According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Gov. Ed Rendell and “fair-minded” members of… According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Gov. Ed Rendell and “fair-minded” members of the Pennsylvania state legislature will protect Pitt if it follows Temple and Drexel universities in granting same-sex benefits.

“Now that those schools have led the way, Pitt has a great opportunity to prove once and for all that it really does care about fairness in the workplace,” said Legal Director of the ACLU Greater Pittsburgh Chapter Witold Walczak in a press release.

But Walczak also said that the ACLU and plaintiffs in Pitt’s benefits case have “been skeptical from the start about Pitt’s claims,” adding that he didn’t know if Temple’s decision is going to affect the litigation here.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Walczak said. “And, frankly, there doesn’t seem to be the will at Pitt.”

Temple University announced Friday that it would be the first state-related university to grant domestic partner benefits.

Pitt officials have not returned seven phone calls for comment in the past five days.