Ohio University can offer same sex benifits

Same-sex benefits lawsuit dismissed
Lawmaker has no legal standing to challenge Miami U.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Kevin Kidder
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Rep. Thomas E. Brinkman Jr. said he is encouraged by a decision in his legal challenge to Miami University’s samesex benefits.
A lawsuit challenging Miami University’s same-sex benefits for faculty was dismissed yesterday, and the decision left both sides happy.
The Butler County Common Pleas Court found that state Rep. Thomas E. Brinkman Jr., a Cincinnati Republican who filed the suit as a taxpayer, didn’t have legal standing to sue. Brinkman said last night that he’ll appeal.
The suit, filed Nov. 22, 2005, contends that the benefits are an unlawful use of state tax dollars and violate Ohio’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.
It sought a permanent injunction against Miami and its board of trustees.
"The lesson is that people who are not harmed by giving health care to gay and lesbian families should not be in the business of filing lawsuits and taking away that health care," said James P. Madigan, who argued the case for Lambda Legal, which represented two Miami faculty members.
"We’re hopeful that others aren’t inclined to file such lawsuits."
Judge Charles L. Pater’s decision concluded that Brinkman hadn’t been "damaged individually or concretely" by the samesex benefits policy.
But yesterday’s ruling didn’t address whether Brinkman’s argument had merit. And that leaves him hopeful.
"I feel I’m pretty happy with the direction it’s going in," said Brinkman, whose son and daughter attend Miami.
"We’re going to be in pretty good shape, but somebody has got to have standing." He pointed to other parts of the ruling, where "he’s basically saying we’re correct."
"Arguably, Brinkman is correct, but he lacks the requisite, adverse legal interest in the dispute," the court’s decision states.
"The order should not be construed to suggest that no one can challenge the practice at issue in the court of Common Pleas."
The Ohio Constitution not only bars same-sex marriage, but also blocks the state and all political subdivisions from creating or recognizing "a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."
Brinkman’s suit argues that Miami’s policy, enacted in July 2004, has "created and given recognition to a legal status of ‘domestic partnership’ for a certain form of same-sex cohabitation," and thus violates the Ohio Constitution.
Miami University also applauded the decision.
"The university is happy with this judgment. It means we can go on offering benefits as we have been," said university spokeswoman Claire Wagner.
"We feel it is the right thing to do for our employees