Volume II (Reprise): Isn't A Ban On Same-Sex Marriage A Constitutional Embarassment?

So...back to our Commander-in-Chief's assertion that equitable marriage rights for homosexuals would somehow UNDERMINE or ENDANGER the family structure. Why is that? How is that kind of logic derived? What is much more significant is the fact that excluding committed gay couples from the official sanctions and legal protections of marriage ACTUALLY DOES UNDERMINE and ENDANGER the spirit of humanity espoused within our laws.

So...what rights are absent from committed gay couples that are unable to marry?

[DEATH] For a committed gay couple that is unable to marry, if one partner dies, the other committed partner is not entitled to get bereavement leave from work, to file wrongful death claims, to draw the social security payments of the deceased, or to automatically inherit a shared home, assets, or items in the absence of a will.

[DIVORCE] For a committed gay couple that is unable to marry, their is no access to the courts or to legal and financial guidelines in times of breakup, including rules for how to address shared property, child support, and alimony.

[HEALTH] For a committed gay couple that is unable to marry, they are not considered the next-of-kin for the purposes of hospital visitation rights and making emergency medical decisions.

[IMMIGRATION] For a committed gay couple that is unable to marry, U.S. residency and family unification are not available for their gay non-citizen/non-resident partner.

[INSURANCE] For a committed gay couple that is unable to marry, they cannot sign up for joint home and auto insurance. In addition, many employers do not cover domestic partners or their biological/non-biological children in their health insurance plans.

[PARENTING] For a committed gay couple that is unable to marry, they are denied automatic joint parenting, joint adoption, joint foster care, and joint visitation rights.

[PROPERTY] For a committed gay couple that is unable to marry, they are excluded from the special rules that permit married couples to buy and own property together under favorable terms, rules that protect married couples in their shared homes, and rules regarding the distribution of property in the event of death or divorce.

[PORTABILITY] For a committed gay couple that is unable to marry, their relationship is NOT formally recognized or honored in all states and countries. Formalized domestic partnerships and alternative mechanisms (the limiting civil unions) only exist in a few states and countries, are not given any acknowledgement in most states and countries, and leave families without the clarity and security of knowing what their legal status and rights will (should) be.

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"My husband understood that all forms of discrimination and persecution were unjust and unacceptable for a great democracy. He believed that no one of us could be free until all of us were free, that a person of conscience had no alternative but to defend the human rights of all people. The Civil Rights Movement that I believe in thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion. All of us who oppose discrimination, and support equal marriage rights, should stand together." - Coretta Scott King, "Marriage Resolution Support Speech" (Urges A ‘No’ Vote On Prop 22), International Gay & Lesbian Association (February 29, 2000).

Not too representative of a "compassionate
conservative" these days...

Progressively,
LeftAngst