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Posted by Steve on 11/15/2008, 8:54 am, in reply to "Re: Marry?"
69.140.59.X
: It still seems to me that you and your
: friends are compounding the problem.
: Instead of addressing a way to change the
: laws about who can receive benefits, you're
: taking on the Religious Right. Marriage is
: "sacred" to them. Hehe.
:
: I wonder if they'd fight so mightily against
: you just asking for the rights you want
: without requesting marriage in the bargain.
:
: I was with the same man for 25 years and
: never married him. I was the sole
: bread-winner, but we managed to get along
: without ever being involved in a civil union
: or any such thing. Not everyone has 401Ks
: or civil unions to assist them.
:
: If you can't afford to have kids, then don't
: have them.
:
: I don't see how being gay changes the
: prospect of just getting on with your
: life.... without asking for help from
: anyone else. Maybe I'm missing something?
:
: -Nina
------------------------
Religious institutions are not required, and were never required, to marry anyone they choose not to marry, Nina. Proposition 8 was about refusing same-sex couples in California access to civil marriage. The Religious Right and their allies know this quite well.
"I don't see how being gay changes the prospect of just getting on with your life.... without asking for help from anyone else. Maybe I'm missing something?"
Yes, you are missing something, Nina. Same-sex couples aren't asking for 'help.' They're asking for equality under the law.
If, for example, my life companion of 34 years has a tragic accident, I could be legally refused admittance to the hospital emergency room to be with him, since in the eyes of the law I am considered a legal stranger to him.
This sort of thing happens all the time to same-sex couples, Nina. This is only one of hundreds and hundreds of protections that we do not have because we're not permitted to marry.
Domestic partnerships offer some protection but are available in only a handful of states and are generally not recognized outside the state in which they are issued.
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"The Tao is basically utterly open. Utter openeness has no substance. It ends in endlessness, begins in beginninglessnes".
-Li Daoqun
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