# Rights not currently granted to gays **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026 "2004-03-02T02:44:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/1 "2004-03-02T02:44:52Z")
In order to squash my ignorance, could someone please provide me with a list of rights that are currently limited only to those who marry? Factual answers only please. Also, no debating. There are plenty of other threads for that. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/2 "2004-03-02T02:51:12Z")
1. Legitimacy of children 2. Guaranteed inheritance rights 3. Social Security benefits I’m sure there are more. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/3 "2004-03-02T02:52:21Z")
I believe that some benefits are: [ul] [li]Filing for taxes together[/li][li]Visiting each other in the emergency room[/li][/ul] I can’t think of other ones, but that’s probably partially because I’m not old enough to get married (or at least, I don’t think I am–I’m 17). ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/4 "2004-03-02T02:55:47Z")
Also, there is the fact that marriage is much more official and recognized (at least in the gut) as more “mature” and “loving” than a boyfriend/girlfriend (or bf/bf or gf/gf) relationship. This isn’t in the domain of actual technical rights given to married people, but it’s important. Think of it as the difference between your son having a girlfriend and your son having a wife. Just having a girlfriend doesn’t mean he’s bad–it’s just not viewed in the same way as being married. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/5 "2004-03-02T03:10:51Z")
I think the legal term you are looking for is not “rights of marriage” but "incidents of marriage, per the Musgrave amendment (or FMA): > [@](#): > > FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT (H.J.Res. 56) > > Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the **legal incidents** thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups. My bolding. I’ve heard several activitist who are campaigning for gay marriage make the claim that there are ~2,000 legal incidents of marriage (maybe they say “benefits”). I suspect that is a bit of an exageration, but it’s a good place to start. Google searching didn’t turn up anything for me. Anyway, I was thinking of starting a thread: What are the alleged 2,000 legal incidents of marriage? This thread is close enough. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/6 "2004-03-02T03:45:49Z")
The [Human Rights Campaign](http://www.hrc.org) says the following are among the 1,000 incidents of marriage denied to same sex couples: [quote=the HRC] [ul][li] The right to make decisions on a partner’s behalf in a medical emergency. Specifically, the states generally provide that spouses automatically assume this right in an emergency. If an individual is unmarried, the legal “next of kin” automatically assumes this right. This means, for example, that a gay man with a life partner of many years may be forced to accept the financial and medical decisions of a sibling or parent with whom he may have a distant or even hostile relationship. [/li] [li] The right to take up to 12 weeks of leave from work to care for a seriously ill partner or parent of a partner. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 permits individuals to take such leave to care for ill spouses, children and parents but not a partner or a partner’s parents. [/li] [li] The right to petition for same-sex partners to immigrate.[/li] [li] The right to assume parenting rights and responsibilities when children are brought into a family through birth, adoption, surrogacy or other means. For example, in most states, there is no law providing a noncustodial, nonbiological or nonadoptive parent’s right to visit a child - or responsibility to provide financial support for that child - in the event of a breakup.[/li] [li] The right to share equitably all jointly held property and debt in the event of a breakup, since there are no laws that cover the dissolution of domestic partnerships.[/li] [li] Family-related Social security benefits, income and estate tax benefits, disability benefits, family-related military and veterans benefits and other important benefits.[/li] [li] The right to inherit property from a partner in the absence of a will.[/li] [li] The right to purchase continued health coverage for a domestic partner after the loss of a job.[/ul][/li][/quote] I’d like to add two egregious statements specific to my state, but not specific to married couples. [ul][li]The State of Florida specifically prohibits gay persons to adopt children. Since I am a gay man, the law presumes that I am inherently and irredeemably unfit as a parent, regardless of how overfull our foster system is.[/li][li]The State of Florida also permits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which means my boss could come to me tomorrow and fire me for being gay – she could put on my termination papers that I was fired for cause, and that the reason was my sexuality. As you probably know, people fired for cause can be denied unemployment benefits.[/li][/ul] I’m certain that there are others, and I’m also certain that **Otto** will be by shortly to list them. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/7 "2004-03-02T04:01:31Z")
**Spousal privilege** - husbands and wives cannot be forced to testify against each other in a court of law. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/8 "2004-03-02T04:20:29Z")
•Family rates on health insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/9 "2004-03-02T10:47:02Z")
Rosie O’Donnell mentioned the spousal privilege issue as one of the reasons she and her partner got married in San Francisco. During the recent courtfight with her former publishers over the demise of her magazine, Rosie had to disclose every e-mail/letter etc. she’d sent to her partner where she mentioned the magazine. She was also subject to discovery about conversations with her partner. If she’d been married, those e-mails and conversations would have been privileged. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/10 "2004-03-02T12:38:47Z")
