What Comes Around Goes Away

Four years ago, Eastchester, New York became one of the first municipalities anywhere which allowed town employee's to have health and other employment benefits for their gay partners. Tonight, it seems, they may make history once again by voting to take those benefits away.

The town's Civil Service Employees Association agreed to give up the benefits when it approved a new contract with the town in a 52-to-11 vote yesterday evening, after a similar vote by the police union a few weeks ago. If the Town Board approves the contracts with the two unions tonight, Eastchester will stop offering domestic-partner benefits in 60 days, except to employees who already receive them. Only one employee, a police officer who has never been identified publicly, does.

This is being posed as a situation where such benefits are being lost as strictly part of a union negotiation and "sacrifice" for purely economic reasons. However, I can't help but think that prior to Jesusland running over the nation, people wouldn't have tried something like this.