Feminists For Choice

Arizona used to provide domestic partner benefits for state employees and their partners. While Janet Napolitano was the governor, Arizonans had a strong advocate for equal rights. Things have unfortunately taken a turn for the worse. Last fall Arizona voters voted in favor of Proposition 102, which made same-sex marriage illegal in the state of Arizona (even though it already was). However, the state legislature took it a step further this summer by voting to strip domestic partnership benefits from state employees in an effort to balance the state’s budget. If Janet Napolitano were still the governor, she likely would have vetoed the measure. But Arizona’s current governor, Jan Brewer, is staunchly anti-choice and anti-equality. Consequently, state employees and their families lost equal benefits as of November 24th.

Some couples are fighting back. Lambda Legal is representing several couples in a lawsuit against the state, arguing that the removal of equal benefits from state employees violates the state’s constitution. Tracy and Diana are one of those couples. They met in 1999 and were married in 2000. Tracy is an officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and is currently assigned to the Highway Patrol Division in Quartzsite, AZ. She has been with the department for 12 years. Diana is a court clerk with a local court.

Tracy explains that she first became aware of the new law when,

I went to the doctors office with Diana on the 1st of October and realized We didn’t have our insurance cards. I called my benefits section with DPS and they told me Diana was going to lose her benefits on November 24th and that may have been the reason we hadn’t receive them. I was absolutely furious! When we got home, I got on the computer and started writing. I wrote to two representatives and to Gov. Jan Brewer and related my dissatisfaction. Obviously writing to them didn’t change anything.

Tracy explains why she decided to file a lawsuit:

I remembered seeing a piece of mail on our desk from Lambda Legal for contributions. I decided to go to their website and see if they could help. They had information about HB2013 and how it changed the definition of dependent, eliminating the possibility for gay and lesbian employees to insure their significant others and children. I contacted them through their website. Tara Borelli contacted us the next day and the rest is history.

Tracy believes that “this case has everything to do with equal pay for equal work. This specifically targets the gay and lesbian employees.” She says that she hopes that the lawsuit will result in “benefits for my partner and beyond that if we were to win in Federal Court, it would set precedence and open the door for others.”

Best of luck to all of the couples involved in the lawsuit against the state of Arizona. This case is clearly about equal benefits for equal work. We’ll keep you in the loop as the story evolves.