Equal, really? If that were the case, why aren’t civil unions recognised as marriages? They can’t be equal just like civil partnerships until the law is changed and recognises them as such. I’d love to see them change civil marriages to civil unions and see the reaction of the straights. There would be uproar, undoubtedly. Calling CUs equal is more about denial and facing reality.
Hawaii, Illiniois and now Delaware this year have passed a bill to allow civil unions, hopefully I am sure Rhode Island will join in to allow civil unions. It is a start – but the job of equality is still not done remember because transgender hate crime and employment protections and civil marriage for same gender couples are long overdue in Delaware! Next door in Maryland they do not even have civil unions and ytwo very important bills got defeated in their Legislature, the first bill was to include transgender protection in hate crime legislation and employment protection and the other bill was to repeal the 1973 ban on gay marriage and allow gay civil marriage.
Rhode Island do not even have civil unions as well but they are proposed to have them now because a bill to allow the civil marriage for same sex couples did not even get voted on yet again-even though since 1997 the bill have been introduced every time since then and continues to be avoided on debate, vote and other procedin
Jock, apparently, anyone in America who seeks elective office has to declare his or her religious beliefs, though its not mandatory, but even so, nobody can consider public office unless their religious beliefs are on the table, unlike in our own country. It IS a bigoted society and much of the bigotry comes from the republican party and many of its supporters, much like the Tories during the right wing era of fascist Thatcher allthough I’ve no doubt a few of them are still around.
Yes, it shows the US as a bit of a backward bigotted country.
Thankfully there some states though that are breaking that rule and opening up to proper Equality with the regards of marriage Equality.
Jock, yes, but…..in the five states that already allow same-sex marriage, they are still denied the 1,000+ benefits and privileges guaranteed for straight married couples at the federal (national) level. For instance, they have to file federal tax returns as single people instead of a joint return filed by married straight couples. So in fact, when they have to tick that they are single, they are in fact lying, a criminal offence. Further, if a gay spouse dies, his or her surviving spouse is not allowed to receive his or her partner’s social security benefits (not to be confused with social security in the UK), a form of pension taken out of one’s pay cheque during one’s working life. Currently only straight survivors are allowed that benefit, among other things. In reality, there is still no full marriage equality in those states because of these discrepancies. Thank goodness we won’t have that problem in the UK once we are allowed to marry.
You are absolutely right, Robert. These “civil union ” and “same sex marriages” mean nothing……..No SSI benefit recognition, no immigration for bi-national couples….and recognition from state to state. Only when America federalizes same sex marriage, will there be real equality. I fear the American political machine has it’s head so far up the christian conservative arse, that it will sadly NEVER happen.
Indeed Robert you are right.
It’s a lot of surface water with nothing much underneath, done to keep us quiet.
To keep us quiet because they know that if we stand up and say this isn’t right the majority of religious people will make issue out of it and instead of understanding will just claim we want more than Equal rights.
It’s done to put us off I think.
But will it? I doubt it.
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Great News and a Good step
It’s just a shame that the US states are infected with the bigoted Republicans and Religion.
Equal, really? If that were the case, why aren’t civil unions recognised as marriages? They can’t be equal just like civil partnerships until the law is changed and recognises them as such. I’d love to see them change civil marriages to civil unions and see the reaction of the straights. There would be uproar, undoubtedly. Calling CUs equal is more about denial and facing reality.
Hawaii, Illiniois and now Delaware this year have passed a bill to allow civil unions, hopefully I am sure Rhode Island will join in to allow civil unions. It is a start – but the job of equality is still not done remember because transgender hate crime and employment protections and civil marriage for same gender couples are long overdue in Delaware! Next door in Maryland they do not even have civil unions and ytwo very important bills got defeated in their Legislature, the first bill was to include transgender protection in hate crime legislation and employment protection and the other bill was to repeal the 1973 ban on gay marriage and allow gay civil marriage.
Rhode Island do not even have civil unions as well but they are proposed to have them now because a bill to allow the civil marriage for same sex couples did not even get voted on yet again-even though since 1997 the bill have been introduced every time since then and continues to be avoided on debate, vote and other procedin
Jock, apparently, anyone in America who seeks elective office has to declare his or her religious beliefs, though its not mandatory, but even so, nobody can consider public office unless their religious beliefs are on the table, unlike in our own country. It IS a bigoted society and much of the bigotry comes from the republican party and many of its supporters, much like the Tories during the right wing era of fascist Thatcher allthough I’ve no doubt a few of them are still around.
Yes, it shows the US as a bit of a backward bigotted country.
Thankfully there some states though that are breaking that rule and opening up to proper Equality with the regards of marriage Equality.
Jock, yes, but…..in the five states that already allow same-sex marriage, they are still denied the 1,000+ benefits and privileges guaranteed for straight married couples at the federal (national) level. For instance, they have to file federal tax returns as single people instead of a joint return filed by married straight couples. So in fact, when they have to tick that they are single, they are in fact lying, a criminal offence. Further, if a gay spouse dies, his or her surviving spouse is not allowed to receive his or her partner’s social security benefits (not to be confused with social security in the UK), a form of pension taken out of one’s pay cheque during one’s working life. Currently only straight survivors are allowed that benefit, among other things. In reality, there is still no full marriage equality in those states because of these discrepancies. Thank goodness we won’t have that problem in the UK once we are allowed to marry.
You are absolutely right, Robert. These “civil union ” and “same sex marriages” mean nothing……..No SSI benefit recognition, no immigration for bi-national couples….and recognition from state to state. Only when America federalizes same sex marriage, will there be real equality. I fear the American political machine has it’s head so far up the christian conservative arse, that it will sadly NEVER happen.
Indeed Robert you are right.
It’s a lot of surface water with nothing much underneath, done to keep us quiet.
To keep us quiet because they know that if we stand up and say this isn’t right the majority of religious people will make issue out of it and instead of understanding will just claim we want more than Equal rights.
It’s done to put us off I think.
But will it? I doubt it.