A Letter From The Chair
April 2007
Though our past winter was a mild one, with not even one frosty day, I still look forward to springtime in New Orleans and the beginning of the Festival Season. It is part of what makes living in New Orleans so special and unique. People come from all over the State and throughout the U.S. to partake in New Orleans and Louisiana's distinctive flavor. They are fascinated by our food, music, architecture, our southern hospitality and our joie de vivre.
I sometimes recall other cities and states that I've visited and I reflect on what characteristically distinguished them for me. It might have been a famous landmark or interesting attraction that appealed to me or a quaint village or community that I found charming. Other times, it was the people that made a place memorable.
I was recently thinking about why people of one state may offer certain basic rights to their LGBT residents while citizens of other states rush to add amendments to their constitution to ensure that gays won't be allowed equal rights to marriage. Recent articles in the Times Picayune showcased the intent of either the electorate, the judicial system or the legislature of several states by their offering of states-rights and benefits to their LGBT citizens in committed same-sex relationships.
Though Massachusetts is the only state at this time that allows gays to marry, ten years ago the Hawaiian legislature recognized same-sex relationships by offering a variety of states-rights. California passed state-level rights to registered domestic partners in 2003, while Vermont and Connecticut give gay couples the right to enter into a civil union. Most recently, the legislature in New Jersey passed legislation to offer gay partners the option to enter into Civil Unions and D.C. allows unmarried couples to register as domestic partners. Alaska voters had approved a constitutional ban against gay marriage, however their judicial branch ensured health benefits for same-sex partners of public (State or Anchorage) employees, provided they are in a committed same-sex relationship and are financially interdependent. This is up for a vote of the people this Spring.
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Sincerely,
Dr. Marc Behar
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