EDITORIAL: Same-sex benefits a step forward for Pitt

It’s a new day.

After a nine-year struggle, Pitt has decided to offer same- and… It’s a new day.

After a nine-year struggle, Pitt has decided to offer same- and opposite-sex domestic partner healthcare benefits. In a University Update titled, “Adding to Our Rich Institutional Legacy” released yesterday, Chancellor Mark Nordenberg wrote that Pitt would be extending such benefits starting Jan. 1 of next year.

This decision came suddenly. It’s a victory: a victory for Pitt, a victory for Nordenberg, a victory for gay rights (and straight people livin’-in-sin rights), a victory for all the people who’ve tried to get this done and a victory for Pittsburgh, since Pitt will be one more local employer who’s decided to get with the program.

And Pitt is really getting with the program. Unlike Temple, who tested the waters last winter with a hesitant version of such benefits, Pitt has taken the full plunge: full benefits, so long as the employee signs an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership, which Pitt requires for some non-health benefits as well.

In the update, the announcement was padded with arguments why such benefits should be offered — the same arguments that proponents have been using against Pitt for years — showing the University’s new willingness to go to bat with those who would oppose this measure, namely some state legislators and possible Pitt contributors.

Yet, with Gov. Ed Rendell so outspoken about both increasing funding for higher education and advocating same-sex partner benefits, Pitt has an ample ally in Harrisburg. And, as a bonus, alumni who might have been reluctant to donate to Pitt, given its former policy, can now give money with clear consciences.

This battle hasn’t been a pretty one. Pitt sued the City of Pittsburgh to get an equal rights ordinance overturned, contending that the city didn’t have jurisdiction over the University — a public relations blunder, at best, and possibly an act of bigotry, at worst.

There have been lawsuits, hunger strikes, useless committees, useless reports, delayed useless reports, protests, panels, demonstrations, discussions, meeting after meeting and article after article.

And Pitt has lost because of this. It has lost potential students and potential staff and faculty who’ve signed onto other universities and employers with benefits programs. It’s been a long, strange nine years, painful for those affected by Pitt’s policy and embarrassing for Pitt.

So kudos to Nordenberg for getting this done. Kudos to all those who’ve struggled and fought for this. And kudos to all the unknowns, the donors, influences and alumni who’ve pushed for this. It’s a new day here at Pitt, and it’s a good one.

Healthcare is a leading source of bankruptcy in the United States and there are more than 40 million Americans without health insurance. Now, thanks to this decision, there are a few less.