Katrina and those Anti-Gay Marriage Amendments

To those of you who think that not allowing gays and lesbians to marry simply protects the sanctity of that institution from same-sex individuals, Fidel Ortega of 365Gay.Com pointed out a few of the issues that gay and lesbian non-families caught up in the hell of Katrina will face in the near future:

1. Louisiana has a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and prevents the state from recognizing any legal status for common-law relationships, domestic partnerships or civil unions. Mississippi and Alabama both have defense of marriage acts which also deny similar rights to gay and lesbian families.

2. The Federal Defense of Marriage Act prevents FEMA from providing any relief in the form of family benefits to same-sex couples.

3. Federal DOMA bars Social Security survivor benefits to the surviving partner in a gay relationship. State benefits would also be denied.

4. If the deceased partner were the birth or adoptive parent of the couple's children those children could be removed from the care of the other parent and placed in foster care or given to relatives of the deceased partner who may or may not ever allow the surviving spouse visitation.

5. Should the family home be in the name of the deceased partner the survivor would have no rights. Any insurance payouts could go to the estate of the deceased and if there is no will would go to the closest blood relative - not the surviving spouse.

6. In cases where one partner is hospitalized the other partner would not be guaranteed visitation rights or any say in medical care.

7. Surviving same-sex partners could even be denied any say in funeral or burial decisions for their mates.

8. Even in those cases where couples had legal documents such as living wills, powers of attorney or other agreements that could be valid in the states in which they were prepared and notarized there is no guarantee they would be honored in states where survivors were relocated.

Constitutional amendments like the one in Louisiana were quickly voted into law after the Bush election in 2004 and many other states have been enacted legislation of this nature to be voted on in the 2006 election. Is that what Americans want for other American citizens? Can you see how this has nothing to do with marriage and everything to do with the lives of the men, women, and children involved?

It's time to put an end to this kind of hurtful discrimination. These laws should be immediately repealed and any similar bills being sponsored should be immediately suspended. Lives are at state. Not just life and death, but in many real cases coming out of the Katrina aftermath, life after death. Don't make it impossible for gay and lesbian Americans to recover from this disaster. Living through it should have been enough.

It's time to act American!

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