[This](http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/article.cfm/ObjectID/E0366844-7992-4018-B581C6AE9BF8B045/catID/697DBAFE-20FF-467A-9E9395985EE7E825) web page has some good info on it. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/11 "2004-03-02T13:59:50Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > I’m certain that there are others, and I’m also certain that **Otto** will be by shortly to list them. Sorry I’m late! [Link](http://www.buddybuddy.com/mar-feda.html) to the General Accounting Office report which lists off the (at least) 1,049 (at the time) incidents of marriage in federal law as of the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act. Each state also has its own slate of marital incidents (Wisconsin IIRC has something like 300). This [url=http://www.waf.org/familyarchives/marriage/New%20Congressional%20Report%201,049%20Reasons%20to%20Allow%20Gay%20Couples%20to%20Marry.htm]press release notes that there may be even more but the complexity of federal law makes cataloging every reference difficult. Some categories where marital status factors most heavily in federal law include: > [@](#): > > **Social Security and related programs, housing, and food stamps** > > These include the rights of husbands and wives, and widows and widowers under the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. Marital status also affects a person’s eligibility and benefit levels in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. > > **Veterans’ Benefits** > > These affect rights and privileges of husbands or wives of veterans, including additional disability compensation for the spouses of disabled veterans. > > **Taxation** > > There are 59 provisions in federal income tax law under which liability is affected by a taxpayer’s marital status. > > **Employment benefits** > > Laws include unpaid leave for employees to care for a seriously ill spouse, death benefits for the spouse of a public safety officer killed in the line of duty, and annuities and lump-sum benefits for spouses eligible under the Railroad Retirement Act, with survivors benefits also available to spouses of longshore and harbor workers. > > **Immigration** > > A policy of keeping families intact. > > **Trade/Commerce** > > Spouses may receive protection in residential mortgage agreements. Marital status also can affect the income calculations used to determine eligibility for financing under programs such as the Fresh Cut Flowers and Fresh Cut Greens Promotion and Information Act of 1993. Note that the press release is from 1997 so there have undoubtedly been changes to federal law which have affected the count. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/12 "2004-03-02T14:02:11Z")
[press release](http://www.waf.org/familyarchives/marriage/New%20Congressional%20Report%201,049%20Reasons%20to%20Allow%20Gay%20Couples%20to%20Marry.htm) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/13 "2004-03-02T17:00:56Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > [ul][li]The State of Florida specifically prohibits gay persons to adopt children. Since I am a gay man, the law presumes that I am inherently and irredeemably unfit as a parent, regardless of how overfull our foster system is.[/li][/ul] How do they verify if you’re gay or not? ---
**Author:** ![LemonThrower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@LemonThrower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LemonThrower)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/14 "2004-03-02T19:16:07Z")
I’ll add one and take one away. Transfers of property between spouses is tax free. If you are gay and can’t marry, then you don’t get this benefit. Discrimination - Non-gays are not protected from discrimination. So to say that an employer can fire you for being gay, while this may be true, is not relevant. A straight could be fired for being straight inf Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/15 "2004-03-02T19:30:10Z")
> [@Cillasi](#): > > 1. Legitimacy of children Does the legal concept of legitimacy still exist in the U.S.? As far as I know, all the Canadian provinces have done away with it. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/16 "2004-03-02T20:43:23Z")
> [@Northern Piper](#): > > Does the legal concept of legitimacy still exist in the U.S.? As far as I know, all the Canadian provinces have done away with it. Illegitimacy is a [“quasi-suspect”](http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/epcscrutiny.htm) classification under the law, which means that laws which burden on that basis require the government to that the challenged classification serves an important state interest and that the classification is at least substantially related to serving that interest. ---
**Author:** ![127.0.0.1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/258eb7/32.png) [@127.0.0.1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/127.0.0.1)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/17 "2004-03-02T20:48:46Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > The State of Florida also permits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which means my boss could come to me tomorrow and fire me for being gay – she could put on my termination papers that I was fired for cause, and that the reason was my sexuality. As you probably know, people fired for cause can be denied unemployment benefits. _flabberghasted_ I now make my petition to remove the state of Florida from the Union. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/18 "2004-03-02T21:27:37Z")
Not that this is in the top 100, compared to some others, but I can go to Walgreen’s (or wherever) and pick up my wife’s prescriptions, and vice versa. It’s a small thing, but it’s convenient enough frequently enough that I’d be quite irritated if we couldn’t do it any more. How many states permit prescription drugs to be dispensed to “friends”? ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/19 "2004-03-02T22:15:01Z")
As far as I know, discrimination against gays is still okey-dokey in Ohio, so feel free to fire a gay person, evict him, or throw him out of your restaurant for holding hands with his boyfriend. I know a woman who was fired because she was gay. Admittedly, she was teaching in a Christian school. But still. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026/20 "2004-03-02T22:24:39Z")
A minor nitpick to the title of the OP - these are not rights that are not granted to gays, per se; these are rights that are not granted to _unmarried couples_, regardless of their sexual preference. In the same vein, these rights and/or privileges are granted to married couples, regardless of whether one or both of the individuals are gay (it just has to be a legally recognized marriage). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-not-currently-granted-to-gays/232026.md?page=2)