Comments on: Fenty Suffering from ‘Donor Fatigue’: Loose Lips Daily http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/06/18/fenty-suffering-from-donor-fatigue-loose-lips-daily/ 68.3 Square Miles of D.C. News and Opinion Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:20:21 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Richard J. Rosendall http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/06/18/fenty-suffering-from-donor-fatigue-loose-lips-daily/comment-page-1/#comment-602673 Richard J. Rosendall Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:08:51 +0000 http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/?p=24720#comment-602673 Joel, GLAA's marriage report came out at the beginning of 2004. Numerous domestic partnership bills have been passed since then, and cumulatively they have brought domestic partners a lot closer to parity on legal rights and responsibilities that the District can grant. But that still leaves same-sex couples without the now nearly 1200 federal rights and responsibilities. And marriage is something well understood, whereas domestic partnership is not, and means different things in different jurisdictions. We have seen cases, such as in New Jersey, that have demonstrated that separate is indeed inherently unequal. The one way to ensure equality under the law is to allow same-sex couples to marry as straight couples are able to do. Joel, GLAA's marriage report came out at the beginning of 2004. Numerous domestic partnership bills have been passed since then, and cumulatively they have brought domestic partners a lot closer to parity on legal rights and responsibilities that the District can grant. But that still leaves same-sex couples without the now nearly 1200 federal rights and responsibilities. And marriage is something well understood, whereas domestic partnership is not, and means different things in different jurisdictions. We have seen cases, such as in New Jersey, that have demonstrated that separate is indeed inherently unequal. The one way to ensure equality under the law is to allow same-sex couples to marry as straight couples are able to do.

]]> By: Joel Lawson http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/06/18/fenty-suffering-from-donor-fatigue-loose-lips-daily/comment-page-1/#comment-602668 Joel Lawson Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:58:11 +0000 http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/?p=24720#comment-602668 Re: Jonetta Rose Barras asking "Are gay couples in the District truly discriminated against if same-sex marriages are prohibited?" Well... "The laws provide domestic partners with 8 of the 212 rights and responsibilities of civil marriage in the D.C.Code." and "...none of the 1,049 federal rights and responsibilities of civil marriage are available to domestic partners." http://www.glaa.org/archive/2004/glaamarriagereport.pdf Re: Jonetta Rose Barras asking "Are gay couples in the District truly discriminated against if same-sex marriages are prohibited?"

Well...

"The laws provide domestic partners with 8 of the 212 rights and responsibilities of civil marriage in the D.C.Code."

and

"...none of the 1,049 federal rights and responsibilities of civil marriage are available to domestic partners."

http://www.glaa.org/archive/2004/glaamarriagereport.pdf

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