Professor on hunger strike for gay rights

A University of Texas lecturer has entered the third day of a hunger strike aimed at forcing the university to provide health benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian workers at the school. UT bans discrimination against gays in its written human rights policy but says it cannot provide domestic partner benefits because of an amendment to the Texas constitution banning gay marriage. "The fact that the university is conducting itself in this manner makes me feel like I'm a persona non grata here, a person whose rights are less important than others," Uri Horesh told the American-Statesman. Horesh who teaches Arabic in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies is only consuming water and vitamins said he is continuing to lecture while continuing to refuse food. "I'm not going to start eating until this matter is resolved or I'm taken to the hospital, whatever happens first," Horesh, 37, told the paper. He has been fighting for partner benefits since November when he filed a complaint with the university's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. Horesh says that the university has ignored the complaint and a subsequent appeal. UT spokesperson Linda Millstone said the school's hands are tied because it is publicly funded. Millstone told the American-Statesman that "I and other administrators are not unsympathetic to his concerns.... The issue of providing benefits in today's society is critically important in the recruitment and retention of employees, faculty, [and] staff." Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2005. It not only bars same-sex couples from marrying but also prevents the state from recognizing civil unions.