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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1999)
A j Battalion S TATE Page 7 » Tuesday. December 7, 1999 herons Ixxon Mobile will not grant health enefits to gay employees’ partners DALLAS (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp. has adopted a [licy against giving benefits to the partners of newly ed gay employees, breaking with a policy at Mobil be- e the companies merged last week. ■ The oil giant said yesterday it would continue Exxon’s long-standing policy of extending spousal benefits only tof couples in legally recognized marriages. It will also continue to extend benefits to same-sex partners of Mo bil employees who were receiving benefits before the merger, a spokesperson said. I Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay-rights group Snjtlie nation, accused Exxon Mobil of taking a step back- iard from the trend of offering benefits to partners of gay employees, a policy followed by about half the coun- iry’s largest corporations. ■ “Rollbacks or cancellations of these types of policies lire very rare, and we don’t understand why Exxon is [doing this,” David M. Smith, a spokesperson for the [group in Washington said. “Gay people don’t have ac- |?ss [to legally recognized marriages], so they are being nied a benefit made available to other employees in |e workplace. ” Smith said other major oil companies, including BP-Amoco, Shell and Chevron offer benefits to same-sex partners. Ed Burwell, an Exxon Mobil spokesperson, said the Irving, Texas-based company prefers to use the thresh old of legally recognized marriages because it “ends the need for the company to, on its own, determine the le gitimacy of relationships. ” At their annual meeting in May, Exxon shareholders by a 94.1 percent vote rejected an amendment to com pany bylaws that would have granted benefits to un married partners. Company directors had recommend ed against the proposal. The new Exxon Mobil also has adopted Exxon’s gen eral anti-discrimination policy. Human Rights Campaign and some shareholders had urged the company to adopt Mobil’s policy, which specifically prohibited discrimi nation based on sexual orientation. “Exxon Mobil’s current policies provide strong pro tection against any discrimination on any basis, in cluding sexual orientation,” Burwell, the company spokesperspn said. 'rosecutors focus on gun crimes in 7 cities DALLAS (AP) — Eight new deral prosecutors will go to ork next month in seven urban ties as part of an initiative to re- tce gun crime in Texas by seek- g tougher prison sentences. The attorneys will concentrate ilely on gun charges, using a fed- al statute to seek additional jail ae for crimes where a weapon is ed or possessed. State Attorney General John rnyn said at a news conference sterday that the initiative dubbed exas Exile” represents a change in cus and effort. “Gun crimes are going to be treat- __ with a sort of seriousness that is vheelbarrel ofgrassitm 1 p recec ] entec j j n p ie p^st,” he said. ructor protests toct.| 7^0 special prosecutors will be as- igned to each of the four U.S. Attor- [ey’s districts in Texas, Comyn said. The Houston area will get two, ^id one each will be assigned to alias, Fort Worth, Tyler, Beaumont, [an Antonio and El Paso. A public awareness campaign ttso will target those cities, along : the statue of Su! • B/ithCorpus Christi and Brownsville. >. Lawrence SulliE ■ The new prosecutors are being sman and propoM#ired under the $1.6 million initia- ision in the late-lTlj tive introduced in September by /ersion of a niyhicaf Cornyn and Gov. George W Bush, a. ' semester, students 1 ss to carry on t :ing money offf )oo hoots. And likeS4 good all semester! loss will fly his wagoj rshop in Memphist n all the boys and[ uois! On Aztec and M ahawk! On Pocahonl JEFF SMITH/T n, one should bring complaint that theifl eing discouragedots] tor to get “reacquaic Tnnie. ortable with ; on finals, or ifthecj ar and one simplyc charms, thereisa whose office is funding the program. The effort calls for coordination among local, state and federal pros ecutors to make certain criminals face the stiffest prison sentences pos sible under state or federal law. “We have put aside the turf bat tles for the common good,” Paul Coggins, U.S. Attorney for the North ern District of Texas said. “Gun crimes are going to be treated with a sort of seriousness that is unprecedented." — John Cornyn State attorney general Defendants convicted of gun crimes in federal court will face at least five years behind bars without probation or parole, he said. Cornyn said although federal gun laws are not new, law enforcement agencies often do not have the re sources to seek gun charges against those accused of other crimes. Texas Exile will target anyone in possession of a gun who has a felony conviction, or is charged with domestic abuse, drug trafficking or armed robbery. Michael McCaul, special assis tant attorney general for Texas, said each prosecutor is expected to bring forth about 200 additional gun cases each year. He dismissed concerns about the additional cases creating a backlog for federal judges. An education campaign includes ominous radio and television adver tisements warning “gun crime means hard time. ” Texas Exile is patterned after a program in Richmond, Va., which in 1994 had the second-highest murder rate in the nation. Since the program’s inception, Richmond’s murder rate has dropped by 33 percent and the rate of violent crime has decreased by almost 50 percent, according to Cornyn’s office. The city of Fort Worth announced its own get-tough-on-gun-crime public awareness initiative in Sep tember, two weeks after gunman Larry Gene Ashbrook killed seven people and hirhfeelf at Wedgwood Baptist Church. Know someone going home to the DALLAS/FT.WORTH METROPLEX for the holidays? Need fast cash? 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