Same-sex benefits rejected

Salt Lake County officials nixed a proposal to extend full insurance benefits to domestic partners Tuesday in an emotional 5-4, party-line vote.

And although Democratic council member Jenny Wilson tried to steer the vote away from party politics and marriage, the Republican councilmen who killed the move touted the recent marriage amendment as a barrier to giving same-sex couples full benefits.

"We did get a semblance of this in last November's vote. Our community did tell us then and there the nuclear family and this definition of marriage ought to have a different classification in our society," Councilman Cort Ashton said.

Councilman Michael Jensen added that Amendment 3, which passed by 54 percent in Salt Lake County to prohibit domestic unions for gay and lesbian couples, is too tightly linked to the issue of extending benefits to go against the majority of voters.

But Wilson and Councilman Joe Hatch, the two original backers of the proposal, said the question of insurance coverage for domestic partners is about fairness, not marriage.

"This is a low-cost way to reward our gay and lesbian employees who are in long-term relationships. When we carve them out, we really are disadvantaging those folks," said Wilson, who had hoped to sway at least one Republican council member to her side.

Under Wilson's amendment, domestic partners and their children would be eligible for all the same benefits now granted to married employees — including health, dental and life insurance, as well as extended funeral leave and sick leave to care for a dependent.

Those benefits would have been extended to domestic partners who have shared the same residence for a year and are jointly responsible for living expenses.

"Those who have an alternative lifestyle go every day to their job as deputies and firefighters and work their hearts out for this county," Councilman Randy Horiuchi said. "To deny the same kind of rights and benefits is dead wrong in the issue of fairness. Today is a vote on how we treat our employees."

Jan Donchess, a 20-year county employee and head of the county's Gay and Lesbian Employees Association, attended Tuesday's meeting expecting Salt Lake County to become the first Utah government to offer benefits to same-sex couples.

"If Salt Lake County wants to be a leader, today they had that opportunity and they blew it," she said.

Offering those benefits would have "done a great deal" for many county employees, many of whom have children who also need coverage, Donchess said.