Marriage Equality

Recently, a friend who is a Republican against gay marriage asked my why civil unions aren’t enough. When New York legalized gay marriage I dug deep into New Jersey’s laws and discovered that Civil Unions are here. At the time, I was happy that New Jersey at least allows some form of marriage for homosexual couples. Since then, I have learned two things:

1.       While in NJ gay couples have the same state rights as married couples, most people don’t know that. I read one story of a lesbian couple where one partner wasn’t allowed to see the other in the hospital since it was “family only” even though the civil union license was provided.

 

2.       They mean the same in the few states with civil unions but there are a lot of states that don’t allow civil unions or marriages.

 

Below is a chart I made based on information I got from GLAD.

Civil Union/Domestic Partnership Differences
Civil Unions	Marriage
Only recognized in States with Civil Unions	Recognized Everywhere
The only way to end it is to establish residency in a state that acknowledges the union in the first place. Otherwise, you can't end the relationship	Divorces can be done in any state
don't	Federal: the right to take leave from work to care for a family member
will get deported	Federal: the right to sponsor a spouse for immigration purposes
can't	Federal: Social Security survivor benefits that can make a difference between old age in poverty and old age in security
different rules Federal then State: taxation (must file individual Federal but can file joint state)	can file jointly everywhere
different rules Federal then State: pension protections	no matter where
different rules Federal then State:  provision of insurance for families (can't be a dependent on insurance)	can be a dependent on insurance
different rules Federal then State: means-tested programs like Medicaid	joint
People with civil unions should be able to identify themselves as a single family unit, but misrepresenting oneself on official documents can be considered fraud and carries potential serious criminal penalties.	always checks married
Domestic Partnership laws vary in the few states that have them but they are more restrictive then Civil Unions and are only valid in states recognizing Domestic Partnerships
From GLAD's website
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CIQBEBYwCQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.glad.org%2Fuploads%2Fdocs%2Fpublications%2Fcu-vs-marriage.pdf&ei=Dr8BUZutKtO00QHopIC4DQ&usg=AFQjCNF6k4jwVdurXE3scS4KOo7ijVbxnQ

From my research, I see that gay marriage would only affect the public in three ways.

1.       Federal employee spouse can collect their social security benefits

2.       Federal employee spouses qualify for pension protections

3.       Federal employee spouses qualify for their spouse’s means tested programs like Medicaid and food stamps.

Why should spouses of federal employees who are strait qualify for these things and spouses of gay federal employees not? If you are a strait spouse of a federal employee unwilling to give up these things but against gay people from having these things you are hypocritical. If the argument is cost then strait spouses shouldn’t qualify for these either. Strait marriages aren’t better then gay marriages. Marriage equality isn’t really affecting people outside the marriage other than being something homophobes don’t like looking at. That’s not a good enough reason to prevent someone from having the same rights and privileges as you

It seems like there are two reasons for the war on homosexuality.

1.       Religious views

2.       Republicans distraction

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-shore/the-best-case-for-the-bible-not-condemning-homosexuality_b_1396345.html   

Different religions have their own teachings on homosexuality. Laws need to be in the best interest of the entire country, not based on religion. Public schools have to, by law, leave one religion out of what they teach. If you are teaching about Christmas, then you have to teach about all the holidays around that time. Everyone is entitled to their own views on marriage equality but the truth is those are personal views and some are discriminatory. The same people encouraging this discrimination wouldn’t like being the one discriminated against.

It’s not really about religion; it’s about a lack of understanding of what Homosexuality is. The gay children of these homophobes struggle the most and are more likely to commit suicide. If they don’t, the relationship is strained. These parents must not love their kids since their love is contingent on the child’s sexual preference. A person should be judged on personality and nothing else.

Republicans want to distract the average American from knowing what their economic views really are so the best way to get votes is to attack social issues like gay marriage and abortion. Most people don’t want cuts to safety programs that protect the poor and old. Republicans sugar coat those less-favored agendas by taking these extreme views on these social issues to get the votes they know they wouldn’t get with their economic agenda. A current example is, just last week Boehner said he is making it a goal to make abortion illegal this year. Funny how that came up when Obama’s approval rating was at its highest and as issues like gun control and safety net cuts are being negotiated.

While a lot of the vocal people are against gay marriage, the same people who don’t want their guns regulated but want to regulate the crap out of women’s rights, the average American feels that marriage equality is a good thing. That is visible in the increasing number of states allowing gay marriage. Unfortunately, those marriages are only recognized in those states.

Can’t New Jersey pass a law saying they will recognize gay marriages that are legal in the state the ceremony was performed in? Can’t a couple get married in New York and have that marriage recognized here? Gov. Christie might not like marriage equality for religious reasons but isn’t that a reasonable compromise? Of course, the revenue the state would get from permitting marriage equality might make a significant boost to the budget.

We are a better country because of the civil rights movement and will be a better country because of the gay rights movement. Coming out shouldn’t be a big deal. Homosexuals, Bisexuals, and Transsexuals should be accepted for who they are, not their sexual preference. GLBT kids shouldn’t be treated differently than their strait counterparts. Marriage equality shouldn’t be something that gets opposed to. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but it’s a basic right all citizens of legal age should have, like driving. A gay marriage should have the same protections including immigrant protections as a strait marriage.