{"id":46,"date":"2012-06-29T01:17:28","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T05:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/?p=46"},"modified":"2012-06-30T10:42:15","modified_gmt":"2012-06-30T14:42:15","slug":"fight-for-same-sex-marriage-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/fight-for-same-sex-marriage-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight for Same-Sex Marriage Continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Meredith Patterson, Paige Yurek, Rodrigo Saavedra<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a country that claims to be free, it is ironic that the right to marriage is in such a bitter dispute, gay rights activists argue.<\/p>\n

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) advocates say that same-sex couples do not have the same rights as straight couples. \u00a0Even civil unions recognized by several states restrictions still apply, implying same-sex couples are second class citizens, advocates say. But opponents argue that they are simply protecting traditional marriage.<\/p>\n

In May, the US First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management<\/em>. It ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

DOMA, a bill passed in 1996 under the Clinton administration, prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages authorized in states. It also allowed individual states not to have to legally acknowledge the relationship of same-sex couples married in other states.<\/p>\n

Melba Abreu, a plaintiff involved in the Gill <\/em>case, and her life partner have been together for 25 years. Because of the federal government\u2019s current policies, they have not been allowed\u00a0to file income taxes jointly, and from 2004 to 2008 have paid an extra $25,359 in taxes. \u201cWe are citizens of this country and we should be treated equally,\u201d said Abreu. \u201cBut the fact that we are legally married is not enough; that we contribute and pay taxes is not enough; that we are a family is not enough,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

GLAD argues on its website that \u201cDOMA threatens the security of our senior citizens, adds costs to businesses, employers and employees, discriminates against taxpayers, disserves our citizens and veterans, and tears apart families and hurts children.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the executive director of GLAD, Lee Swislow, holds high expectations for marriage equality in the near future. She emphasized how younger generations are a large source of support, and can only grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoll analysts say that there are few if any other issues that have ever had such dramatic changes in public opinions,\u201d stated Swislow.<\/p>\n

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press conducted a study in April that measured the support for same-sex marriages in the United States .In 2004, only 31 percent of Americans were in favor of gay marriages. However, support has taken a large leap in the past eight years, as the 2012 study found that 47 percent supported same-sex marriages compared to 43 percent who were opposed.<\/p>\n

The lead plaintiff in the May decision, Nancy Gill, has been in a relationship with her life partner Marcelle Letourneau more than 31 years and together have been raising two children. In 2004, when same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts, Gill and Letourneau were finally able to legalize their union. However, they soon realized that the traditional rights of a \u2018legal marriage\u2019 did not apply to them when they filed for joint health benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always tried to teach our kids to live their lives honestly, with love and respect. By disrespecting our family, the federal government tells our kids that our family isn\u2019t equal. That\u2019s not right,\u201d said Letourneau.<\/p>\n

Opposing groups, such as the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), an organization \u201ccommitted to defending traditional marriage,\u201d have been vocal about the recent DOMA decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis court has followed the same flawed logic as the Margaret Marshall-led Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in throwing out the historical definition that marriage is between a man and a woman,\u201d said Institute president Kris Mineau.<\/p>\n

The decision allows the case to be appealed to the US Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

\u201c We are part of the fabric of this nation and we just want to be treated equally,\u201d said Abreu.<\/p>\n

\u00a0(Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meredith Patterson, Paige Yurek, Rodrigo Saavedra In a country that claims to be free, it is ironic that the right to marriage is in such a bitter dispute, gay rights activists argue. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) advocates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-full","category-legal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Gaymarriage.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":307,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions\/307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehsjc.org\/quarterly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}