Activism

Lobby day for domestic-partnership bill

by Susan Ryan-Vollmar

Activists will lobby legislators at the State House next Wednesday, March 29, for passage of a bill that would extend domestic-partnership benefits in Massachusetts. Organized by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Political Alliance, the action is focused on Senate Bill 2048, which would change the state insurance law that restricts extension of public employees' health benefits to only their legal spouses and children.

Only Cambridge and Springfield currently offer benefits to domestic partners. And this week, the Catholic Action League and the American Center for Law and Justice filed suit against the city of Cambridge in an effort to stop it from doing so. Both groups successfully sued the city of Boston last summer over its domestic-partnership program.

Lobby Day registration is from 9 to 9:30 a.m. in the Gardner Auditorium at the State House. For more information, visit www.pridevotes.org or e- mail lobbyday@pridevotes.com.