Why Marriage?
The essence of marriage is the love and commitment of two partners. Loving, committed same-sex couples need and deserve ALL the rights that come with being married. Gay people who commit their lives to one another want to marry for the same reasons as non-gay people.
Marriage tells the community that two people are committed to each other and are a family. It is recognized as a lifelong partnership between two people – whether those two people are gay or straight.
In our society, marriage is many things: a loving, committed, lifelong partnership between two people; an adult rite of passage; a way for two people to honor their relationship; an opportunity for family and friends to bind together; a bundle of legal rights; a respected cultural institution.
Marriage in Maine
In Maine, any qualified adult can become part of this cherished institution by marrying the person they love – except for same-sex couples.
In Maine, only married couples are:
- Protected from certain legal and financial harms when one partner dies; only a spouse can automatically inherit when no will exists, inherit without tax penalties, or take a homestead allowance.
- Treated as an economic unit – can file taxes jointly, are required to financially support each other, or transfer property to each other without paying a tax.
- Protected from disclosing confidences during legal proceedings.
Maine is full of same-sex couples who have been together for decades, have weathered life-threatening illness, are raising children, worry about their finances, and do their best to plan for the future. They need and deserve the communal benefits of marriage as much as opposite-sex couples do.
Marriage protects children
Children of same-sex couples are harmed when their parents do not receive all the protections of marriage.
- Same-sex couples with children are unlikely to have access to family health insurance and those who have it pay more for it than their married co-workers.
- Children are less protected financially and legally when a parent dies. The surviving partner is not entitled to any Social Security benefits and has no right to make claims for wrongful death, loss of consortium or negligence against the former partner’s employer.
- Denying their parents the right to be married tells children of same-sex couples that their families are inferior compared to other families.
