Family Law

The Case for Obama

by Jennifer Vanasco
First published in the Chicago Free Press, October 22, 2008

My friends, I’d like you to meet someone, a true American, a great American: Jane the Plumber.

Jane, my friends, is an actual plumber, as opposed to that Joe the Plumber guy, who didn’t have a plumber license and may have been related to a big financial scandal.

No, Jane is an actual plumber. Maybe she lives in Michigan. Maybe she lives in Arizona. Maybe she lives in Florida. But she is a plumber, and she is a lesbian.

Let me tell you about our friend Jane the Plumber. Jane stays up at night because her partner, Sue, has breast cancer. If the couple lives in Michigan and Jane is a plumber for a public facility, then Jane isn’t allowed to share her health benefits with Sue. In May, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state’s constitutional amendment saying that "the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose" means that public employers can’t give domestic partnership benefits.

So Sue will either need to have benefits of her own, or must look to public assistance for help.

Jane is worried about whether the law will recognize her as the parents of the two children she raised with Sue, the birth mother, if Sue should die.

If Jane lives in Mississippi or Florida, her kids are in particular danger — both states have gay adoption bans. Judges in Florida keep ruling the ban unconstitutional — the latest judge said so this past September — but the law still stands.

Jane also worries about visiting Sue in the hospital, especially if they’re traveling. She’s heard horror stories from friends who say that, despite the fact that they carry legal paperwork around with them at all times giving each other power of attorney, some hospitals arbitrarily forbid gay partners to stand by their partner’s sick beds and make decisions for them.

Because Jane and Sue live in a state that doesn’t recognize domestic partnership benefits for public employees — maybe Michigan, but perhaps also Florida, if Amendment 2 passes there in November — then Jane also won’t get bereavement leave if Sue dies. She’ll have to take vacation time or sick time.

Jane is also worried that Sue’s parents may fight Sue’s will, and take their house away. Jane and Sue were married in a United Church of Christ chapel, but their state doesn’t legally recognize the marriage — and Sue’s parents have said that if the state doesn’t recognize them, they won’t either. If Sue dies, her parents would be able to make decisions about burial and cremation in absence of a will, not her partner Jane.

Jane and Sue pay more for their home and auto insurance policies; they also pay more in taxes. Depending on the whim of the franchise owner, they may pay more to rent a car; hotels in some states can refuse them a room. In many states, an employer can fire Jane or Sue just because they’re gay, or deny them a promotion. Only 12 states protect Jane and Sue from employment discrimination. Twelve.

My friends, this election matters for Jane the Plumber. It is a decision between a candidate — John McCain — who says he doesn’t believe in gay adoption, and whose running mate “tolerates” gay people; and a candidate — Barack Obama — who believes that gay people should have all the civil rights of straight people, and whose running mate said he believes the rights of gays and lesbians are protected under the Constitution.

Joe the Plumber, if he really were a plumber, may have to pay more taxes on his $250,000 a year income when he buys his plumbing business, but Jane the Plumber will suffer significant harm under a McCain administration — harm that can cost her her children, her home, and her last hours with her partner.

My friends, Jane the Plumber is counting on us. She is counting on us to go to the polls on election day — and she is counting on us to vote for Obama. She has a lot at stake. Let’s not let her — or ourselves — down.

Full post as published by Independent Gay Forum on October 26, 2008 (boomark / email).