Guam Community Meeting on Watered Down Designated Benificiary Agreement, Not Gay Marriage

The measure is known as the Designated Beneficiary Agreement. If enacted into law, it will allow individuals who enter into this legal union to receive benefits that range from health and life insurance to GovGuam employee retiree benefits. Bill 212 was introduced by Senator Jim Espaldon, who called the legislation an alternative to Bill 185, introduced by Vice-Speaker BJ Cruz as The Domestic Partnership Bill. Tonight's meeting is to receive a consensus on the legislation from Guam's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Said Cruz, using an automotive analogy, "It is like asking for an Infinity, compromising down to an Ultima, saying you'd accept a Sentra, and now we are just taking bus passes to get where we need to go." The vice-speaker of the 30th Guam Legislature contends the Designated Beneficiary Agreement is a sellout to the GLBT community's initial desire to have a bill that provides them with all of the same legal rights that heterosexual couples enjoy via a legal partnership. Senator Sspaldon sees it otherwise, saying, "I listened to those arguments and came up with this Bill 212, and I hope it's a compromise where both parties are satisfied." He reasoned that his bill is truly a viable alternative to the controversial Domestic Partnership Bill, which was harshly criticized by the Catholic Church, but supported overall by Guam's GLBT community. Full Story from KUAM.com

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