The Legislature's back in session. But it's not to construct the gas pipeline or to help fix the state's broken retirement system or to improve education; it's to deny many same-sex couples the benefits they deserve.

In 2005, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled the state could not deny benefits to the partners of gay public employees in committed relationships. Just because gays cannot, under the state constitution, get hitched doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to receive health benefits like other committed couples, the court ruled.

If it were any other constituency, maybe those folks in Juneau would listen to the courts. But of course, the ones affected were homosexuals. State officials, backed by Republican lawmakers, drafted ridiculously strict rules to ensure as few same-sex couples participated as possible.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Stephanie Joannides recognized the state's unjustified discrimination, saying the proposed regulations "impose criteria that many married individuals would not satisfy" and telling the state to implement new rules. But Republican Lt. Gov. Loren Leman, who is responsible for approving state regulations and who is publicly against providing domestic partner benefits, blocked further changes. He asked Gov. Frank Murkowski to call a lame duck special session. Only the Legislature could make such a big change, he claimed.

Republican legislators have already drafted a resolution calling for the court to postpone a Jan. 1 deadline for implementing the changes. A delay would allow the next Legislature to review the issue. But according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the draft resolution also says the court should allow the state to cut benefits to spouses of all newly hired state employees rather than provide them to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

That's not just dumb; it's plain ole' prejudicial. We have courts to check the Legislature or governor when they overstep their boundaries. If the court says you're violating the constitution, that means you fix what you've done wrong. You don't yank the benefits from everybody because you're afraid of homosexuals. Same-sex marriage is already banned; trying to limit state benefits on top of that is just outright discriminatory.

Additionally, cutting family benefits altogether will make the state uncompetitive. Who a person loves and what they do in their private lives has no meaning in the workplace. Look at the University of Alaska. Its domestic partner benefit program allows it to compete better on the national market. It's cheap too, amounting to only 1.6 percent of UA's health benefit cost.

You want the best of the best working for you? Then shell out the money and pay the benefits already. Because believe me, you cut benefits to spouses of straight employees and you might find yourself without any job applications.