 the federal Family Medical Leave Act to care for a sick partner or nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted children;
ability to obtain life insurance (because of findings of no insurable interest in one's partner or nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted child);
ability to obtain joint homeowner and automobile insurance policies and take advantage of family discounts;
recognition as an authority in educational settings to register a child for school, be involved in a child's education plan, and provide consent on waivers and sign permission forms;
ability to travel with a child if it will require proof of being a legal parent;
access to spousal benefits of worker's compensation;
ability to file joint income tax returns and take advantage of family-related deductions;
privilege afforded to married heterosexual couples that protects one spouse from testifying against another in court;
immigration and residency privileges for partners and children from other countries;
protections and compensation for families of crime victims (state and federal programs);
access to the courts for a legally structured means of dissolution of the relationship (divorce is not recognized because marriage is not recognized);
visitation rights and/or custody of children after the dissolution of a partnership;
children's rights to financial support from and ongoing relationships with both parents should the partnership be dissolved;
legal standing of one partner if a child is removed from the legal/adoptive parent and home by child protective services;
domestic violence protections such as restraining orders;
automatic, tax- and penalty-free inheritance from a deceased partner or parent of shared assets, property, or personal items by the surviving partner and nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted children;
children's right to maintain a relationship with a nonbiological/not-jointly-adopting parent in the event of the death of the other parent;
surviving parent's right to maintain custody of and care for nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted children;
Social Security survivor benefits for a surviving partner and children after the death of one partner;
exemptions from property tax increases in the event of the death of a partner (offered in some states to surviving spouses);
automatic access to pensions and other retirement accounts by surviving partner;
access to deceased partner's veteran's benefits;
ability to roll deceased partner's 401(k) funds into an individual retirement account without paying up to 70% of it in taxes and penalties; and
right to sue for wrongful death of a deceased partner.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) determined in 2004 that allowing civil marriage for same-gender couples would have a positive effect on the federal budget.21 The CBO found that allowing same-gender couples to marry would increase federal income tax revenues by $400 million annually to the end of 2010, resulting largely from the “marriage penalty tax.” Although Social Security payments and spending on insurance coverage for partners of federal workers would rise over time, other expenditures such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income would decrease. The net result would be a savings of nearly $1 billion per year. The Williams Institute, a think tank at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, had similar findings on the federal budget and for several state budgets.22
Because of the complex nature of the issues involved in this sociopolitical debate, psychosocial effects can be multifaceted. These effects can be observed at the personal, couple, parental, child, family, and even community levels.
As children, many gay and lesbian persons experience considerable isolation, peer rejection, ridicule, harassment, and/or depression at some time. At least 47% of gay and lesbian teens have seriously considered suicide, and 36% have actually attempted suicide.23 They may experience rejection by their families, homelessness, maltreatment in school, and violence. As adults, gay and lesbian people continue to experience social marginalization, discriminat