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3,400 private and public employers in the U.S. provide domestic-partner benefits for lesbian/gay employees. | ||||
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In 2000-JUN, the big three automakers (Daimler-Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp.) announced that they would extend benefits starting 2000-AUG-1. | ||||
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On 2000-JUN-22, the Coca-Cola Company announced that it will extend benefits on 2001-JAN-1. | ||||
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99 companies out of of the 500 largest companies in the U.S., as listed in the Fortune 500 gave these benefits. This includes six of the top ten companies: General Motors, Ford, IBM, Citigroup Inc., AT&T and Boeing. (15 months later, in late 2001-SEP, the number had grown to about 165.) 7 | ||||
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Other large companies which provide domestic-partner benefits are: American Express, American Airlines, Amoco, Avon, Barnes & Noble, Chevron Oil, Clorox, Coors Brewing, Disney, Eastman Kodak, Gap, General Mills, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Levi Strauss, Mattel, Microsoft, Nike, Nynex, Pacific Telesis, Pillsbury, Proctor and Gamble, Quark, Reebok, Shell, Starbucks Coffee, Sun Microsystems, Time Warner, United Airlines, US Airways, US West, and Xerox. | ||||
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Very few companies have rescinded their extended benefit program:
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These benefits have become very common within certain economic sectors, including computers, movies, airlines and oil companies. 3 |
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Reaction from conservative Christian groups:
At first glance, it would seem surprising that conservative Christian ministries and denominations would oppose health benefits for same sex partners. These groups have long been opposed to promiscuous behavior, and one of the best way to encourage monogamy is by promoting marriage, common-law heterosexual relationships and same-sex unions. But there is an over-riding concern here. Religious conservatives frequently believe that people chose their sexual orientation during their teen years. They also feel that God hates homosexual behavior. By maximizing discrimination against homosexuals, they fell that the number of youth who "choose" to be gay or lesbian will decrease.
Some comments on domestic partnership benefits are:
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In 1997, messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting adopted a resolution opposing domestic- partner benefits and affirming businesses that "resist pressures to recognize the moral equivalence of domestic partnerships." |
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American Family Association commented on 1998-FEB-12 about a decision by Amoco and Mobil to offer same-sex benefits. Their vice-president, Tim Wildmon, wrote that the companies were using the "supposed victimization and discrimination against homosexuals as an excuse for the policy change, while the real reason is money and the normalization of a gay lifestyle. Character, integrity, and morality have lost their meaning in the corporate boardrooms of Amoco and Mobil. Money has become more important than morals. Amoco and Mobil have lost their moral base, and if there are no rights or wrongs in society then we are left with hedonism - everything is right as long as it brings a person pleasure. This is a destructive philosophy, and does not bode well for our children and future generations." 4 In his news release, he did not indicate how the companies' policy change would increase their profits, or why extending benefits to all of their employees was an immoral choice, or why encouraging gay and lesbian employees to form committed relationships would increase hedonism. |
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In 1998-MAY-14, Tim Wildmon criticized AT&T's decision to extend benefits. He said: "AT&T sees nothing wrong with their policy as long as a dollar can be made. There is nothing gay about the human suffering caused by AIDS and the tremendous cost to the taxpayers." 5 Again, he did not explain in his news release how encouraging single gays and lesbians to form committed partnerships would increase the transmission of AIDS. |
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In 1999-OCT, when US Airways announced benefits for partners of its lesbian and gay employees, Herb Hollinger of the Southern Baptist Convention commented: "I can understand from a business point of view. We think it's a commentary on our culture, in which it's basically 'anything goes.' '' |
Registration of same-sex relationships by American cities
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Municipal governments: As of 1999-OCT-15, almost 50 cities in the United States offered domestic partnership registries.
1 They
include:
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