Univ. of Kentucky defies state constitution, okays benefits for sexual partners

Univ. of Kentucky defies state constitution, okays benefits for sexual partners

A Kentucky pro-family group says a decision by the University of Kentucky to give health benefits to the unmarried sexual partners of its employees undermines marriage formation and tramples the state constitution.

The University of Kentucky has approved a plan to provide healthcare benefits to the live-in sexual partners of its staff and faculty. It is the second university in the state to institute a "domestic partner" benefits policy. The University of Louisville voted last summer to do the same thing.

Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst with the Family Foundation of Kentucky, says the school caved in to pressure from left-wing groups on campus. He points out the policy flatly disregards a 2004 voter-approved marriage amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman and bars the state from recognizing a legal status similar to marriage.

According to Cothran, individuals must sign an affidavit in order to qualify as a domestic partner. Those affidavits, he says, contain what he calls "marriage language."

"And those affidavits have to be legally recognized in order to be effective at all," he adds. "So they're establishing legal status similar to marriage, and [in doing so] they're in violation of our state constitution."

Cothran says the UK policy, just like a similar one at the University of Louisville, will be funded by the school one way or another. UK estimates the new domestic partner benefits policy will cost it $633,000 a year.

"In the testimony at the committee meetings leading up to the demise of our bill that we had that would have prohibited this in our last legislative session, the president of the University of Louisville testified that the university wasn't going to be subsidizing it at all," the Foundation spokesman points out. "That turned out to be false, and he's been sort of taking it on the chin publicly for misleading the committee ever since."

Governor Ernie Fletcher is reportedly considering putting the issue of domestic-partner benefits on the call for a special session of the Kentucky Legislature in June. Cothran says if nothing is resolved in the special session, legal action could be taken against UK because of its violation of the state constitution.