ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, April 20, 1997                 TAG: 9704210074
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-3  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: ARLINGTON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

PARTNER HEALTH PLAN APPROVED ARLINGTON PROPOSAL TAKES EFFECT JULY 1

Board members believe the coverage will help the county attract and keep high-quality employees.

Arlington has become the first Virginia county to extend health benefits to unmarried domestic partners, including same-sex partners.

Effective July 1, county employees can claim medical and dental coverage for adults who are not married to them. The measure won unanimous support from the five County Board members, all Democrats, when they recently adopted the fiscal 1998 budget.

``We are a community of great diversity of household types,'' said Albert C. Eisenberg, a longtime board member. ``The traditional family of a husband and wife and two kids are a distinct minority in the community.''

Rhonda Buckner, president of the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance, hailed the new provision. ``The main issue is equality and fairness,'' she said.Nationwide, more than 40 governments and close to 130 colleges and universities provide domestic-partner benefits, according to statistics from the Washington-based National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Arlington board members said they extended health coverage because it would help the county attract and keep high-quality employees.

Not all Arlington residents were pleased by the change.

``Yet another perversion of the Arlington Way,'' said Tom Brooke, secretary of the county Republican Committee.

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