I am helping my daughter so a research project this morning. She had to write about a cause of her choice. Any regular readers of my blog would be able to guess what cause she would choose. Yes! That’s right. She is writing about many of the ways that same sex couples are discriminated against in our country. (I will share her report once she finishes it). Our kids are very much behind supporting gay rights. They see how DOMA affects their family first hand.
Here are just a few of the 1138 reasons:
- Joint Taxes: LGBT couples cannot file taxes jointly; as a result, taxes for a LGBT couple can be significantly higher.
- Hospital Visitation: LGBT couples have no legal right to visit a spouse in the hospital and can be barred from entering the room by medical personnel.
- Estate Taxes: LGBT couples cannot pass their estate to a spouse tax-free.
- Job Security: In a majority of states, employees can be fired just for being gay (I was– read more on the About page).
- Immigration: LGBT partners are denied special consideration for the immigration of a spouse.
- Property Taxes: LGBT partners must pay property tax when transferring property between spouses.
- Social Security: LGBT partners are not eligible to receive a spouse’s Social Security pension or many other government benefits.
- Medical Decisions: During a medical crisis, LGBT couples have no legal authority to make critical treatment decisions for their loved one.
- Domestic Violence: LGBT people cannot ask for or receive domestic violence protection orders against a partner or former partner.
To see the other 1129 rights, and to read stories from people whose lives have been dramatically affected by not having the same legal protections as hetero couples, check out the Equality Matters website.
In other good news!! A DOMA Repeal Bill is coming next week.
Quote: President Barack Obama supported full repeal of the legislation as a candidate and has reiterated that support in the White House. “I believe it’s discriminatory, I think it interferes with states’ rights, and we will work with Congress to overturn it,” Obama said of the 1996 law during an Oval Office signing ceremony in June.
It is definitely time to dump DOMA!
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