New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
A law taking effect with the new year gives CA. gay couples who register as domestic partners nearly the same responsibilities and benefits as married spouses. Heterosexual elderly couples also are eligible.
These couples will also have access to divorce court for dividing their assets, seeking alimony and securing child support. They also will have automatic parental status over children born during the relationship and responsibility for each other's debts. In addition to that the new law guarantees domestic partners a say over what happens to their loved one's at death and they cannot be forced to testify against each other in state courts.
Not only that but the California Department of Health Services is updating its birth certificates to replace the lines for "mother" and "father" with the gender-neutral "parent" and "parent."
Ofcourse there are some bigots out there who oppose these changes despite the fact that "marriage" and its religious connotations have been removed from the extenuation of civil and equal rights at the state level. Here is an example of one of these people:
"Whether you call it 'domestic partnerships' or 'civil unions,' homosexual 'marriage' by another name is still homosexual marriage " said Randy Thomasson, executive director of Campaign for California Families ; which is one of two groups who have filed a lawsuit to try and stop gays from having these equal rights and protections in CA.
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraLove
;D Read it and weep Monty & Melonie ;D
A law taking effect with the new year gives CA. gay couples who register as domestic partners nearly the same responsibilities and benefits as married spouses. Heterosexual elderly couples also are eligible.
These couples will also have access to divorce court for dividing their assets, seeking alimony and securing child support. They also will have automatic parental status over children born during the relationship and responsibility for each other's debts. In addition to that the new law guarantees domestic partners a say over what happens to their loved one's at death and they cannot be forced to testify against each other in state courts.
Not only that but the California Department of Health Services is updating its birth certificates to replace the lines for "mother" and "father" with the gender-neutral "parent" and "parent."
Ofcourse there are some bigots out there who oppose these changes despite the fact that "marriage" and its religious connotations have been removed from the extenuation of civil and equal rights at the state level. Here is an example of one of these people:
"Whether you call it 'domestic partnerships' or 'civil unions,' homosexual 'marriage' by another name is still homosexual marriage " said Randy Thomasson, executive director of Campaign for California Families ; which is one of two groups who have filed a lawsuit to try and stop gays from having these equal rights and protections in CA.
Randy Thomasson and his ilk notwithstanding, I believe there are far more people out there who have no problem with giving Gays domestic partner rights that are the same as married heterosexual rights, as long as you do not call it "Marriage". Its really semantics, surely, but the wording should matter little if it results in the equal rights.
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
LL,
For the record, I have no problem with a state legislature authorizing a domestic partnership law. I do have a problem with the courts legislating it. If you dig back into the ancient archives from about a year ago you will see that I was advocating that precise solution to the awkward problem facing society. I do not have the exact link but it was sometime between Nov 2003 and March 2004. I believe when I did so I was told by Pryce and Tigerlily ( and others) that that was not good enough--that it was full marriage or nothing.
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
Quote:
Originally Posted by montythegeek
For the record, I have no problem with a state legislature authorizing a domestic partnership law. I do have a problem with the courts legislating it. If you dig back into the ancient archives from about a year ago you will see that I was advocating that precise solution to the awkward problem facing society. I do not have the exact link but it was sometime between Nov 2003 and March 2004. I believe when I did so I was told by Pryce and Tigerlily ( and others) that that was not good enough--that it was full marriage or nothing.
I believe this is the thread Monty is referring to:
http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/sho...+marriage+poll
To be quite honest, having two known gay relatives, I think domestic partnership laws would be a great idea, but like Monty I wish such laws to be passed through a constitutionally valid procedure. The gay community has made great strides towards acceptance over the last quarter century without getting the concept of marriage involved.
Real social progess takes place over time. Mind you that it took us 250 years to recognize that members of a certain race were people and not property, and it was another 100 years before those people had laws forbidding their discrimination. Still things are not perfect.
By the end of this decade, the idea of DP laws being passed in several states might have been a reality had it not been for the recent political backlash that occured when a few gay marriage activists took their idea of recognizing outright marriage a bit too far too fast. It really was only when these folks tried to force recognition of gay marriage through the judicial system that this backlash occured.
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
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Originally Posted by LauraLove
"Whether you call it 'domestic partnerships' or 'civil unions,' homosexual 'marriage' by another name is still homosexual marriage " said Randy Thomasson, executive director of Campaign for California Families ...
