It's snowing!

The first snow of the year in Lawrence, Kansas, started falling about 40 minutes ago. I just took these two shots through my upstairs living room window. I'm from Michigan, and I have to admit to feeling like a kid with a new toy. I love snow.

The real prescription for health care reform

I'm with Tom Toles on this one. The real problem, of course, is finding supplies of this vitally needed vaccine.

For those of you in and near Lawrence, Kan., you can help build up some of that necessary vaccine by attending two MoveOn.org events this week.

Attend the town hall meeting being held by Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Topeka, at the Dole Center on the KU Campus at 4 p.m. tomorrow. Visit MoveOn's health-care vigil at South Park Wednesday at 8 p.m.

What did the Kansas House just do to domestic partner registries?

By Diane Silver

[updated]

Here's the quick version: The Kansas House just voted 66 to 50 to refer the proposed statewide ban on domestic partner registries -- House Bill 2299 -- to the House Judiciary Committee for more study. This means the ban is still alive, but not moving forward. The ban itself did NOT come up for a vote by the full House.

The vote on referring the bill to committee was a recorded roll call vote. Once the House Journal for today is posted, we can see how everyone voted.

Much parliamentary maneuvering ensued before House voted to refer the bill back to committee.

An amendment was offered, and House members debated whether the amendment was "germane." In other words, the question was whether the amendment dealt with the same issue as the original bill. Under legislative rules only germane issues can be considered. The legislative expert on rules, the chair of the rules committee, declared that the amendment was not germane, and an unrecorded vote upheld his ruling.

Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, then provided background on Lawrence's domestic partner registry. He eventually moved that the bill be referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and won that vote.

Bottom line is that Davis succeeded in taking the bill back to the beginning of the legislative process. HB 2299 now has to go through these steps to become law.

1. Be approved by a vote of the Judiciary Committee
2. Be approved by a vote of the full House
3. Be considered by a Senate Committee
4. Be approved by a Senate Committee
5. Be approved by the full Senate
6. Be signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius

And so the saga continues. Stay tuned.

Happening Now: Listen live to the Kansas House debating a ban on domestic partner registries

By Diane Silver

The Kansas House is currently debating House Bill 2299, which bans domestic partner registries throughout the state. You can listen live via the Internet.

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Lance Kinzer, has just verified that the bill is RETROACTIVE. That means it would render null and void Lawrence's domestic partner registry.

At 12:14 p.m., the House was waiting to hear a ruling from the Rules Committee chair on whether an amendment to the bill could be made. Right now all you will hear is background noise.

Stay tuned.

Domestic Registry Ban: Have you called your representative yet?

By Diane Silver

Call your representative by 11 am to save the domestic partner registry in Lawrence. Block the ban on fairness!

See more here.

The Ice Storm Cometh

By Diane Silver

After almost eight hours without power, our electricity just came back on. To the anonymous utility repairperson who did this: Thank you so very much. You are my hero!

Meanwhile, the storm continues to ice my town of Lawrence, other Kansas locales, Missouri and the rest of the Midwest. The miracle of light and Internet access may or may not continue, so I'm getting this out while I can.

Before the lights went back on, I was sitting next to a candle. (I kid you not. I was hoping for a little heat and light as I scribbled with an ink pen onto good, old fashioned paper.) I was pulling my thoughts together for a new essay.

After a moment of concentration, though, I dropped the paying work and started a blog post (the pen-and-paper kind) about the ice storm. Focus didn't seem to be my strong point this morning, so here are a few chilly thoughts from earlier today.

No power. No heat. No TV. One working portable radio. We went from being a wireless house with 24-hour online access to no Internet at all because the router needs electricity to work. We can't cook (electric stove), can't microwave food, of course.

I'm wearing long pants, running shoes, a turtleneck, a thick cable-knit sweater, a fleece jacket and have a blanket on my lap and a pillow on top of that. The pillow is supposed to act as a laptop desk, but I'm hoping for more warmth, and yes, I'm still cold. I warm my fingertips on the candle.

