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Hey,
I haven't devoted as much thought to the gay marriage issue as I should have, being in a same sex partnership. Never having wanted to marry, I found it hard to relate to those for whom this is a top priority issue. But the arguments here have been enlightening and greatly increased my sympathy for those who see this as important.
Something I've missed in the discussions so far however is the common ground shared by same sex partners and unmarried opposite sex partners. Is there any legal difference between the two, any rights opposite sex unmarried partners have that same sex unmarried partners don't? If not, it would seem that domestic partnership can get a much larger base of support than gay marriage because so many more people are affected. It seems unfortunate that events in Massachusetts and SF and the repercussions in the White House have focused attention on the marriage issue *before* domestic partnership rights have been widely established, and might make it harder to accomplish even modest gains.
While the right to marry is undoubtedly important, I'm more concerned with the right *not* to marry without suffering legal discrimination. That issue affects straights and gays, and would seem to take logical priority-- but when has politics ever unfolded logically?
Can anyone shed any light on how these issues are intertwined legally?
CYD
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