Share: mail

Same-sex marriage continues to be the subject of heated debate. California, for example, has recently moved Proposition 8 to the hands of the Supreme Court after judges of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted against reconsidering the overturning of the measure, saying that it served no purpose and instead was meant to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.

Moving toward the Southeast, however, North Carolina voted on a ban on same-sex marriage.

Its decision to prohibit same-sex marriage is a choice that fails to promote not only social equality, but most especially federal protection.

The newly approved constitutional amendment will define marriage “between one man and one woman” as the only acceptable domestic legal union. Such wording, however, can hold implications that prevent millions of gays and lesbians from obtaining myriads of benefits. The only way to ensure equal protection for all is to completely do away with the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows individual states to define marriage.

According to the American Bar Association, DOMA affects the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which governs most employee benefits provided by private employers.

State laws and private companies’ definitions of marriage basically determine whether or not gays and lesbians will receive the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. Since only six states and two subdivisions of the U.S. have legalized same-sex marriage, the benefits of homosexual spouses remain contingent on their company’s definition of partnership.

NOLO, a database of legal information, also notes several other benefits unobtainable to the LGBT, including joint income tax returns with the IRS and social security benefits.

Immigration benefits also tie back to marital status as non-U.S. citizens can obtain legal residency when married to a U.S. citizen. If, however, the situation stands where gay U.S. citizens live in a state where same-sex marriages are not recognized, they are not entitled to that benefit.

Additionally, despite the repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy back in September 2011, gays and lesbians continue to get the short end of the stick in the armed services. Issues as small as that of Charlie Morgan’s, an openly gay Chief Warrant Officer in the National Guard who was unable to bring her spouse Karen to an event aimed to help with civilian life transitioning, continue to linger.

According to Talking Points Memo, a political news organization, gay service members are not be afraid of losing their jobs, but instead find themselves treated unequally under the law. Safety nets for military spouses who lose their spouse or their jobs, for example, are not offered to gays and lesbians. In addition, they are also denied housing privileges and ID cards that provide discounted amenities and services.

Because of DOMA, gays and lesbians who want to take the next step in their relationship must enter either civil unions or domestic partnerships. While states do grant benefits and protections similar to that of marriages, such laws forbidding gays and lesbians to enter marriage simply because of a definition is similar to that of Jim Crowe laws, offering ‘separate but equal’ language.

President Barack Obama and his cabinet have finally taken the right stance on same-sex marriage after straddling on the issue for four years. Now, he should work hard to make sure that anyone, no matter if they are gay or straight, can get married.

Follow: rssyoutubeinstagrammail

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.