Two steps forward, one back for domestic partners
If you live in Washington DC you probably know this already, but it’s worth celebrating the fact that the DC Council decided not to shut down its domestic partnership registry. Congratulations and thank you to all the AtMP members who emailed the Council, and especially to Board Chair Meaghan Lamarre for testifying at the Council hearing.
If you follow health care reform, you might have heard that the House bill would end taxation of DP benefits (making them the cost equivalent of spousal benefits). Several news reports made it sound like this would apply only to same-sex domestic partners. This is a BIG peeve of mine. Why does the media (and the LBGT rights movement) consistently ignore people in different-sex partnerships (many of whom identify as B and T!)? Rest assured, the law applies equally to all partners. Many thanks to Pablo the intern for fact checking!
And thanks to Bruce and Marshall for bringing to my attention that domestic partners lost a legislative battle in Rhode Island. They sought the right to make funeral arrangements without being designated in writing in advance.
[Jan. 12, 2010 - a quick update: the RI legislature overrode the governor's veto on funeral arrangements.]
Totally aside, I’m fascinated that the phrase for ‘two steps forward, one step back’ in Afganistan is “Ten times we fought, two times we laughed.” Seems to me, 2-1 = 1, but 2-10= (-8). Another reason I’m grateful not to be in Afganistan.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:53 pm
How about this step back in Florida?
Governor Charlie Crist who is up for relection…is on the wrong side of the adoption issue.
Friday, Nov 22, Crist said this in a video
address, “On any given day in Florida, about 850 children in foster care are waiting to become part of a forever family.”
As Crist asks us to celebrate Nov as National Adoption Month, he’s pushing the FL Dept of Children and Family lawyers to ask a judge to put a gay man’s kids back up for adoption.
Find articles here – http://www.postonpolitics.com/2009/11/dcf-lawyers-at-odds-over-fate-of-g
ay-mans-adopted-kids/
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/dcf-lawyer-put-gay-man-s-kids-back-781
92.html
Crist is a hypocrite by denying children healthy homes with willing families.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSaoRMNefjQ
November 25th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
thanks very much for these unfortunate updates. Please join us in celebrating National Adoption Month by encouraging Congress to advance the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, here: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5055/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1334