A committee at NIU is trying to gain equal benefits for same-sex couples while members of the Illinois General Assembly are trying to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

An ad hoc committee is working on a proposal for NIU staff who are in same-sex relationships to receive similar insurance benefits as heterosexual married couples.

The committee will have to define domestic partnerships to determine what an individual will have to show to prove he or she is in such a relationship, said committee member Norden Gilbert, chair of NIU’s Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and chair of the University Council.

The committee is looking at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which offers benefits to same-sex partnerships. The difference, Gilbert said, lies in the amount of coverage afforded to the couples and the inclusion of heterosexual unmarried couples.

U of I’s policy operates on the premise that same-sex couples can’t marry but should have access to the similar benefits from the state, Gilbert said.

The committee hopes to complete the proposal in the next two months, Gilbert said. It’s unknown when the proposal would go into effect if approved.

NIU offers same-sex partners benefits such as bereavement and medical leave to take care of someone in the household, Gilbert said.

The study comes as the evolving national same-sex marriage argument became increasingly heated in the last month.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court declared Feb. 4 that the state ban on same-sex marriage was invalid. The court gave Massachusetts legislators six months to rewrite the laws to include same-sex marriages.

The ruling recognizes gay marriage, which has implications for gay couples in other states who are married in Massachusetts, Gilbert said. This recognition of marriage contrasts a Vermont law permitting same-sex civil unions, a term not officially recognized outside Vermont.

Illinois may enter the situation with a proposed constitutional amendment.

The NIU insurance inclusion could become an invalidated proposal, even if it is accepted, if an amendment to the Illinois Constitution passes.

Rep. William J. Grunloh (D-Effingham) of the 108th District, Rep. Brandon W. Phelps (D-Norris City) of the 118th District and Rep. John J. Millner (R-Carol Stream) of the 55th District sponsor the House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 31, which would define marriage as being only between a man and a woman.

The validity of the same-sex partnership proposal will depend on the language of the amendment, if passed, Gilbert said.

The bill, which was proposed Feb. 5, has been referred to the House Rules Committee.

Rep. Robert Pritchard (R-Hinckley) of the 70th District said he would support an amendment preventing legal recognition of same-sex couples.

Pritchard said the tradition of marriage has been between a man and a woman and is rooted in religious and traditional values.

A law on the books in Illinois bans same-sex marriages, but a constitutional amendment would make it harder to repeal, said Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy group.

Garcia said 37 states have laws banning gay marriage that have passed since 1996. Now many other states are trying to pass similar constitutional amendments, he said.