gender couples and their children, enactment of marriage amendments halts the possibility of obtaining many legal and financial rights, benefits, and protections such as:
legal recognition of the couple's commitment to and responsibility for one another;
legal recognition of joint parenting rights when a child is born or adopted;
legal recognition of a child's relationship to both parents;
joint or coparent adoption (in most states);
second-parent adoption (in most states);
foster parenting (in some states);
eligibility for public housing and housing subsidies;
ability to own a home as “tenants by the entirety” (ie, a special kind of property ownership for married couples through which both spouses have the right to enjoy the entire property, and when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse gets title to the property [in some states]);
protection of marital home from creditors (in some states);
automatic financial decision-making authority on behalf of one's partner;
access to employer-based health insurance and other benefits for nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted children (considered a taxable benefit for same-gender couples by the Internal Revenue Service, which is not the case for married heterosexual couples);
access to spouse benefits under Medicare and certain Medicaid benefits (spouses are considered essential to individuals receiving Medicaid benefits and, therefore, are eligible for medical assistance themselves; family coverage programs would deny coverage to same-gender partners and nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted children);
ability to enroll nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted children in public and medical assistance programs;
ability of both parents to consent to medical care or authorize emergency medical treatment for nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted children;
ability to make medical decisions for an incapacitated or ailing partner;
recognition as next of kin for the purpose of visiting partner or nonbiological/not-jointly-adopted child in hospitals or other facilities;
ability to take advantage of 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;
Soci