Tag Archives: ZZ: Collins v. Brewer

Brewer seeks to deny gay workers’ partner benefits: Gov. Jan Brewer is asking the full 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to let it deny benefits to the domestic partners of the state’s gay employees.

Keen News Service: “The case is Collins v. Brewer from Arizona. The case, brought by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, pits a group of 10 gay state employees (including Tracy Collins) against a new state law barring them from signing up their domestic partners and children for family health insurance coverage. Such family coverage is made available to straight employees who are married.”

The Arizona Legislature acted “reasonably and constitutionally” when it decided last year to pass a law that once again distributes taxpayer-funded benefits for state employees on the basis of marital status. That’s the conclusion of a friend-of-the-court brief submitted to a federal court Monday by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys on behalf of Center for Arizona Policy.

The Arizona Republic: “Arizona will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that Arizona cannot deny family health insurance to employees’ same-sex partners, officials said Wednesday.”

“A federal judge is blocking Arizona from implementing a state law that eliminates domestic partner benefits for gay and lesbian state employees.”

Lambda Legal: “Lambda Legal today presented oral arguments in U.S. District Court in Phoenix to block a law stripping domestic partner benefits from gay and lesbian state employees. Arizona lawmakers included a provision eliminating domestic partner health benefits for gay state employees as part of a last-minute budget deal signed by Governor Jan Brewer last September, while retaining spousal health benefits for heterosexual workers . . . ”