Western is the first public institution of higher education to support the adoption of same-sex marriage in Washington state so all employees may receive equal benefits, Western President Bruce Shepard announced on Monday, Jan. 23 during the Faculty Senate meeting.
Shepard presented a public statement letter regarding Western’s approach to same-sex marriage.
“Western has taken a stand in support of same-sex marriage as an employee benefits issue,” said Karen Stout, Western’s Faculty Senate president.
The issue pertains to the university’s need to recruit and retain the best and brightest faculty members during hard financial times for public universities, Stout said.
“It comes down to dollars and cents for people to make decisions between do they want to take the job offer at Western or someplace else,” Stout said. “We want the best faculty for our students. We can’t stand for that pay disparity.”
Washington state currently does not allow same-sex couples to marry under state law. The state does recognize domestic partnerships and gives same-sex couples rights that are similar, but not equal, to those given to married couples.
“Married couples get income tax credits that non-married cohabiting couples don’t,” Stout said. “That puts straight and gay employees on a very different playing level and President Shepard would like to even the field.”
Shepard’s presentation came just days before Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed posted via Twitter an announcement noting the passage through committee of the Marriage Equality Act. The act was passed by a vote of 4-3 through the Senate Committee on Government Operations and Tribal Relations and Elections Thursday, Jan. 26.
If passed, the bill would allow same-sex couples to marry, entitling them to the same benefits as heterosexual couples, making Washington state the seventh state to adopt such a law.
Western’s Queer Resource Center is organizing a student lobby day through the Associated Students set for Feb. 16. During the lobby day, students will meet with legislative members in Olympia to speak about their experiences, said Iris Maute-Gibson, AS vice president for governmental affairs.
The lobby day event will not endorse any particular legislation, but students will be given access to information so they can make a value judgment on how they want to lobby, Maute-Gibson said.
Western’s decision to publicly support same-sex marriage and benefits for those employees is important for staff, faculty and students, Stout said.
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