Archive for the ‘beyond same-sex marriage’ Category
Maine domestic partnerships have an opportunity to shine
On Election Day we learned that the majority of Maine voters don’t want to share the word marriage with same-sex couples. Yet polls show that many are willing to share the rights and responsibilities typically accorded to spouses. Maine is in the unique opportunity to launch the experiment of truly civil partnerships for all.
Unique among all 50 states, Maine registers all non-related couples regardless of gender or age. Since 2004, Maine’s statewide domestic partnership registry has been open to any two competent adults who have been living together in Maine for at least 12 months, are each other’s sole domestic partner and expect to remain so, are not related in a fashion that would prohibit marriage, and are not married or in a registered domestic partnership with another person.
This means that all Mainers (is that the right nickname?) in different-sex couples who are willing to boycott marriage in solidarity with same-sex couples can register and have the exact same status legal status as registered same-sex couples. Imagine a well-publicized wave of DP registrations among a wide diversity of couples!
Then imagine the civil rights movement these couples could foment! I’d bet they could rapidly build a political base of support for expanding DP rights. Currently, Maine’s “domestic partners are accorded a legal status similar to that of a married person with respect to matters of probate, guardianships, conservatorships, inheritance, protection from abuse, and related matters.” How quickly could Maine could pass a law modeled on California’s to give DP’s all of the state-based protections and obligations of marriage?
There are important personal risks involved in this strategy. AtMP’s friend Frederick Hertz (an author of Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples, and an attorney who specializes in helping same-sex & unmarried couples) is highly sensitive to the financial costs and legal burdens that could be encountered by any couple that registers as DP’s with the state of California. For example: they have to file state tax returns as married but federal returns as single; they have to go through a state divorce but have no protection from federal double taxation upon transfer of assets; they faced higher property taxes until CA passed a remedial law. When we were exploring this issue back in 2006, he noted that people might opt out of the marital rules by doing a pre-nup, but that costs typically $5,000 or more and would be of limited value when it comes to spousal support, the costs of a dissolution, and joint liability for debts. He felt strongly that most people really don’t understand the negative consequences of registering, and if they want the benefits of marriage, they should marry.
I agree that contradictory layers of legal status are a nightmare. People need to be educated about the legal and financial obligations they are taking on when then enter in to DP (or marriage, for that matter). On the other hand, the reality is that people are seeking out alternatives to marriage. Access to a registered status might be an attractive option not only for boycotters but also for people who feel forced to marry even though they don’t believe marriage is the right status for them, because they need specific protections and benefits. I know several different-sex couples who are remaining unmarried even though it costs them a lot of money in local and federal taxes. The taboo against “marrying for the money” actually bolsters their resolve not to participate in the institution. Some of them might also refuse to register, but others might register despite the costs.
People have already ‘voted with their feet’ by not marrying. Philosophically speaking, non-discriminatory DP registries could be a step toward (a) non-discriminatory marriage and (b) recognition that too many legal and economic factors are being attached to coupledom. Isn’t “we’re all in this together” a better way to create change?
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beyond same-sex marriage, get gov't out of marriage, taxes
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Nov 9th, 2009 by Nicky
D.C. Council wrong on domestic partnership
Washington D.C.’s governing Council is planning to recognize same-sex marriages. Unfortunately, they also plan to stop registering domestic partnerships – that’s a terrible idea! If you live in D.C., please help:
First, email the Council and tell them not to discontinue the domestic partnership registry.
Second, go to the one of the hearings to share this message with the public and the media. Over 100 people will testify at each hearing, and most will be speaking for or against same-sex marrage. We encourage you to make a sign, tell your story, and remind the Council that domestic partnerships are important whether or not same-sex couples can marry.
The public hearings are on Monday, October 26, at 3:30 p.m., and Monday, November 2, at 9:30 a.m. Both hearings will be in the 5th Floor Council Chambers, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004
To learn more about D.C.’s domestic partnership registry, and the reasons we don’t want it to end, read AtMP’s official testimony.
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beyond same-sex marriage
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Oct 24th, 2009 by Nicky
Things you should read while I’m out fundraising
Many thanks to Dorian, Rachel, Craig and Ashton for sending these great articles that everyone should read:
Queer Kids of Queer Parents Against Gay Marriage!
What if Marriage Is Bad for Us? (requires subscription – email copies are available)
And thanks to Jon, who reminded me that not every blog post has to be an original essay.
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beyond same-sex marriage
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Oct 15th, 2009 by Nicky
Bad news on hospital rights
Today we got terribly disappointing news from Lambda Legal: a FL court has dismissed the potentially ground-breaking case which we hoped would have created a legal basis for the widespread assumption that hospital patients have a right to visitation.
