sactoken_916
07-14-2004, 03:10 AM
Time for me to chime in on marriage....
As long as the government uses the term "marriage" to define my tax status, the way I hold property, and who my heirs are, my ability to engage in a same sex marriage, and enjoy that same equality as a heterosexual couple is the only issue.
The government created this circumstance, and the laws, codes, and regulations our society runs on use the term "marriage." The constitution also guarantees "equal protection under the law." Those two facts are incompatible with the denial of the rite of marriage to two people of ANY sex.
I used to be willing to accept civil unions or domestic partnerships. As a practical matter, I probably will be unable to enjoy either. However, on principal, marriage is a government defined state of being, and as such anything less is government sanctioned discrimination.
The majority of the population will not see it that way at first. But they will over time. Racial discrimination could not be hidden...one is obviously "of color." Just because our sexual orientation is not so obvious, some are having problems with adjusting to the clear unfairness of their beliefs. But Americans are a fair people who will eventually see that the earth's rotation will not stop...day will not become night...birds will not fall from the sky if a same sex couple is allowed to marry.
Even the gay community is not unified on the issue, as evidenced by the arguments here. But the path ahead is clearly marked and I believe that even the most conservative Supreme Court will not escape the same conclusion if our argument is presented as I have, requiring equal access to civil marriage.
Understand that this is a question of formal public discrimination, since only the state can grant and recognize marriage.
Marriage is not simply a private contract; it is a social and public recognition of a private commitment. As such, it is the highest public recognition of our integrity. Denying it to gays is the most public affront possible to our public equality.
The concept of civil unions or domestic partnerships opens up a legal Pandora's Box of subjective judicial decision making about who qualifies and where. You either are, or are not, married; it's not a complex question. Whether you are a domestic partner is not so clear, and could not possibly be made clear without years of litigation and clarification in all the states.
Try this on a straight friend: Ask them to consider what their life would be like if they were never allowed the opportunity to cement their relationships with marriage. Imagine a life without a recognized family. Tell a young woman her attraction to a young man was unnatural, that her love was illicit, and that her's was a future of being alone...of shame and self-censorship.
Marriage is the only fair, legal answer.
"We shouldn't just allow gay marriage. We should insist on gay marriage. We should regard it as scandalous that two peopole could claim to love each other and not want to sanctify their love with marriage and fidelity."
----Conservative Columnist David Brooks in the NYTimes.
From the Human Rights Campaign:
Comparing marriage to civil unions is a bit like comparing diamonds to rhinestones. One is the real deal...the other is not.
Key issues:
Married people receive Social Security payments on the death of a spouse. Despite paying payroll taxes, gay and lesbian partners receive no survivor's benefits, resulting in an average income loss of $5,528 upon the death of a partner.
Americans in bi-national relationships are not permitted to petition for their same-sex marriage partners to immigrate. As a result, they are often forced to separate or move to another country.
A married person automatically inherits all of the property of his or her deceased spouse without paying estate taxes. A gay or lesbian taxpayer is forced to pay estate taxes on property inherited from a deceased partner.
While a married person can roll a deceased spouse's 401k funds into an IRA without paying taxes, a gay or lesbian American who inherits a 401k can end up paying 70 percent of it in taxes and penalties.
Laws protect married seniors from being forced to sell their homes to pay high nursing home bills; gay and lexbian seniors have no such protection.
After the death of a worker, most pension plans pay survivor benefits only to a legal spouse of the participant. Gay and lesbian partners are excluded from such pension benefits.
As long as the government uses the term "marriage" to define my tax status, the way I hold property, and who my heirs are, my ability to engage in a same sex marriage, and enjoy that same equality as a heterosexual couple is the only issue.
The government created this circumstance, and the laws, codes, and regulations our society runs on use the term "marriage." The constitution also guarantees "equal protection under the law." Those two facts are incompatible with the denial of the rite of marriage to two people of ANY sex.
I used to be willing to accept civil unions or domestic partnerships. As a practical matter, I probably will be unable to enjoy either. However, on principal, marriage is a government defined state of being, and as such anything less is government sanctioned discrimination.
The majority of the population will not see it that way at first. But they will over time. Racial discrimination could not be hidden...one is obviously "of color." Just because our sexual orientation is not so obvious, some are having problems with adjusting to the clear unfairness of their beliefs. But Americans are a fair people who will eventually see that the earth's rotation will not stop...day will not become night...birds will not fall from the sky if a same sex couple is allowed to marry.
Even the gay community is not unified on the issue, as evidenced by the arguments here. But the path ahead is clearly marked and I believe that even the most conservative Supreme Court will not escape the same conclusion if our argument is presented as I have, requiring equal access to civil marriage.
Understand that this is a question of formal public discrimination, since only the state can grant and recognize marriage.
Marriage is not simply a private contract; it is a social and public recognition of a private commitment. As such, it is the highest public recognition of our integrity. Denying it to gays is the most public affront possible to our public equality.
The concept of civil unions or domestic partnerships opens up a legal Pandora's Box of subjective judicial decision making about who qualifies and where. You either are, or are not, married; it's not a complex question. Whether you are a domestic partner is not so clear, and could not possibly be made clear without years of litigation and clarification in all the states.
Try this on a straight friend: Ask them to consider what their life would be like if they were never allowed the opportunity to cement their relationships with marriage. Imagine a life without a recognized family. Tell a young woman her attraction to a young man was unnatural, that her love was illicit, and that her's was a future of being alone...of shame and self-censorship.
Marriage is the only fair, legal answer.
"We shouldn't just allow gay marriage. We should insist on gay marriage. We should regard it as scandalous that two peopole could claim to love each other and not want to sanctify their love with marriage and fidelity."
----Conservative Columnist David Brooks in the NYTimes.
From the Human Rights Campaign:
Comparing marriage to civil unions is a bit like comparing diamonds to rhinestones. One is the real deal...the other is not.
Key issues:
Married people receive Social Security payments on the death of a spouse. Despite paying payroll taxes, gay and lesbian partners receive no survivor's benefits, resulting in an average income loss of $5,528 upon the death of a partner.
Americans in bi-national relationships are not permitted to petition for their same-sex marriage partners to immigrate. As a result, they are often forced to separate or move to another country.
A married person automatically inherits all of the property of his or her deceased spouse without paying estate taxes. A gay or lesbian taxpayer is forced to pay estate taxes on property inherited from a deceased partner.
While a married person can roll a deceased spouse's 401k funds into an IRA without paying taxes, a gay or lesbian American who inherits a 401k can end up paying 70 percent of it in taxes and penalties.
Laws protect married seniors from being forced to sell their homes to pay high nursing home bills; gay and lexbian seniors have no such protection.
After the death of a worker, most pension plans pay survivor benefits only to a legal spouse of the participant. Gay and lesbian partners are excluded from such pension benefits.