AlonzoMourning23
01-02-2007, 03:18 PM
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - In the first veto of her administration, Gov. Sarah Palin ended a bill that sought to block the state from giving public employee benefits to same-sex couples.
The governor said she rejected the bill despite her disagreement with a state Supreme Court order directing the state to offer benefits to same-sex partners of state employees.
Palin said she vetoed the bill on the advice of her new attorney general who said it is unconstitutional.
"Signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office," Palin said in a prepared statement released by her administration Thursday night.
The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the bill barring regulations implementing same-sex benefits during a November special session. The measure would have prevented the commissioner of administration from taking action on the new benefits plan.
The high court ruled in October 2005 that denying benefits to same-sex domestic partners violated the state's guarantee of equal protection for all Alaskans. That's because the state constitution restricts marriage to between a man and a woman.
The Supreme Court has said the state must offer the benefits starting Jan. 1.
Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, sponsored the bill. In a phone interview Thursday night, he said that Palin, also a Republican, faced a constitutional dilemma but he's still disappointed by her veto.
"I would have like to have seen her stand up to the courts," Coghill said.
On Dec. 20, Palin signed a bill that calls for an advisory vote on whether there should be a constitutional amendment denying benefits to same-sex couples. The vote, set for a special election on April 3, will be nonbinding but is intended to help guide legislators, Palin has said.
The issue goes back to 1999 when the ACLU and nine couples filed a lawsuit challenging the lack of benefits for same-sex couples employed by the state and the municipality of Anchorage.
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/8526505p-8420249c.html
The governor said she rejected the bill despite her disagreement with a state Supreme Court order directing the state to offer benefits to same-sex partners of state employees.
Palin said she vetoed the bill on the advice of her new attorney general who said it is unconstitutional.
"Signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office," Palin said in a prepared statement released by her administration Thursday night.
The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the bill barring regulations implementing same-sex benefits during a November special session. The measure would have prevented the commissioner of administration from taking action on the new benefits plan.
The high court ruled in October 2005 that denying benefits to same-sex domestic partners violated the state's guarantee of equal protection for all Alaskans. That's because the state constitution restricts marriage to between a man and a woman.
The Supreme Court has said the state must offer the benefits starting Jan. 1.
Rep. John Coghill, R-North Pole, sponsored the bill. In a phone interview Thursday night, he said that Palin, also a Republican, faced a constitutional dilemma but he's still disappointed by her veto.
"I would have like to have seen her stand up to the courts," Coghill said.
On Dec. 20, Palin signed a bill that calls for an advisory vote on whether there should be a constitutional amendment denying benefits to same-sex couples. The vote, set for a special election on April 3, will be nonbinding but is intended to help guide legislators, Palin has said.
The issue goes back to 1999 when the ACLU and nine couples filed a lawsuit challenging the lack of benefits for same-sex couples employed by the state and the municipality of Anchorage.
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/8526505p-8420249c.html