I'm within sight of the digital thermostat -- a ridiculously 21st Century device in a 18th Century situation. The thermostat is methodically ticking downward, losing one degree an hour. We're at 58 degrees right now.

Outside my picture window, a FedEx truck speeds by, a mail truck rolls up and parks down the street -- all very 21st Century, but I'm wondering if another candle will provide more heat. My 80-year-old mother lives with me, and I keep trying to figure out when we should brave the ice to get her to a heated house.

Not to seem too dramatic, but this weird mix of 21st and 18th centuries makes me a tad uneasy.

And then the lights came on. I did a happy dance, turned on the computer, and here I am -- warm, bathed in yellow light and once again communing with the world.

PHOTOS: The view from my front porch, including a cedar tree that stood tall and straight before the ice got it.

Lawrence launches the first domestic partner registry in Kansas in just 5 days

By Diane Silver

The Kansas Equality Coalition is planning an event at 10 a.m. on Aug. 1 to mark the start of the state's first registry.

This is a great day for the Sunflower State. It's only a small step, but any progress toward fairness is welcome in a state where same-sex couples face discrimination every day.

More details at Kansas Voice.

BREAKING NEWS: City passes 1st domestic partner registry in Kansas history

By Diane Silver

With no discussion and taking mere minutes to do it, The Lawrence City Commission passed the the domestic partner registry.

This third and final vote made the proposal official. Once again, the vote was 4-1 with the only no vote belonging to Commissioner Mike Amyx.

For the first time in Kansas history, same-sex couples have a means of getting public acknowledgment of their relationships.

The registry goes into effect Aug. 1. Details on the new registry can be found in the approved ordinance.

The vote was a tad anti-climactic. Last week the commission room was packed with opponents. Before it was packed with proponents, who spilled out into the City Hall lobby. This week opponents of the proposal were nowhere to be found.

For full details see Kansas Voice.

I make the news

By Diane Silver

Yup, there I am on TV news, standing up for the local domestic partner registry. Ah, that we were celebrating winning marriage rights, but we get what we can.

By the way, I hate seeing myself on TV, so I haven't looked at this. Someone tell me if I am coherent.

Kansas: Lawrence domestic partner registry passes vote -- one more to go!

By Diane Silver

If you're looking for Kansas news and commentary, please look for the headlines at the top of this blog just under the In This Moment logo.

However, this is too good to just put up in that tiny print. The Lawrence City Commission has just approved the domestic partner registry on first reading. One more vote to go and this thing is finally a reality!

More details at Kansas Voice, along with live blogging of the meeting.

Another vote on the Lawrence domestic partner registry

Two more votes to go. One is on Tuesday. If you're in Kansas, be there or be square.

Lawrence gets ready to launch Kansas' first domestic partner registry, perhaps by Aug. 1

By Diane Silver

[updated 8:07 a.m. 5/23]
Before a room packed with Kansas Equality Coalition members wearing brown and yellow coalition stickers, the Lawrence City Commission tonight voted 4-1 to make the state's first domestic partner registry a reality.

So many supporters of the registry showed up at the meeting that chairs had to be placed in the lobby of City Hall.

Two more votes are required to institute the registry in Lawrence. However, long-time city observers say they have never known of the Commission to backtrack on an issue once it has received this kind of first-round support.

The only commissioner who voted no was Mike Amyx.

The yes votes were Mayor Sue Hack, Commissioner Boog Highberger and newly elected commissioners Rob Chestnut and Mike Dever.

Hack and Highberger spoke passionately of their support for the registry. Hack said she supported it with both her mind and heart. Highberger noted that this kind of law should really be done on the federal or state level, but that those governments have failed to perform their responsibilities.

"If we're going to have the kind of city we want, we have to deal with this on the local level," he said.

Chestnut said he was voting for the registry because of the service it provided to the citizens of Lawrence. However, he said that he had supported the 2005 statewide ban on same-sex marriage.

Among those speaking in favor of the registry was the Rev. Peter Luckey, senior pastor at Plymouth Congregational Church, and former Lawrence Mayor Mike Rundle, who retired from the Commission in April.

