It’s not a secret code.
It’s not the address of the newest hotspot.
It’s one number, but it adds up.
At last count, the United States General Accounting Office reported 1,138 federal rights, protections
and benefits that come with marriage. Th at means heterosexual married couples automatically
receive these rights and protections, while same-sex couples — even those in civil unions,
domestic partnerships and marriages — do not.
This is unequal — and it’s unfair.
Many of these benefits, such as tax credits, are well known and may even factor into a heterosexual
couple’s decision to marry. Others can be taken for granted but carry great impact on the lives of
committed same-sex partners. Some of these are:
• Use of the Family and Medical Leave Act
Same-sex couples are denied this federal provision allowing up to 12 weeks unpaid leave to care for their sick partners.
• Fairness in taxation of health insurance for one’s family
Employer-sponsored health care for domestic partners is assessed federal taxes, while the same
coverage for heterosexual spouses and their dependents is not.
• Social Security benefits for surviving partners and their dependents
In cases of death or disability, Social Security benefits are not issued to same-sex partners or
their partner’s children.
• The right to petition for a partner’s immigration
• Family-sponsored visas are commonly distributed to those wishing to immigrate to the
United States, but under federal law, same-sex relationships do not constitute family.
These are just a few of the provisions and protections provided exclusively for heterosexual married
couples.
Let 1138 remind us what we have to work for in this fight.