they face the reality of losing each other. Alternating from packed public demonstrations at the county courthouse to quiet, tender moments of Laurel and Stacie at home, "Freeheld" combines tension-filled political drama with personal detail, creating a nuanced study of a grassroots fight for justice.
LINKS:
Freeheld Documentary: Oscar Winner
Laurel Hester Thanking Garden State Equality
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