Four people spoke in opposition to the registry, including one minister.None of the opponents represented a group. There did not appear to be any organized opposition.

Among those speaking in favor of the registry were representatives of MAINstream Coalition, The League of Women Voters, PFLAG and the Grassroots Coalition. (I know of the Grassroots organization, but like a dolt didn't write the correct name down of this fine activist organization. Bad blogger... but I digress.)

What the Commission technically did was to instruct its staff to make some minor revisions in the ordinance, and then to bring it back for the Commission's June 12 meeting. The ordinance will be up for one more vote, probably on June 19. That will finalize the ordinance and officially make Lawrence the first city in the state with a domestic partner registry.

Lawrence City Manager David Corliss said the he hopes to have the registry ready and open for business by August 1. However, Corliss admitted that was an ambitious timeline. That date could change.

As approved tonight, the registry would cover both same-sex and straight couples. Only residents of Lawrence will be able to register. A fee will be charged. Corliss said that fee may be in the ballpark of $25 to $35, but he said that he couldn't yet commit to a figure. The fee could be higher. It will have to cover the costs of the registry.

At this point, it appears that registrations will be conducted online, although details still have to be worked out.

Commissioner Highberger explored the possibility of allowing non-Lawrence residents who work in Lawrence to register, but that idea was postponed. It appears that the Commission may ask Attorney General Paul Morrison to comment on the constitutionality of such an idea and then come back and amend the ordinance.

[update]

Here's the Lawrence Journal-World's take on the City Commission meeting. Fox 4 TV in Kansas City has a video report of the meeting. Other news coverage came from the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Lawrence, Kansas, City Commission votes 4-1 for domestic partner registry

By Diane Silver

I just got back from the City Commission meeting, and to make a long story short: We've got it!

Two more votes are required by the City Commission to finalize the deal, but with tonight's 4-1 vote the City Commission is ready to make Lawrence the first city in the Kansas with a domestic partner registry.

More soon.

Kansas: Newspaper says domestic partner registry has "more than a fighting chance"

By Diane Silver

The Lawrence Journal-World previews tonight's City Commission meeting on the proposed domestic partner registry.

From early indications, the effort has more than a fighting chance.

“From what I can tell, there is some support on the commission for passing it,” said City Commissioner Mike Dever, who said he was leaning toward voting for the registry. “We’ve gotten a lot of information on it, a lot of feedback on it.”

New commissioners Dever and Rob Chestnut also told the newspaper they have heard from more supporters than opponents of the proposal.

My thoughts? I honestly don't know what will happen. I've seen too many efforts to pass fair laws fail to be 100 percent optimistic. On the other hand, I think we've got a real chance. If the registry does fail, I know that life will get very interesting in this town.

I'll be there tonight. Will you?

Kansas: Lawrence takes up the domestic partner registry tomorrow

By Diane Silver

Tomorrow is the day and Lawrence City Hall is the place to be. The City Commission will take up the proposed domestic partner registry at its regular Tuesday night meeting. Public comments will be heard and the first of two required votes is expected.

When the local chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition first brought the registry before the commission in January, supporters had the stage to themselves. I doubt very much if that will happen again on Tuesday. Opponents may well be out in force.

If you support the registry, please attend. You don't have to testify. Your polite and quiet presence will make a difference. The Equality Coalition plans to have stickers for registry supporters to wear to identify themselves.

If you do plan to testify, please keep it short. Don't repeat what someone else has said even if that person made the point you want to make. Just say you agree with the previous speaker. Above all be polite. Be nice! Neither the City Commission nor the staff are our enemies.

If the commission takes on other issues after dealing with the registry, leave the Commission Meeting Room quietly. Also be aware that when we're talking in the City Hall lobby, our conversations can be heard in the meeting room. To discuss, debate, celebrate or agonize over the events in the meeting, our best bet is to talk on the sidewalk outside of City Hall.

City staff have outlined possible ways to implement the registry and reported on the experiences of other cities.

Attorney General Paul Morrison's opinion that the registry is constitutional is also available online.

