ALTERNATIVES TO MARRIAGE? Dale Carpenter:

You've got a good question about children and marriage for Andrew, Maggie. He can and should answer it. Jon and I have attempted to do so on this blog already.

Meanwhile, Andrew has some questions for you and other gay-marriage opponents on his website today. Let me be specific. If you don't support full-fledged marriage for gay couples, what would you support? "Civil unions" with all the privileges and benefits of marriage but not the name? "Domestic partnerships" with some of the privileges and benefits of marriage, but not all of them?

As to some specific benefits, would you support:

(1) second-parent adoptions, so that same-sex partners could jointly adopted a child, instead of just one of them having the legal rights of a parent?
(2) health benefits granted by the state to the same-sex partners of state employees?
(3) the right to visit a same-sex partner if he or she is sick or dying in the hospital?
(4) inheritance rights if a same-sex partner dies without a will?
(5) the transfer of an estate untaxed to a same-sex partner upon death?
(6) the right to take time off from work to care for a sick or dying partner under the Family Medical Leave Act? (you may have doubts about this Act as a whole, as I do, but as long as it exists...)
(7) the right to have a same-sex partner immigrate to the U.S.?
(8) the right to refuse to testify against a same-sex partner in court?

In other words, Maggie, is there anything you would do as a matter of public policy to encourage gay people to settle down into stable, committed, caring relationships?

posted by maggie at 11:59 AM | link

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