Anyone know if there's a list online of the rights not afforded in CA civil unions

[Oeditpus Rex]

that are given to married couples? Some dootsack on a local newspaper's forum is cynically asking what they are, and I'd like to show him.

I understand there're something like 1,000.



Thanks in advance.

[tandot]

1. Here is a link:

http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/wedding/f/MarriageBenefit.htm

Here are some of the legal rights that married couples have and gays and lesbians are denied:

1. Joint parental rights of children
2. Joint adoption
3. Status as "next-of-kin" for hospital visits and medical decisions
4. Right to make a decision about the disposal of loved ones remains
5. Immigration and residency for partners from other countries
6. Crime victims recovery benefits
7. Domestic violence protection orders
8. Judicial protections and immunity
9. Automatic inheritance in the absence of a will
10. Public safety officers death benefits
11. Spousal veterans benefits
12. Social Security
13. Medicare
14. Joint filing of tax returns
15. Wrongful death benefits for surviving partner and children
16. Bereavement or sick leave to care for partner or children
17. Child support
18. Joint Insurance Plans
19. Tax credits including: Child tax credit, Hope and lifetime learning credits
20. Deferred Compensation for pension and IRAs
21. Estate and gift tax benefits
22. Welfare and public assistance
23. Joint housing for elderly
24. Credit protection
25. Medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans

These are just a few of the 1400 state and federal benefits that gays and lesbians are denied by not being able to marry. Most of these benefits cannot be privately arranged or contracted for within the legal system.

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. Thanks!

:hi:

[RetiredTrotskyite]

5. This Is Sad....

Heterosexuals are given all these rights that we are still fighting for and being denied in most states.

I am reasonably sure that when I die, my family will do the right thing and will defer to my spouse, but just to make certain I am going to have a will drawn up detailing funeral plans and making sure that anything that I can pass on to him will be passed on. It is unconscionable that family members are able to make decisions and deprive a spouse, especially one of many years, of that which should rightfully be theirs.

I am so tired of this crap in this country. It's past time for this nonsense to end!!!

[NorthCarolina]

6. The anti-Gay opponents lead their followers to believe that each and every one of these rights

can be afforded to the gay community by hiring a lawyer to draw appropriate contracts. Of course this is not even remotely true, but it helps to soothe the conscience of the haters.

[amdezurik]

2. this should help

http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/og97016.pdf

Civil unions don’t “afford the same legal protections and practices” that marriages do. While civil unions grant same-sex couples the same protections as married couples under state law, they deny same-sex couples the 1,049 protections granted to married couples under federal law. These include Social Security survivor benefits, the ability the sponsor a partner for immigration and the ability to take federal leave (and state leave in all states, excluding California) to care for a sick partner.

Furthermore, civil unions aren’t portable, meaning that states can refuse to recognize a civil union from another state. Unfortunately, civil unions are only performed in Vermont and, to date, no other state has recognized a civil union performed there. Married couples have the privilege of having their union recognized in all 50 states.

Another distinction to be made is the one between civil marriage and religious marriage. Religious marriage is what Mr. Kiefer correctly refers to as a “practice;” it’s a rite involving a commitment a couple makes before God and their loved ones. Civil marriage, on the other hand, refers to the formal recognition of these unions by state and federal governments and the protections given to them.

http://media.www.thetowerlight.com/media/storage/paper957/news/2004/03/04/Perspectivesletters/Civil.Unions.Lack.Rights.Afforded.To.Married.Couples-2200775.shtml

[Ian David]

4. For one thing, you don't get any FEDERAL rights.

Also, certain employers use health insurance plans that are not regulated by State laws, but under federal laws, so they can deny benefits to same-sex partners.

The companies Cumberland Farms and Caritas Hospitals switched to those kinds of plans when Massachusetts recognized Marriage Equality, just so they could continue to be discriminatory bigots.

Also, in the event of a natural disaster, FEMA will not recognize your relationship with your same-sex partner or spouse. Nor will many "charitable" organizations, such as The Salvation Army or (IIRC) The Red Cross.