The City Commission meeting is in the City Commission Meeting Room, First Floor, City Hall, 6 East 6th Street. The meetings adjourn at 10:30 p.m. unless extended by the Commission.

You can still contact City Commissioners to politely urge them to vote yes on the registry.

Here are some of my earlier thoughts on the registry:

Why I support a domestic partner registry

Just the Facts: Domestic Partner Registries stretch across the U.S. & present few problems

Kansas: Staff says legal problems are unlikely if Lawrence passes registry

Toni Ramirez Wheeler, director of legal services for the city of Lawrence, reports that passing a domestic partner registry should not cause legal problems for the city.

(I)t is unlikely that the City would face liability if a person included in the domestic partnership registry commits a fraudulent insurance act as defined in the Kansas statute cited above. An electronic search of case law nationwide disclosed no cases in which a municipality maintaining a domestic partnership registration was involved as a named party in litigation for a fraudulent insurance act.

This matches the information I received from the national ACLU.

Kansas: Lawrence city group announces support for domestic partner registry

A Lawrence City Commission advisory board -- the Lawrence Alliance -- is urging the City Commission to pass the proposed domestic partner registry. The Alliance works to create a "discrimination-free environment" in the city.

Friday Kansas Blogging

By Diane Silver

I've been a great admirer of Kevin Drum's Friday Cat Blogging. While I'm not certain that Kansas is as picturesque as Kevin's cats, I do know that a lot of folks have gone to the University of Kansas and miss Lawrence, or have simply moved away from the Sunflower State. Thus, I offer for your viewing pleasure the first of what I hope will become a weekly habit -- some Friday Kansas blogging.

I have to admit that one of the true delights of working for yourself is getting to pick your own hours. For me, that has meant I have more time to meander through Lawrence's downtown and parks during the day. Thus, this first bit of Kansas blogging is a stroll through Lawrence's South Park, starting at the gazebo; wandering over to the horse fountain where, alas, horses no longer sip; walking up the path to Massachusetts Street and then gazing up at the old Douglas County Courthouse.

You'll note that the time this photo was taken was 5:20 p.m., and the sky was and is just as blue and clear as it looks. The temperature is a perfect 73 degrees, and there isn't a hint of pollution in the air.

By the way, these are the first four photos I've ever taken with this new camera. Any fuzziness is all my fault.

One of the not-so-joyful things about working for yourself is that you really have to work. The last few days I've been slogging through paying assignments. (Yay money! Boo, no time to blog.)

Kansas: Why I support a domestic partner registry

By Diane Silver

Fourteen years ago, my life partner died of breast cancer, and it felt like I had fallen into an abyss. It felt as if the wind was rushing past my ears. Nothing was solid. No matter how far I stretched out my arms there was nothing to hold onto. At any moment I knew I’d hit a bottom I couldn’t even see, and the pain would be crushing.

I thought, that will hurt.

I thought, but what a relief. Such a death will end my grief.

All those days ago, all that pain ago, I couldn’t allow myself to die, though. I had a child. Seven years old. I had lost my life partner, but he had lost his mother.

While I was learning how to breathe again every morning when I woke up and realized that she was dead… and while I was fumbling to understand how to raise a child alone, the issue of insurance arose.

An insurance company said that I had no relationship with my late life partner. The company declared that our life together had simply never existed. They said this was what they called a “Housekeeper Situation.” That’s when a housekeeper moves in to take care of a terminally ill person, and then takes all of that poor soul’s estate.

In essence, that company said I had never held my late partner, I had never cried with her, I had never laughed with her. In effect, that company said the two of us had never fallen asleep holding hands. That company said the two of us had never gotten up in the middle of the night to take care of a sick child.

Every moment, every hour, day, month and year that we had been a household was simply declared to have never existed.

And there was no legal way I could prove that they had.

I was lucky, though. My partner and I had appeared on TV and in the newspaper talking about our relationship. We were activists. We were visible. Those appearances helped my lawyer prove that we really were a domestic partnership.

