Cambridge to pay gays more than straights

We are all equal, but some are more equal than others. Hopefully, some straight employee will sue.

Boston.com – [S]tarting this month, Cambridge will become what is believed to be the first municipality in the country to pay its public employees a stipend in an attempt to defray the cost of the federal tax on health benefits for their same-sex spouses.

Of the thousands of legally married gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts, none can receive the federal benefits offered to heterosexual married couples because the federal government doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages.

“This is about equality,” said Marjorie Decker, a Cambridge city councilor. “This is a city that models what equality really means.”

The city employees hit by the extra tax pay an additional $1,500 to $3,000 in taxes a year and officials estimate the stipends would cost the city an additional $33,000.