Gay rights 101 - Washington Blade

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But...but...but aren't there some states that recognize gay marriage?
Like I always heard California allowed some form of union?

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Salty's Blog

Are you being serious? I mean not to sound like a smart ass but there is ONE state that recognizes gay marriage. California does NOT permit civil unions. Certain municipalities might permit domestic partnerships where the individuals register but receive no benefits for doing so. The way that your response sounded when read struck me as flippant. "Well don't those queers have rights somewhere. I'm sure that I'd read that they did..." I think that was the whole point of the article. While some think that we are 'equal' in at least one state, that simply isn't true for multiple reasons and it's our job to educate people as to how we are discriminated against.

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If it's not true then I must tell you YES that's the (I assume) rumor us white straight moderates hold.
Back when Rock Hudson was supposed to be gay and Jim Neighbors there was this rumor they got married. A lot of people figured out they really didn't get married, but still assume California allowed gays to marry.
And come to think of it if what you're saying is true then maybe you're right some body needs to get a fact sheet published or something. Because while these people are talking about marriage vs Civil union in Massachusetts, I'm (out of the corner of my mind assuming some form of legal relationship is available to gays in Mass. So you are saying that is not correct?

I need to go to bed. Helped my son study for final exam. I know more than I want to about anthropology! But I'll check tomorrow, because I am very interested in your answer.

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I guess that I took for granted that others understood the nuances between domestic partnership, civil unions, gay marriage, and regular old marriage. I'm sorry that I was shocked because upon reflection I can see that the issue isn't simple or clear and that for people not directly impacted by the nuances, they are virtually meaningless.

Domestic Partnerships: Generally Domestic Partnerships are nothing more than paying for a piece of paper saying that two individuals live together. In many cases the relationship does not have to be romantic in nature to be recognized as a Domestic Partnership. Roommates could be considered Domestic Partners in some areas. The one benefit of a Domestic Partnership is that it opens the door for certain insurance agencies to recognize same-sex relationships. This opens the door for companies to allow domestic partners to be added to insurance, but does not guarantee that the company will provide the opportunity. (This is done on a local level and is non-transferable out of that local area.)

Civil Union: We can call it Marriage-Lite. It's basically all of the responsibilities of Marriage without the benefits and protections. Because of the language, these couples are locked out of equal treatment that is comparable to their heterosexual counterparts. Generally, these laws allow specific business to continue to discriminate in violation of the spirit of the law, but following the letter. There was a big issue with Fed-Ex not giving equal treatment to couples in NJ. (This is generally a statewide deal available in 3 states, and is not transferable outside the state.)

Gay Marriage: This is the closest thing to equality that we have and it's still over 1000 benefits away from equality. Basically the couple is 100% equal under state law to their heterosexual counterparts and 0% equal under federal law to their heterosexual counterparts. These couples are not able to file their taxes together because of the federal prohibition of gay relationships. (This exists in ONE state and is not transferable outside of the state)

Marriage: All of the benefits we don't think about (there are over 1000 of them) without the fear of unequal treatment. The couple is treated as a couple in the eyes of the local, county, state, and federal government. They can move from one city to another without having to re-register as married unlike their gay counterparts. They can move from one state to another without having to re-register which may not even be an option to their gay counterparts.

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Here in CT, we have civil unions available.

Other than for child custody, alimony, and STATE inheritance rights, they're pretty worthless. State rights and protections for married couples and their families are pretty negligible.

Almost all important legal protections and rights come from the federal government - and the federal government does not recognize civil unions.

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I agree with you 100% People dont even know what ENDA is for and think LGBT people are already a federally protected class.

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Jesus Was A Liberal

If a certain course of action makes the mouth-breathers furious, then that’s a good policy. – The Practical Environmentalist

Well from what I understand the California law is virtually meaningless in comparison to other laws. Essentially it is my understanding that it breaks down like this...

Domestic Partnerships - Worst
Civil Unions - Pretty Bad
Gay Marriage - A decent start
Marriage - equality

When you get into the meat of the information about the California law, it's as I said it was, different for each locality. While it's true that anyone can register (well there are limits to that too), the benefits change from city to city and county to county. Some counties and cities offer better benefits through state actions than others.

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