In this case he's right. This is a far more sweeping law than has generally been reported. Essentially the new DP law says registered Cali Domestic Partners have all the rights as spouses under current California law except... and then carves out conflicts with Federal issues such as immigration and taxes. Presumably this new law then immediately captures the entire body of California case law related to marraiges as the controlling interpretation, NOT contract law interpretation.
Brilliant move. Establishing such unique family and intimacy related rights and responsibilities for gay couples such as marital privilege (far more than simply not testifying against your spouse) may otherwise have not been possible.
Good luck people. Maybe they'll figure out how to get it right. Sawing a lavendar Range Rover in half cannot be an easy feat. Just in case....
Get a PRE-NUP!
My good friends at Nolo press are of course on top of this:
http://www.nolo.com/lawstore/product...31E592A653EE84
Damn these guys are quick.
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
Quote:
Essentially the new DP law says registered Cali Domestic Partners have all the rights as spouses under current California law except... and then carves out conflicts with Federal issues such as immigration and taxes.
Yup. Major corporations are already lining up their Federal Appeals cases, seeking a definitive federal court decision as to whether or not a state gov't i.e. California has the authority to force these corporations to provide equal benefits to the 'spouses' of gay employees as it already provides to legal spouses of straight employees.
These major corporations are also conducting extensive research in regard to ways they can legally cut benefits to ALL employees if the California law regarding gay 'spouse' benefits actually sticks. 'Backlash' will rise to entirely new levels if straight California employees and their families see their health and life insurance benefits being reduced drastically to allow corporations to absorb the (statistically) much higher individual costs of providing health and life insurance benefits to gay 'spouses'.
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
^ Sorry, no one will be able to stop this evolution of equal rights for good. I can tell you want it to end very badly, but gay people will get equal rights in this country whether you like it or not just as laws excluding mixed race marriage were struck down.
There will be trial and error in this issue just like anything else but it is going to happen so you might as well get used to it. This is only the beginning of the end of this type of bigotry.
As Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the other day: "The recognition of homosexuals' rights eradicates an unjustified discrimination."
Unjustified is exactly right too !
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
I think the worst thing that "my people" did was to go after the "M" word. I was HORRIFIED when I first heard that my fellow sodomites were actually wanting to legalize our unions as "marriages". Ewwwww!!! Made me shudder!
I for one do not want to have anything to do with the "m" word. Politically speaking, it would have been much wiser to pursue additional lawful priviledges and such under the term "domestic" or "civil" unions. I think we (as a group) shot ourselves in the foot on this one!
"Marriage"?
UGH!!!!!
(nothing against you straight people, of course......}:D)
BTW...me & my gal are gonna sign up for the CA domestic registry next week....
any innovative ideas for a bachelor/bachelorette party????;)
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
Go California! I just saw the good news on CNN... I love the way it was worded, they don't have to call it marriage yet, but the fact that these couples will be treated as equally as male.female couples sounds wonderful. It's their choice who they want to stay with it shouldn't matter if its more than one penis or vagina.
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
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Originally Posted by lopaw
BTW...me & my gal are gonna sign up for the CA domestic registry next week....
any innovative ideas for a bachelor/bachelorette party????;)
Something tame but different : Naked sushi dinner party (you hire a model or models to be the "table" )
Something similar but more fun : naked ice cream party ( model or models who gets made up like a hot fidge sunday :P )
Just two unconventional idea that popped into my mind. Congrats to you both !!!
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
Thanx for the suggestions, LauraLove....any party ideas with the word "naked" in them definitely go to the top of the list :D!
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
Quote:
Originally Posted by LauraLove
^ Sorry, no one will be able to stop this evolution of equal rights for good. I can tell you want it to end very badly, but gay people will get equal rights in this country whether you like it or not just as laws excluding mixed race marriage were struck down.
I don't think that's what Mel was trying to say at all. I read her post 4 times and I still don't understand how you came up with this.
I think she's more worried about the monetary implications this will have on state and federal taxes and laws governing them. And I for one am worried about that too.
Kitana
Re: New CA. law grants gay couples benefits and rights similar to marriage
So now where's the 'fairness'?: what about unmarried hetero couples... who domestically
partner but don't want to (or can't legally, etc.) get married? Why discriminate against them?
As for testifying in court: couldn't say, OJ and Kato Kaylin suddenly decide to partner...
(perhaps money is exchanged, whatever)... now Kato can't testify, right? (not that it
would matter much in that case, just an example). Trial... and error?