| Monmouth County tonight joined Hudson, Bergen, Essex, Union and Mercer counties as the 6th county to provide domestic partner benefits. The vote was 4-0, with one absence. All five freeholders of Monmouth County are Republicans making Monmouth the first Republican-controlled county to pass domestic partner benefits. The decision will extend pension benefits, but not health benefits, to domestic partners.
New Jersey's domestic partnership law allows each municipality and county to decide whether to grant their employees domestic partner benefits. Laurel Hester, a 23 year veteran of the Ocean County prosecutor's office, is dying of lung cancer and her partner will lose their home if she cannot receive Laurel's pension benefits. In response to the situation, the Asbury Park Press editorial board urged both Ocean and Monmouth County's freeholders to pass domestic partner benefits. Since Laurel's request, Mercer and Union Counties approved domestic partner benefits as a direct result of Laurel's plight.
Monmouth County freeholder Tom Powers said that they also acted in response to Laurel Hester's situation in neighboring Ocean County.
Hester, who has been told she has only a few months to live and who can no longer walk on her own, praised the Monmouth freeholders yesterday for their "courage."
"If I were there, I would have given them a standing ovation, and that's not easy," she said.
Ocean County's freeholders, who have double-dipped into the pension system, have made excuses about violating the "sanctity" of marriage and the "tremendous cost" (45 cents) to tax payers, but shamefully refuse to act. These are just lies and smoke screens. If Laurel had married a man, none of the freeholders would utter a word about the "tremendous cost". These men feel threatened that a dying woman might expose their cold hearts and their willingness to appeal to a homophobic voting bloc, which is why they ran out the back door when pressed for an explanation from consituents at a recent freeholder meeting. It's about time that they follow the example of their neighbors in Monmouth County and do the right thing. Laurel has given so much to her county - the least they could do is let her die a peaceful death knowing her partner will be taken care of. |
