wader wrote:
I have two gay brothers - both in committed relationships for the last 10 to almost 20 years. They own houses with their partners, share all bills, share & make decisions concerning their finances - everything you or I do in a legal marriage. But their status is not recognized.
Both were forced to move out of the state in order to obtain civil unions & gain some of the legal rights that a normal married couple have. Such as the basic right to make decisions concerning medical care should one of them become seriously ill & unable to make the decisions for themselves.
Could you imagine your wife or husband becoming incapacitated & you not able to make choices for them concerning their care? The person you?ve loved & lived with for these many years , shared a history with, planned for the future with, shared all responsibilities & decisions with ? potentially raised a child with is now seriously ill & the state says you have no right to determine their medical care?
Sorry ? we don?t recognize your legal status. Those decisions will have to be made by the ill person?s family.
Who probably have no clue as to what your ?partners? wishes maybe or in all likelihood don?t care!
Why should they be forced ? almost quarantined in the states they currently live in because if they want to live elsewhere other then were they do ? they will lose those rights.
It's like they were forced into exile.
You & I have the option & right to live anywhere we want. They are not afforded that ?luxury?.
Have they become modern day lepers forced into a colony on some island somewhere?
What happened to life, liberty & pursuit of happiness? Is it only for some?
It?s pathetic & wrong!
I use to see my brothers regularly. Now if I see them every few months that?s a lot. I miss them. Why should families be broken apart over distance simply to enjoy the rights we take for granted?
It?s wrong.
I refer to my brothers partners as brother-in-laws.
Because ? that?s what they are???
Wader -
As I said earlier I have no issue with your brother's lifestyles.
As to the rights of the states to make their own rules, that is what this great Republic was all about. The idea was that each state could make its own laws, so long as they did not violate the federal constitution, and people would go and live wherever they wanted. If you didn't like the laws in NY, then move to GA, or vice-versa.
Actions by the courts can sometimes nullify those state rights. Look at the issue of abortion for example. Most people think overturning Roe v Wade would make abortion illegal. The reality is that all it would do would put the decision to allow or not allow abortions back to the states.
Whether you agree with it or not, the rights of the states to make their own rules based upon the will of their population is exactly what this republic was founded on. If someone doesn't like the way a state treats them, then they move, plain & simple.
I'm glad you have a good relationship with your brothers and that they found people to be happy with. I think they should be able to register as domestic partners and have the same rights as "married couples". I just don't think that the institution of "marriage" and what it is supposed to mean should be changed.
