There is a proposal on the ballot in my home state (commonwealth) of Virginia that appears to merely be the usual "marriage is a man and a woman" type constitutional amendment, but is actually much more sinister.
The Virginia initiative has language that is so ambiguous it could open up attacks on arrangements that straight umarried couples have agreed to, such as wills, power of attorney, employer benefits, etc.
There are many groups fighting the passage of this law, and thankfully currently only around 45% of Virginians are supporting this measure, which could drop substantially once they read the rest of the bill, which says the Commonwealth will not recognize: "another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage."
Businesses are against this measure, because they may not be able to compete with businesses in Maryland and other states that would be able to offer benefits to domestic partners, whether they be of the same sex or not.
I urge all individuals and businesses in the area to support a defeat of this ballot question. Virginia was recently listed as the most "business friendly state" by Forbes. Let's not shoot ourselves in the foot.
2006-09-15
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2 comments:
I think if there is a law banning same-sex marriage, it should say that, not all partnerships. That is ridiculous. They should ban gay-marriage but not regular couples who aren't married. That's B.S.
just curious - how can an unmarried couple function as a martial unit, in terms of the law? doesn't make sense to me. i don't know many employers that will cover medical benefits for someone who isn't a spouse.
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