Re: Prop 8 in CA. Has anybody researched what rights married

[Booster]

people have that gays or single people don't have? I read somewhere that there are around 300 rights that they have, but I can't seem to find them. I'm having an argument with a woman about this subject and she asked me what rights she has that I don't and I would love to hand her a piece of paper rather than try and remember them all. thanks.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Here's a couple of sources....

http://www.religioustolerance.org/mar_bene.htm

On the order of 1,400 legal rights are conferred upon married couples in the U.S. Typically these are composed of about 400 state benefits and over 1,000 federal benefits. Among them are the rights to: joint parenting;
joint adoption;
joint foster care, custody, and visitation (including non-biological parents);
status as next-of-kin for hospital visits and medical decisions where one partner is too ill to be competent;
joint insurance policies for home, auto and health;
dissolution and divorce protections such as community property and child support;
immigration and residency for partners from other countries;
inheritance automatically in the absence of a will;
joint leases with automatic renewal rights in the event one partner dies or leaves the house or apartment;
inheritance of jointly-owned real and personal property through the right of survivorship (which avoids the time and expense and taxes in probate);
benefits such as annuities, pension plans, Social Security, and Medicare;
spousal exemptions to property tax increases upon the death of one partner who is a co-owner of the home;
veterans' discounts on medical care, education, and home loans; joint filing of tax returns;
joint filing of customs claims when traveling;
wrongful death benefits for a surviving partner and children;
bereavement or sick leave to care for a partner or child;
decision-making power with respect to whether a deceased partner will be cremated or not and where to bury him or her;
crime victims' recovery benefits;
loss of consortium tort benefits;
domestic violence protection orders;
judicial protections and evidentiary immunity;
and more....

http://www.hrc.org/issues/5585.htm

Has a download to 1138 rights that belong to married onlys.

[Booster]

2. Damn, you rock. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

[MsUnderstood]

3. Marriage trumps Domestic Partnership in California

I married my wife in September because we could and without knowing fully what I would gain beyond the Domestic Partnership registration (DP) that I already have in California.

Last weekend, I spoke to another lesbian who will be marrying her long time partner just before the election. She said 3 things that made me glad to have gotten married:

1) If this law passes (Prop 8 I mean) any couples who HAVE married before the enactment of Prop 8 will be "Grandfathered in" and keep their married status

2) The big benefit to gays and lesbians is that Social Security benefits are managed by the state and spouses can inherit those benefits so I gain that above DP.

3) Marriage has a lot of rights that are assumed. Many DP rights have to be written into law and are harder to enforce. Marriage gives you the assumption of rights while DP gives you the right to fight for rights.

[dsc]

4. I very much doubt 2

I have literally never heard that before.

[MsUnderstood]

5. I wasn't sure either on that one since it is a federal benefit

I wasn't sure either on that one, but that is what my friend's lawyer told her will happen.

It could be I misheard and she meant state disability or some state based tax benefit?

Also, I don't recall the exact effects of DOMA, does it allow states and the federal government not to recognize same sex marriages, or only other states? Because if there is no federal law that prohibits the government from recognizing marriage then a married couple can claim SS benefits right?

[sui generis]

7. I believe it's true in California

my sister was widowed and received the SS benefit for her kids through the state, but it required state residency for CA to continue administering it. Don't know all the details but I do remember it was SOC that was making the rules.

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. "Marriage gives you the assumption of rights while DP gives you the right to fight for rights"

There, in a nutshell, is why domestic partnerships and other forms of Jim Crow not-marriage are inherently unequal. Although I would have said that marriage gives you the presumption of rights, not the assumption of rights.