kgdlg
Kootch, please consider voting yes on 74 for my family. There are many things we don’t have access to as domestic partners. Many of these things are federal not state based. And it is my belief that these won’t change on a federal level until a majority of states have marriage, not domestic partnerships or civil unions.
My partner is about to have major surgery in another state. When we were meeting with the team, we had to ask about out DP status and whether it would be legally honored. They kept saying, “but are you married?” It may seem like just a word but actually makes a big difference. Luckily this is a state that honors other states laws for gays. However if we were in Arkansas, I could and would be denied access to Marisa if she were on her death bed as I would not be next of kin.
It us very hard to share this here, to have such essential freedoms up for debate in politics and hence, the forums.
We are also not allowed social security survivor rights so if she dies during her surgery, I will not receive any of her benefits. Because we cannot file taxes as married (even under DP laws) we are penalized in this way. There are also a host of tax issues for us that heap financial penaties on our family, the last thing middle class families like ours need right now.
We don’t want to be special or different, just equal to all other civil marriages. And until each state has marriage, I don’t believe we will be equal federally under the same laws.
Please understand how hard this is for our families. I do respect you if you disagree, I just ask that you do do kindly and try to understand your civil rights being up for a vote.