Alaska: Idea of gay civil unions tickles Republicans

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI — A reporter from the Juneau Empire asked members of the Republican-led House majority caucus if they would support the idea of domestic partnerships or civil unions for gay couples as part of their proposed initiatives . . . and they apparently thought he was being funny.

As the chuckles died down and an unidentified caucus member was heard saying he “didn’t see it in there, no,” another member replied on behalf of the group: “What’s important about this caucus is that we’ve focused on the things that really allow people to have a great life. We didn’t have a discussion here about what happens inside your home; we had a discussion here about whether or not you can make money, there’s a great economy, and whether or not you’re going to have the opportunity to live in Alaska with a great future.”

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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