Reply #6: I don't think I've ever known anyone [View All]

[SheilaT]

who considers marriage a stigma, but I've known many who thought that it was "just a piece of paper" and felt they didn't need that piece of paper. Sometimes they learned the hard way that the piece of paper guaranteed essential rights and safeguards, not to mention inheritance.

If you're committed enough to stay together for years and perhaps have a child or several together, you ought to give serious thought to the protections of marriage.

Which is exactly why same sex couples need at the very least to be guaranteed the same civil rights as a male/female couple.

On the other hand, sometimes elderly people choose to live together and not get married because they'd lose pension or social security benefits if they tied the knot.