General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Unmarried are invisible, forgotten [View all]AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Notes about a thousand statutes, but many of them relate to division of shared property between the two entities.
I agree, depending on the year, on the tax issue.
Rent/income ratios can be satisfied by a roommate, etc.
There is some inequality, I'm sure, but considering it's one person, versus two people with pooled resources, that makes logistical sense to a degree.
The comment about social security money is only relevant if the single person has no children, which is not a given by any means. If a married couple die, with no children, their SS money is remanded to the government as well. Essentially, the law treats the married couple as one entity.
Primary 14th amendment due process and P&I justification for overturning DOMA in fact. There are no other federal legal mechanisms for two people to become one entity in the eyes of the law. You could spend tens of thousands of dollars as a same sex couple on contracts, power of attorney, and all that, and still not achieve 100% legal parity with a married heterosexual couple.
I don't think it's exactly a laughing matter either, but I could see some people having a strong reaction to the logic of the OP, given that some of the examples are flat out logically invalid. That's not to say there are NO valid examples...