Alaska Civil Liberties Union v. State

OPINION

EASTAUGH, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

The State of Alaska and the Municipality of Anchorage offer valuable benefits to their employees’ spouses that they do not offer to then' unmarried employees’ domestic partners. Essentially all opposite-sex adult couples may marry and thus become eligible for these benefits. But no same-sex couple can ever become eligible for these benefits because same-sex couples may not marry in Alaska. 1 The spousal limitations in the benefits programs therefore affect public employees with same-sex domestic partners differently than public employees who are…