On a philosophical level, it seems appropriate to offer benefits to same-sex partners of UA employees, but until Arizona offers some form of recognition to these unions, it would be neither fair nor practical.

Several groups around campus have breathed new life into a campaign to offer these benefits, which are identical to those offered to the spouses of heterosexual UA employees. Besides basic health and dental coverage, these benefits include a 50 percent tuition reduction for same-sex partners.

Extending benefits to same-sex couples would cost an estimated $255,000 annually, and affect 85-100 employees.

Six Pacific-10 Conference schools already offer such benefits, as do many corporations.

But the UA would be unwise to offer these benefits until the state takes action to recognize civil unions. Otherwise, the policy would amount to an arbitrary offer of benefits to people without any legitimate legal claim to them.

There's no legal way to distinguish a same-sex couple living together from two roommates, or from a boyfriend and girlfriend cohabitating. Without some legal distinction, offering domestic partner benefits would amount to discrimination against non-married, non-same-sex partners living together.

Civil unions should be legal. The state should take steps to recognize them. Gay and lesbian couples deserve the same benefits as married heterosexual couples.

But any efforts to convince UA officials to offer benefits to domestic partners are misguided until these couples are granted the recognition they deserve. So direct your lobbying efforts at state lawmakers. Explain that gay and lesbian people shouldn't be excluded from benefits offered to married people simply because of their sexual orientation.

But don't ask the UA to discriminate. President Peter Likins was right when he said his hands are tied by the state. And he has clearly expressed openness toward offering benefits to same-sex partners.

"If same-sex marriages were permissible, benefits would follow automatically," he said in the Aug. 26 Wildcat.

Hopefully the time to officially recognize same-sex relationships will come soon. But until it does, there doesn't seem to be much the UA can do.