Discussion held on discrimination, same-sex partnerships

MU students and City Council will both vote on separate LGBTQ issues next week.

By Brendan Gibbons

Published April 1, 2009

Next week, the MU students and the City Council will vote on separate issues affecting the LGBTQ community in Columbia.

On April 6-8, MU students will vote on an MSA ballot referendum that would ask the UM system Board of Curators to include gender identity and expression in the UM system non-discrimination policy.

Raising awareness for the referendum is the objective of Include Me MU, a student campaign affiliated with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Resource Center and the Triangle Coalition.

The same day as the start of the referendum, at its regular meeting, the Columbia City Council will vote on legislation that would create a non-binding domestic partnership registry in the city.

About 50 people attended a panel discussion in Keller Auditorium on Tuesday to ask panelists questions about both issues.

The LGBTQ Resource Center hosted the panel following a screening of the short documentary “Freeheld.”

The film covers New Jersey police officer Laurel Hester's final months. Hester’s lung cancer diagnosis led to a fight with Ocean County, N.J., officials regarding whether to extend legal benefits to her female partner.

Third Ward City Councilman Karl Skala, one of the panelists at the event, said if the council creates the registry, couples will be able to request a legal affidavit for a small fee and will be included on list of domestic partners that will be open public record.

“This is an opportunity for people to affirm their commitment to each other and to put their names on a record to qualify for rights and privileges of heterosexuals,” Skala said.

Mayor Darwin Hindman, another panelist, said the registry would not be legally binding but might be persuasive to businesses and other organizations that could extend benefits to same-sex couples.

“It is an affirmation by the city government that we believe in equality and equal rights,” Hindman said. “It’s a step the city should take.”

A.J. Bockelman, executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group PROMO, spoke about similar registry lists in St. Louis and Kansas City. When one audience member asked if the list could lead to discrimination against couples, Bockelman said he was not aware of such harassment occurring in the past.

Still, Skala said, there is some risk for couples that register. He characterized Columbia as a political island, saying that city policies would have no bearing on state law.

“(We’re) constantly fighting state politics in one form or another,” Skala said.

Hindman said the council would probably vote to create the registry.

“I think it will pass without a problem,” Hindman said. “I’ve heard almost no negative response from the public.”