Winston-Salem Now Offers Same-Sex Partner Benefits For City Employees

Married same-sex partners working for the city of Winston-Salem are now eligible for benefits. The city attorney will give the update on the new policy before members Tuesday evening.

It's a big change for married same-sex partners. But when it comes down to the city level, it's about crossing the T's and dotting the I's.

When a federal appeals court ruled this summer that Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, it opened the door for more cities to tweak their own rules.  Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh already offer benefits like medical and dental to same-sex partners.

Then, Attorney General Roy Cooper said he would no longer defend North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage. Winston-Salem City Manager Lee Garrity says the city has always gone by the books when it comes to administering policies for its workers, and now the definition of marriage is changing. “Our city attorney gave an opinion several weeks ago that she felt the law of the land now was defensible for us to go ahead and recognize marriage licenses of same-sex partners from other states.”

Garrity says the city's human resources director wrote employees last month telling them the city would recognize marriage licenses issued in other states.  The county, though, is a different story. The Assistant Attorney for Forsyth County, Gloria Woods, says same-sex partner benefits are not provided right now.

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