The North Carolina Family Policy Council reports:
The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners approved a plan last week to study whether to offer domestic partnership benefits to the same-sex and opposite-sex partners of county employees. According to the Charlotte Observer, the Commission discussed the issue at a two-day planning retreat where it voted 6 to 3 to allow county staff to begin studying the issue including how much it would cost and any potential legal problems. The proposal was introduced by Commission chair, Jennifer Roberts, who argued that offering benefits to domestic partners is a matter of fairness. Some members of the commission expressed opposition to the proposal, including Commissioner Bill James, who raised questions about the legality of offering domestic partnership benefits in North Carolina.