The court ruled that the hospital has neither an obligation to allow their patients’ visitors nor any obligation whatsoever to provide their patients’ families, healthcare surrogates, or visitors with access to patients in their trauma unit.
This is not a gay issue, nor a same-sex marriage issue, nor even an unmarried issue. Everyone who is concerned about patients’ rights should be outraged, and this court ruling should spark a statewide movement in FL at the very least, if not an addendum to national health reform legislation. We’ll be strategizing about what AtMP can or should do… suggestions welcome!
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beyond same-sex marriage, health care
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Sep 30th, 2009 by Nicky
Arizona takes back gifts it gave unmarried couples
Among the news reports filtering in during Unmarried and Single Americans Week, it is upsetting to find that the state of Arizona has rescinded the domestic partnership benefits it had just recently extended to state employees.
Although DP benefits are often wrongly described as a “gay rights” issue, the article points out that more than 3/4 of the employees receiving benefits were in different-sex couples. That fits what we hear all over. In 2006 the NYC media reported that different-sex couples made up 3/4 of NYC registered domestic partners.
In fact, Pablo, the AtMP intern working on plus-one benefits for federal employees, discovered these facts about state employees:
- Washington State – The Human Resources Department reported a positive boost in recruitment and retention since instituting benefits for both same- and different-sex partners.
- Vermont – the earliest state to champion equal benefits for both same-sex and different-sex partners, it found initial, marginal increases in premium costs but ultimately saw no effect on state costs.
- New York State – covers over 4,880 employees’ domestic partners, and the majority of these are different-sex partners. New York reports that the plan has been easy to implement.
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beyond same-sex marriage, health care
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Sep 23rd, 2009 by Nicky
1 in 5 Gay & Lesbian Leaders Not Interested in Marriage
I get bi-weekly emails from Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrief. Sometimes I don’t read them right away, so I missed my chance to vote in their latest reader poll. So add one to the results, which show nearly 20% of self-identified leaders are not interested in marriage.
Given what we know about American demographics, it’s likely that a much, much higher percentage of average gay and lesbian people are also not interested in marriage. I’m all for everyone having the right to marry, but I’d be delighted to see more resources flowing towards securing other rights: health care, economic security, housing, etc!
The poll question: Where will you get married? The results:
| In my state, when it’s legal. |  63.29% |
| I’m not interested in marriage. |  18.68% |
| Massachusetts |  8.96% |
| Iowa |  5.44% |
| Vermont |  3.63% |
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beyond same-sex marriage, statistics
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Sep 4th, 2009 by Nicky
LGBT activists look beyond marriage in state & local law
The surprising thing about this AP article is not what it says – that many state-based LGBT organizations are working to end discrimination in a variety of areas rather than working for the right to marry – but that the article got published at all. The media tends to over-focus on the simplistic, small-c conservative story of marriage because that’s easier than describing reality in all it’s complexity and nuance.
Many of the state and local laws that result from such activism can benefit all unmarried people in a wide variety of mutually supportive relationships. That’s what we should all be working towards, together.
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beyond same-sex marriage
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Jul 31st, 2009 by Nicky
Blogger agrees: no special status for marriage
How nice to see this comment from Amanda Marcotte on Alternet:
We could start by untying all the benefits that lure people into marriage and expanding them to all people — health insurance, hospital visitation rights, tax breaks — so that married people don’t get special status over the unmarried.
AtMP has been working towards these very goals since 1998. Check out our policy statements and suggestions for how to take action on health insurance, hospital visitation rights, and tax breaks.
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beyond same-sex marriage, get gov't out of marriage
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Jul 6th, 2009 by Nicky
Activists, lawyers propose moving focus off same-sex marriage
Happy day after Pride! Not too sunburned or hungover, I hope. How many marriage posters and floats did you see?
As an antitdote, try these three fascinating articles:
- in The Nation, Lisa Duggan describes the expansive, progressive strategy that is winning real improvements for everyone in Utah (many thanks to Heather W. for finding this first)
- in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Tommi Avicolli Mecca describes the kinds of assistance that could have benefited impoverished LBGTQ people for the price of the marriage equality battle (many thanks to Rene A. for finding it!)
- and thanks to Stephen G. for finding the news in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that
Married and unmarried couples should be treated equally under Minnesota law, the Minnesota State Bar Association said in a unanimous policy vote by its general assembly Friday morning.
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beyond same-sex marriage, get gov't out of marriage
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Jun 29th, 2009 by Nicky
