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Portland, Maine's "Domestic Partner" Law Challenged Catholic Charities Maine is suing Portland over a city law requiring charities to fund homosexual partner benefits or relinquish city funding.
The law, Catholic Charities officials said, is "arbitrary and capricious," violates federal laws regarding employee benefits, equal rights and freedom of religion, and is part of "a narrow political agenda."
The city's actions have been closely watched as a bellwether for President Bush's faith-based charity proposals. Bush had visited the Salvation Army facility in Portland months before the City Council passed the pro-homosexual law. At the time, he had pointed to a banner with a Bible verse citing Jesus, and remarked that charities ought to be able to express such beliefs without losing public funding. The federal bill has stalled in Congress.
In 1997, the Christian Civic League of Maine led a coalition that engineered a ballot box "People's Veto" of a "gay" rights law enacted by the state legislature. The effort was successful despite lack of support from Catholic officials and agencies. Lay Catholics, such as Paul Madore of Lewiston, who helped lead the People's Veto campaign, decried the church's stand and led delegations to pray for church officials to join the effort. As homosexual activists attempted to put the law back on the books in 2000, the Catholic Church quietly supported them. In a major pro-family victory, the pro-homosexual measure was narrowly defeated anyway.
"While the Catholic Church in Maine has been soft on homosexual politics in recent years, this decision signals a new day," said Michael Heath, executive director of the 104-year-old Christian Civic League, which has spearheaded several successful campaigns against homosexual activism. Noting that homosexual activists are resuming their legislative campaign, Heath said, "I predict that the Catholic Church will not support homosexual rights, like it did in 2000. That could be the final nail in the coffin of the nearly three-decade-long political battle to pass statewide homosexual rights legislation."
The city law, enacted last year by the Portland council, effectively disenfranchised the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities, neither of which offers family health benefits to non-marital partners. The Salvation Army gave up a $60,000 grant for a meals-on-wheels program for senior citizens and launched a campaign to replace the funds privately. Catholic Charities, which gave up $87,000 in funds that came through the city from a federal housing and community development grant, decided to sue.
The Christian Civic League has announced that it would file a friend of the court brief. "It is outrageous for the city of Portland to be forcing this political correctness agenda down the throats of people who hold more traditional values," said League attorney Steve Whiting.
Heath commended Catholic Charities Executive Director John Kerry and Bishop Joseph Gerry "for their courage and principled moral stand."
Homosexual activist David Garrity called the Diocese "homophobic."
Catholic Charities Maine attorney Gene Libby cited as legal precedent a case in San Francisco, where the city passed a law in 1996 requiring all businesses that contract with the city to offer domestic partner benefits. Unlike its Maine counterpart, Catholic Charities in San Francisco agreed to a broader domestic partners plan in order to keep its $5 million in city funding.
The Air Transport Association of America, citing the federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which prohibits state and local regulation of retirement benefits, sued the city. "The court issued a ruling which clearly stated the city does not have authority to mess around with employee health benefits," Libby told the Portland Press Herald. "The city of Portland does not have jurisdiction over these benefits." |
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