gaygroups
05-01-2005, 06:52 PM
(Houston, Texas) As the state of Texas considers an amendment to its constitution to ban same-sex marriage, Houston-based Continental airlines has announced that it will give the same-sex partners of its retired workers the same perks already available to heterosexual couples.
Effective Sunday the travel benefits available to employees will be expanded to include the gay partners of retirees. Continental already offers travel benefits to employees, allowing them to designate a travel companion, which can include same-sex domestic partner.
And benefits like health insurance have been available at Continental for domestic partners of employees for several years.
But the travel perks, which includes six travel passes that allow a former employee and a spouse to travel together were denied to gays.
Last year David Lee discovered that the hard way. The retired flight attendant married his longtime partner David Vaillancourt last April in Canada.
When he applied for travel passes for Vaillancourt he was turned down. (story (http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/07/070504continental.htm))
Lee was ecstatic when he learned of the rule change this week.
"Continental has chosen to do the right thing by expanding this to retirees," Lee told the Houston Chronicle.
"Full equality for gays and lesbians is inevitable. Better late than never," said Lee, who retired in 1989.
There is one hitch, however, to Continental's rule change. The marriage, civil union, or registered domestic partner must be legal. That would mean, retirees would either have to be married in Massachusetts or Canada, or have a civil union in Vermont or Connecticut, or be in a registered domestic partnership.
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Visit 365Gay.com for more great articles.
Effective Sunday the travel benefits available to employees will be expanded to include the gay partners of retirees. Continental already offers travel benefits to employees, allowing them to designate a travel companion, which can include same-sex domestic partner.
And benefits like health insurance have been available at Continental for domestic partners of employees for several years.
But the travel perks, which includes six travel passes that allow a former employee and a spouse to travel together were denied to gays.
Last year David Lee discovered that the hard way. The retired flight attendant married his longtime partner David Vaillancourt last April in Canada.
When he applied for travel passes for Vaillancourt he was turned down. (story (http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/07/070504continental.htm))
Lee was ecstatic when he learned of the rule change this week.
"Continental has chosen to do the right thing by expanding this to retirees," Lee told the Houston Chronicle.
"Full equality for gays and lesbians is inevitable. Better late than never," said Lee, who retired in 1989.
There is one hitch, however, to Continental's rule change. The marriage, civil union, or registered domestic partner must be legal. That would mean, retirees would either have to be married in Massachusetts or Canada, or have a civil union in Vermont or Connecticut, or be in a registered domestic partnership.
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Visit 365Gay.com for more great articles.