Court Slams Unabashed Bigot Ohio Lawmaker

Ohio Lawmaker Thwarted In Domestic Partner Benefits Challenge
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: August 28, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET

(Oxford, Ohio) The Court of Appeals in Ohio has told a state lawmaker he does not have a right to sue Miami University over the school's decision to provide health benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees.

The ruling upholds a lower court decision throwing out the lawsuit by state Rep. Tom Brinkman (R).

Brinkman has sought to have a judge declare the benefits package unconstitutional because of the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

Brinkman was represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative law group which regularly fights LGBT issues nationwide. The suit argued that Ohio's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage nullifies such benefits from publicly funded institutions.

Miami University gets about ten percent of its income from the state of Ohio. The rest comes from tuition and endowments.

Brinkman has two children who are students at the university.

The suit said that he "desires that his tax dollars and tuition payments be utilized lawfully, and not applied by the University to finance the constitutional violation challenged herein."

Lambda Legal, representing two lesbian professors argued that Brinkman had no standing to sue, because the University pays for its domestic partner benefits with privately donated funds, not with tax dollars or tuition.

"We conclude that Brinkman's status as an Ohio taxpayer does not give him standing to challenge the university's policy of providing health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners of its employees," the Appeals Court said in its ruling Tuesday.

"Lesbian and gay employees and their families' health were at stake and today the court has granted them freedom from being a pawn in politically motivated lawsuits," said Lambda attorney James P. Madigan.

"The court has affirmed that Mr. Brinkman's daily life is unaffected when the domestic partners of lesbian and gay university employees have health insurance and he therefore has no standing to bring a lawsuit."

Miami University has offered the benefits program since June 2004. People who sign up for it must be in a long-term monogamous relationship, be of the same sex and share a residence as well as financial obligations.

When he filed the suit Brinkman said that he had no sympathy for the partners of gay and lesbian employees of the university.

"[They should] go get a job that gives them benefits. They don’t have a ball and chain around them,” Brinkman said. Private companies can do whatever they want with their money, he said.