That’s why I support a domestic partner registry for Lawrence. The honest citizens of this town shouldn’t have to go on TV to prove the existence of their partnerships.

Passing this registry takes nothing from anyone, yet it helps many people. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the only fair thing to do.
-------------
For information about how a domestic partner registry works, see Just the Facts: Domestic partner registries stretch across the U.S. & present few problems.

PHOTO: That's me, our son and my late partner Patty at our son's third birthday party.

Just the Facts: Domestic partner registries stretch across U.S. & present few problems

By Diane Silver

As Lawrence, Kansas, gets ready to consider a domestic partner registry on May 22, this Just the Facts post will look at how registries have worked in other places.

As of this writing, 72 governments in the United States provide domestic partner registries, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s online database. These include four states – Maine, New Jersey, Hawaii and California. The 68 cities and counties with registries range in population from 13,300 (Tumwater, Washington) to 9.9 million (Los Angeles County, California). Kansas City, Missouri, also offers a registry.

Many universities towns provide registries, including those that are home to the:

• University of Iowa
• University of Texas, Austin
• University of Colorado
• University of Georgia
• University of Illinois
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• University of Minnesota
• University of Oregon
• University of Wisconsin
  
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Davis
• UCLA
• USC
• CalTech
• Pepperdine University
• Harvard University (instituted before same-sex marriage was legal in Massachusetts.)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (again, instituted before same-sex marriage was legal in the state.)

Although the details of registries vary, in the day-to-day world of local governments, they work as just one more service provided to city residents, said city clerks from registry towns.

The Experience of Iowa City
As the site of the University of Iowa and a Midwestern town, Iowa City may be the closet match to Lawrence among the cities and counties with registries.

Iowa City has a population of about 62,900. Lawrence’s population is about 82,000. The University of Iowa enrolls about 29,000 students. The University of Kansas enrolls approximately the same number.

The home of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa City’s experience with its registry has been a happy one, city officials said in telephone interviews this week with In This Moment.

The Iowa City registry has:

• Been in effect for nearly 13 years
• Never resulted in a lawsuit against Iowa City (Source: City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes)
• Paid for itself through a $30 fee (Source: Iowa City Clerk Marion Karr)

“It’s working very well,” Karr said. “We haven’t had any problems whatsoever with it.”

Karr stressed that no taxpayer money is used to pay for the registry.

“I am aware that often it is used as proof of relationship for insurance purposes,” Karr said. “We simply acknowledge the relationship. It becomes a public record, and we give them (the people who register) a certificate.”

Dilkes said that she did not believe the city would be liable even if a couple misrepresented themselves on the registry.

“There might be ramifications for the individual,” Dilkes said. “It’s hard to see how the city would be liable.”

Here are details of how the Iowa City registry works.

The Issue of Lawsuits
Although some suits have been filed about the constitutionality of domestic partner registries, It is hard to find reports of lawsuits being filed for other reasons.

“I have never heard of any lawsuits against any municipality based on someone making fraudulent claims based on a registry,” said Rose Saxe, staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT and AIDS Project.

Cities that provides registries are in a similar legal position as states when they certify marriages, she said.

“States don't get sued when people enter into fraudulent marriages,” Saxe said.

How Domestic Partner Registries Are Used
Often businesses use registries as proof for employer benefits, the ACLU's Saxe said. Even if this is not the only kind of proof required, companies sometimes penalize employees who don't have access to registries.

For example, Motorola requires a six-month waiting period for employees who aren't registered as domestic partners. Other companies require affidavits and other extensive paperwork as proof of a domestic partnership.

More companies are offering domestic partner benefits every year. The Human Rights Foundation reported in its 2006 Corporate Equality Index that more than half of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partner health benefits to their employees. Many companies also include domestic partners in benefits such as dental, vision and COBRA continuation coverage. Other companies are making domestic partners eligible for family and medial leave, bereavement leave, retirement benefits and employee discounts. The foundation reports:

The company policies most often extended to domestic partners include bereavement leave (71 percent of rated companies), relocation assistance (63 percent) and (Family and Medical Leave Act) FMLA-like leave (60 percent).