[Active-l] (ACTION ITEM) (KENTUCKY) Kentucky anti-gay legislators working to ban same-sex health care benefits

[Dara (R'ykandar Korra'ti)]

	Anti-gay legislators in Kentucky are working to ban same-sex health  
care benefits - in some cases, even at private companies. These bills  
would make it illegal to offer health benefits to unmarried partners  
of employees. This route has been followed in other states, such as  
Virginia, as part of the theoconservative effort to hurt GBLT people  
as much as possible.
	I strongly recommend forwarding this to anyone friendly in Kentucky,  
and contacting Kentucky legislators yourself to oppose these bills if  
you are in the Commonwealth.
					- Dara

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Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:07:35 GMT
From: "Kentucky Fairness Alliance" <info at kentuckyfairness.org>
Subject: Speak Out Against Healthcare Discrimination

Oppose Healthcare Discrimination (SB 152, HB 10, & HB 48)

Dear Terri,

In a matter of days - quite possibly this week - the Kentucky  
legislature will decide the fate of three anti-gay bills that  
threaten the idea of Fairness in the workplace.  The three Healthcare  
Discrimination Bills would prohibit employers from offering health  
insurance to partners of unmarried employees. We strongly encourage  
you to e-mail and call your legislators to tell them to oppose all  
three Healthcare Discrimination Bills: Senate Bill 152, and House  
Bills 48 and 10. These bills were triggered by the University of  
Louisville's decision last year to offer health insurance and other  
benefits to partners of unmarried employees regardless of sexual  
orientation. Some anti-gay legislators are now trying to overturn U  
of L's decision, and ban other state schools and employers from  
following U of L's lead.

SB 152 is the most ominous threat, because it would prohibit fair  
healthcare not just at state universities and colleges, but it  
invokes sections of Kentucky code that also include all state  
agencies and even private colleges.

The broadly-written bill would ban all public agencies that  
participate in state retirement or health insurance plans from  
offering health insurance to anyone other than an employee's legally  
married spouse, and their natural and adopted children.

HB 48 would ban fair healthcare for same-sex and opposite-sex  
partners of unmarried university and college employees, while HB 10  
specifically targets same-sex couples only.
SB 152 has passed the Senate, and is now in the hands of the House  
Health and Welfare Committee, as are HB 48 and HB 10.

Please participate in the e-mail campaign below, and add your  
personal message if you wish. Your message will be sent to every  
member of the House of Representatives, with a focus on your  
representative, members of leadership of both parties, and members of  
the House Health and Welfare Committee.

We need everyone who supports fairness in the workplace to call  
legislators and lobby them to vote NO. We are confident that with  
your help, KFA can help persuade our legislators to rise up and  
defeat these wrongheaded and shortsighted measures.

Sincerely,
Christina, Wes, & Misty
Your KFA Staff

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Kentucky House of Representatives

Below is the sample letter:

----- sample letter -----

Subject: I Oppose Healthcare Discrimination

Dear [decision maker name here],

As a Kentuckian deeply concerned about Fairness in the workplace, I  
ask you to OPPOSE Senate Bill 152, House Bill 48, and House Bill 10 -  
the Healthcare Discrimination Bills, at every possible opportunity.

I ask you to VOTE NO on these bills in the House Health and Welfare  
Committee.

I ask you to NOT SIGN A DISCHARGE PETITION to bring these bills to  
the floor.

But should any of these bills somehow get to the floor of the House  
for a vote, I ask you to VOTE NO ON SB 152, HB 48, and HB 10.

With more than 500,000 Kentuckians lacking health insurance, the  
legislature should be looking for ways to expand healthcare  
opportunities. These shameful bills do exactly the opposite - they  
restrict opportunities for Kentuckians to access quality affordable  
health care, and take it away from some college and university  
employees who already enjoy it.

More than half the Fortune 500 companies currently practice fair  
healthcare, including leading Kentucky employers like Ashland,  
Toyota, Lexmark, Humana, Yum! Brands, Ford, and GM. It's just good  
business to treat all employees fairly and equally.

The legislature should not be meddling in and micromanaging the  
affairs of our universities. The legislature should not be involved  
in class sizes and course offerings. And it certainly should not be  
involved in benefits packages and who qualifies for them.

The University of Louisville's decision last year to offer health  
insurance to partners of unmarried employees meant U of L joined  
about 300 colleges and universities across the country offering such  
benefits.

Our institutions of higher learning in Kentucky must have every  
possible tool at their disposal to allow them to compete for the best  
and brightest talent. The ability to offer domestic partner benefits  
should not be taken away from them by the legislature.

U of L's decision costs taxpayers nothing, as partners there pay 100%  
of their premiums. If the University of Kentucky follows U of L's  
lead, the cost to taxpayers would be minimal. The real cost would be  
in the loss of talented faculty and staff to employers who do offer  
partner benefits.

Speak out for Fairness, and OPPOSE SB 152, HB 48, and HB 10.
Sincerely,

----- end sample letter -----

Oppose Healthcare Discrimination

The University of Louisville Board of Trustees voted in July 2006 to  
provide fair healthcare to the loved ones of all its employees,  
regardless of the employee's marital status. Soon after, Kentucky's  
anti-fairness industry threatened legislation to overturn U of L's  
fair-minded decision and prohibit other state schools from following  
suit. Three months later, one of Kentucky's worst anti-fairness  
legislators pre-filed a bill to ban all state colleges and  
universities from offering equal healthcare access to all their  
employees.

The Senate’s version of the Healthcare Discrimination Act goes even  
further. SB 152 invokes a section of Kentucky code that would also  
take away fair healthcare at Kentucky’s private colleges. Berea  
College, Centre College, and Spalding University currently practice  
fair healthcare. It would also prevent all state agencies from ever  
offering fair healthcare.

The Kentucky Fairness Allianceopposes all three Healthcare  
Discrimination Bills (SB 152, HB 10, HB 48). Everyone deserves to be  
treated fairly at work. Taking health insurance protection away from  
Kentucky families is not only bad policy, it’s plain wrong.

Talking Points

Kentucky law empowers university administrators and trustees or  
regents to determine class sizes, course offerings, and professors’  
salaries and benefits. The General Assembly should stay out of it.

America's top schools and private employers already practice fair  
healthcare, because they know a vibrant, diverse, and productive  
workforce demands an environment of equality for all.

Of the nation’s top 25 research universities, 23 offer partner  
benefits (U of L Human Rights Leadership Team).

A majority of Fortune 500 companies (253) provide health insurance  
for employees’ partners (Human Rights Campaign).

In Kentucky, employers that offer partner benefits include Toyota,  
Lexmark, Ashland Inc., Ford Motor Co., and UPS, as well as Centre  
College, Spalding University, and Berea College.

Nearly 3/4 of Kentuckians support policies that ensure a fair  
workplace (Decision Research, 1999). Extending healthcare benefits  
packages to all employees’ loved ones is just such a policy.

Elected officials shouldencourage employers to make healthcare  
affordable and accessible.
More than a half a million Kentuckians live without the security of  
medical insurance. That’s nearly 1 in every 8 of our neighbors, and  
far too many.
More than 70,000 unmarried couples are living in Kentucky; of those,  
just over 7,000 are same-sex couples (U.S. Census, 2006).
More than 51,000 children live in homes where the parents are  
unmarried (U.S. Census, 2006).

Campaign Expiration Date:
March 2, 2007

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for the  
Kentucky Fairness Alliance.