On May 18, legislation was signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire providing equal rights for people living in domestic partnership as for those people living in a traditional marriage.
E2SSB5688 completes what was started in 2007 when the Washington Legislature created a domestic partnership registry. Individuals are allowed to enter into registered partnerships as long as they meet certain criteria, such as sharing a common residence, being at least 18 years old, one person older than 62, or being of the same sex.
Individuals registering under this legislation were given certain rights and powers normally extended only to married couples, most dealing with health care and insurance coverage.
In 2008, these rights were expanded to include community property, estate planning, tax issues and court processes. Dissolution of registered partnerships was also put on par with the divorce process.
The legislation passed in May will, under all purposes within state law, require state-registered domestic partners be treated the same as married spouses.
Opposition to this legislation has centered on the aspect of same-sex partnerships, and the alleged threat these may impose to traditional marriage and negative impacts to the traditional family. Opponents fear this will open the door to the legalization of same-sex marriage, and are busy gathering signatures to put an initiative on the November ballot to overturn the legislation.
Under the circumstances, we support this legislation extending full rights to people in domestic partnerships. The caveat being, “under the circumstances.”
Too much focus has been on same-sex partnerships, and not enough on heterosexual partnerships. Many of these occur for financial reasons where tax law imposes penalties upon married couples.
Changes in the tax code have helped negate some of these, but not all, especially for people without children. For those age 62 and older, often it is more financially beneficial, particularly when it comes to social security, to register as domestic partners than it is to marry. In some areas, religion itself hasn't been friendly to marriage, with some denominations refusing to recognize interfaith unions.
We have made divorce too easy. We have also made it difficult for those who do marry and raise a family to capitalize on programs and services, such as education assistance. For instance, it is easier to obtain scholarship funding for a divorced couples' children than it would have been had they stayed married.
Then there is the idea of the “traditional family.” For some, this conforms to the “Leave it to Beaver” or “Father Knows Best” model of a man, wife, and their children. For others, it's “The Brady Bunch,” or even the single parent model of “A Family Affair.”
Media influences aside; the concept of the traditional family has always been changing, hinging on cultural mores, religious beliefs and societal requirements. What was traditional 100, even 50 years ago, is not such today.
We have taken a road in our culture that has removed the sheen from marriage, and have never really defined the concept of the “traditional family.” Until these issues are addressed, extending the benefits of marriage to domestic partnerships is the best we can do, under the circumstances.
Reader Comments(0)