Update - See below.

My girlfriend and I have been together roughly four years now. We have a 17 month old son together, have been living together in our current apartment under a co-lease agreement for a year, and lived roughly a year in our previous apartment (w/o me on the lease, but legally obliged by it {scattered references}). Before that, I lived with my brother and she lived with her sister, and before that, she with her parents.

I work at UPENN and it is currently Open Enrollment for benefits, something I desperately need to sign up for. Our intention was to sign myself, my girlfriend, and our son up under a plan. However, we're not sure how to file my girlfriend's status.

She's not a domestic partner, since we're a heterosexual couple and we don't fit the general requirements for a common-law marriage, which includes joint tax filings, among other things.

Once again, the so-called Family Foundation of Kentucky has abandoned Kentucky families -- the real ones, that is. They have decided that unless you fit their definition of family, you don't deserve health insurance.

We dream that our mayor is "really a Democrat."

We dream that he respects civil rights.

We dream that our mayor doesn't have to walk the GOP party line.

The dreams of New York are like a gentle blanket of snow.

That is to say, they quickly turn to brown slush.

[Background: This is huge news. Laurel Hester, a 23 year veteran of the Ocean County prosecutor's office has lung cancer which has spread to her brain. The state passed a domestic partner law that allows (but does not mandate) counties to grant domestic partner benefits to county employees. Laurel has asked for the right to pass her pension benefits on to her partner, who may otherwise lose their home without it. Months of protesting, attending freeholder meetings, and public education have finally paid off. You can find out more background info on the situation here.]

"This is one of the happiest days of my life...I feel like David conquering Goliath." said Laurel Hester on Saturday morning.

After nearly a year of refusing to grant Lt Laurel Hester the right to pass her pension benefits on to her partner, Ocean County's freeholders will finally grant Hester her dying wish when they vote on Wednesday.

A 7th county (Camden County) in New Jersey will pass domestic partner benefits tonight. A 24 year veteran of the Ocean County prosecutor's office has lung cancer that has spread to her brain. Her dying wish is that her pension benefits be passed on to her partner, who will otherwise not be able to afford to keep their home. Ironically, we have the bigoted Ocean County freeholders who have stubbornly refused to grant her that wish to thank for the advancement of gay rights in New Jersey.

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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.

On Friday, the Ocean County Observer reported on the possible costs associated with approving pension benefits for domestic partners in Ocean County. Lt Laurel Hester, a 24 year veteran of the prosecutor's office, is dying of lung cancer and has asked the freeholders to let her pass her pension benefits to her partner, who otherwise will not be able to keep their home.

The freeholders' excuses have ranged from immoral smoke screens about the "sanctity of marriage" to vague complaints about costs to taxpayers. Six months after Laurel Hester made her request, they've finally decided to actually work out some numbers and guessed that it could cost between $114,000 and $220,000 to fund pension benefits for domestic partners - or 23 to 45 cents per resident in Ocean County. Freeholder Kelly calls these added pension benefits a "tremendous cost."

homophobic freeholders

UPDATE: The most effective way to pressure the freeholders into action is by boycotting Six Flags Great Adventure, which has a very big influence in the county. For details, visit BlueJersey or The Big Gay Picture.

[Background on the situation: Lt Laurel Hester will die from lung cancer in a few months. She would like to pass on her pension to her partner and although the state law permits it, the freeholders of her county (Ocean County) have declined to grant her domestic partner benefits - one of them citing the sanctity of marriage. This was covered in a previous diary on dailykos]

Last night, Union County freeholders voted unanimously (9-0) in support of granting county employees domestic partner benefits. According to one person who attended the meeting "[the freeholders] all cited Laurel Hester as their inspiration".