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Politics : Polite Political Discussion- is it Possible? An Experiment. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J. C. Dithers who wrote (404)	8/2/2006 10:19:58 AM
From: epicure	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1695

If you "create" a right, by having the state confer something, the right exists. When you exclude people from accessing that right, you have taken it away from them. When a mixed race couple was not allowed to marry I think most people would say a right was taken away from them, that was available to same race couples. Not only would most people say it, but the logic is in place that where one couple gets access to a right, and another does not, something has been taken away from the one that does not get the service. In the end all you can try to do is argue you had a good reason from withholding the service from the couple who do not get it, but if all you are left with is "Because I say so" I think you've failed to provide an adequate reason for the withholding of a right.

To: J. C. Dithers who wrote (404)	8/3/2006 11:28:59 AM
From: Suma	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1695

JC I did some research and found a list of the civil rights enjoyed by marriage of heterosexuals.. I think that a lot of gays just want those same rights whether it's called partnership,union,significant other or whatever..... It's the word marriage I think that dissuades all of the religious right... and others. However, fair is fair.. Rights and Protections Denied Same-Sex Partners Because same-sex couples are denied the right to marry, same-sex couples and their families are denied access to the more than 1,138 federal rights, protections and responsibilities automatically granted to married heterosexual couples. Among those are: The right to make decisions on a partner's behalf in a medical emergency. Specifically, the states generally provide that spouses automatically assume this right in an emergency. If an individual is unmarried, the legal "next of kin" automatically assumes this right. This means, for example, that a gay man with a life partner of many years may be forced to accept the financial and medical decisions of a sibling or parent with whom he may have a distant or even hostile relationship. The right to take up to 12 weeks of leave from work to care for a seriously ill partner or parent of a partner. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 permits individuals to take such leave to care for ill spouses, children and parents but not a partner or a partner's parents. The right to petition for same-sex partners to immigrate. The right to assume parenting rights and responsibilities when children are brought into a family through birth, adoption, surrogacy or other means. For example, in most states, there is no law providing a noncustodial, nonbiological or nonadoptive parent's right to visit a child - or responsibility to provide financial support for that child - in the event of a breakup. The right to share equitably all jointly held property and debt in the event of a breakup, since there are no laws that cover the dissolution of domestic partnerships. Family-related Social security benefits, income and estate tax benefits, disability benefits, family-related military and veterans benefits and other important benefits. The right to inherit property from a partner in the absence of a will. The right to purchase continued health coverage for a domestic partner after the loss of a job. Such inequities impose added costs on these families, such as increased health insurance premiums, higher tax burdens and the absence of pension benefits or Social Security benefits in the event of a partner's death. Some same-sex and transgender families consult attorneys to draw up legal documents such as powers of attorney, co-parenting agreements and wills, that will at least permit them to declare who they wish to make health care and financial decisions for them if they become incapacitated; how they wish to share parenting responsibilities or, in the event of a breakup, custody of a child; and what they want to happen to their property when they die. However, these are not a substitute for legal protection under law and cannot provide the broad range of benefits and protections provided by law. Related Links Detailed Overview of Federal Rights and Protections Granted to Married Couples Defense of Marriage Act: An Update to Prior Report, General Accounting Office, 2004