I know lots of people have questions about this

Gay Couples Say Civil Unions Aren’t Enough

Katy, left, and Tracy Weber Tierney, with their son, Jake, in Connecticut, have experienced
frustration in trying to explain their civil union status.


By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
Published: March 17, 2008

**A few points I pulled from article, but you should read it all if you have a few minutes please. :)

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Massachusetts is the only state that allows same-sex couples to marry, and Vermont, New Hampshire and New Jersey have civil unions, while California and Oregon have domestic partnerships that provide similar benefits to civil unions.

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Civil unions require constant “haggling, litigation and explanation,” said Evan Wolfson, the founder of a New York-based advocacy group called Freedom to Marry. Being married, he said, means “you don’t have to fumble for documents. You don’t have to hire an attorney, and you don’t have to consult a dictionary. You’re married. You know what it means, and everyone else knows what it means.”

<snip>

For Jean Csvihinka, 48, who works at a bank in Milford, getting a civil union meant paying tax on an additional $6,000 a year. Ms. Csvihinka said that adding her partner, Gina Bonfietti, 43, a self-employed piano technician, to her health insurance obligated her to pay a federal tax on the value of the additional coverage that married couples would not owe, and that since the civil union she has also had to pay tax on her daughters’ coverage even though the girls were on her plan, tax-free, before. She said she was told that “it’s a systems issue.



Entire article from today's NT Times-------------> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/nyregion/17samesex.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1205899200&en=e0949ec94f152e85&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

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Civil Marriage v. Civil Unions -
What's the Difference?

Civil unions are different from marriage, and that difference has wide-ranging implications that make the two institutions unequal. Here is a quick look at some of the most significant differences:

Portability:
Marriages are respected state to state for all purposes, but questions remain about how civil unions will be treated in other states. GLAD believes there are strong arguments that civil unions deserve respect across the country just like marriages. But the two appellate courts that have addressed the issue (in Connecticut and Georgia) have disrespected them based on the fact that their states do not grant civil unions themselves.


Ending a Civil Union:
If you are married, you can get divorced in any state in which you are a resident. But if states continue to disrespect civil unions, there is no way to end the relationship other than by establishing residency in Vermont and filing for divorce there. This has already created problems for some couples who now have no way to terminate their legal commitment.


Federal Benefits:
According to a 1997 GAO report, civil marriage brings with it at least 1,049 legal protections and responsibilities from the federal government, including the right to take leave from work to care for a family member, the right to sponsor a spouse for immigration purposes, and Social Security survivor benefits that can make a difference between old age in poverty and old age in security. Civil unions bring none of these critical legal protections.

Taxes & Public Benefits for the Family:
Because the federal government does not respect civil unions, a couple with a civil union will be in a kind of limbo with regard to governmental functions performed by both state and federal governments, such as taxation, pension protections, provision of insurance for families, and means-tested programs like Medicaid. Even when states try to provide legal protections, they may be foreclosed from doing so in joint federal/state programs.

Filling out forms:
Every day, we fill out forms that ask us whether we are married or single. People joined in a civil union don’t fit into either category. People with civil unions should be able to identify themselves as a single family unit, but misrepresenting oneself on official documents can be considered fraud and carries potential serious criminal penalties.

Separate & Unequal -- Second-Class Status:
Even if there were no substantive differences in the way the law treated marriages and civil unions, the fact that a civil union remains a separate status just for gay people represents real and powerful inequality. We’ve been down this road before in this country and should not kid ourselves that a separate institution just for gay people is a just solution here either. Our constitution requires legal equality for all. Including gay and lesbian couples within existing marriage laws is the fairest and simplest thing to do.

http://www.glad.org/rights/OP7-marriagevcu.shtml

Great post and a refreshing change from the material I have been reading lately. Reading this post has changed my mind regarding same sex marriage. Where before, I would have followed Senator Kerry's lead and backed civil 'unions', I now prefer to see civil 'marriages' for those who want them. Civil Unions, in my (new) opinion, are but a step in the right direction, NOT the solution. Thanks for opening my eyes to something I would not normally have been exposed to cboy4. IMO, posts like this are one of the Democratic Underground's great strengths. recomended
(spell check edit)

You made my day with your comments.

I agree that DU is at its best when we can all share ideas and learn.

One of the big reasons I supported DK was because he supported gay marriage.

Marriage and the rights that come with it should be allowed to every man and woman, regardless of what gender they choose to marry.

:eyes:

lol

full rights, and one day all will be equally recognized. Soon, I hope.

K&R and all my support.

The "separate but equal" problem should be obvious, but is ignored by many who think they are otherwise friends to the community. If anyone can come away from reading something like this without finally getting it, they are not our friends.

Very happy to K&R!