1138 Reasons Equality Matters

[Zuiderelle]

1138 Reasons Equality Matters

The following is a review of a 1997 and 2004 government report that outlined the specific benefits afforded married couples in the United States. These are benefits and rights denied gay and lesbian couples.

Right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including:

-- Social Security pension
-- veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing
-- survivor benefits for federal employees
-- survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers
-- additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black lung disease
-- $100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty
-- continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits
-- renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse
-- continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances
-- payment of wages and workers compensation benefits after worker death
-- making, revoking, and objecting to post-mortem anatomical gifts

Right to benefits while married:

-- employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges
-- per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating
-- Indian Health Service care for spouses of Native Americans (in some circumstances)
-- sponsor husband/wife for immigration benefits

More at link.

http://www.equalitymatters.org/


The next time someone asks you why you want to be married, this is a good source of reasons why.

Equality Matters.

[PeaceNikki]

1. Thank you for posting this.

K&R

[sundog]

2. k + r

[AntiFascist]

3. K&R n/t

[ThomCat]

4. But, but, but...

Marriage is just a word. x(

[tbyg52]

5. Word.

:kick:

[racaulk]

6. I wish you hadn't snipped the list for this OP.

You should have posted the whole damn thing. If people could see with their own eyes all of the 1,138 reasons listed in front of them, instead of being presented with a link (which many won't bother to click), then maybe some lights will start coming on. Or perhaps I'm just really naive to believe that that may be the case.

Thank you for posting this here. From now on, any time I hear someone on DU arguing that marriage is "just a word" or that civil unions are the full equivalent of marriage, I will provide them with your link above.

K&R

[Zuiderelle]

7. Yeah, I thought about it. I should have.