Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Family Law Blogs -> Independent Gay Forum

Family Law

: Independent Gay Forum

The Case for Obama

pstrongby Jennifer Vanasco/strongbr /emFirst published in the bChicago Free Press/b, October 22, 2008/embr //p pMy friends, Irsquo;d like you to meet someone, a true American, a great American: Jane the Plumber./p pJane, my friends, is an actual plumber, as opposed to that Joe the Plumber guy, who didnrsquo;t have a plumber license and may have been related to a big financial scandal./p pNo, 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./p pLet 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 isnrsquo;t allowed to share her health benefits with Sue. In May, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the statersquo;s constitutional amendment saying that quot;the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purposequot; means that public employers canrsquo;t give domestic partnership benefits./p pSo Sue will either need to have benefits of her own, or must look to public assistance for help./p pJane 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./p pIf Jane lives in Mississippi or Florida, her kids are in particular danger mdash; both states have gay adoption bans. Judges in Florida keep ruling the ban unconstitutional mdash; the latest judge said so this past September mdash; but the law still stands./p pJane also worries about visiting Sue in the hospital, especially if theyrsquo;re traveling. Shersquo;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 partnerrsquo;s sick beds and make decisions for them./p pBecause Jane and Sue live in a state that doesnrsquo;t recognize domestic partnership benefits for public employees mdash; maybe Michigan, but perhaps also Florida, if Amendment 2 passes there in November mdash; then Jane also wonrsquo;t get bereavement leave if Sue dies. Shersquo;ll have to take vacation time or sick time./p pJane is also worried that Suersquo;s parents may fight Suersquo;s will, and take their house away. Jane and Sue were married in a United Church of Christ chapel, but their state doesnrsquo;t legally recognize the marriage mdash; and Suersquo;s parents have said that if the state doesnrsquo;t recognize them, they wonrsquo;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./p pJane 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 theyrsquo;re gay, or deny them a promotion. Only 12 states protect Jane and Sue from employment discrimination. Twelve./p pMy friends, this election matters for Jane the Plumber. It is a decision between a candidate mdash; John McCain mdash; who says he doesnrsquo;t believe in gay adoption, and whose running mate ldquo;toleratesrdquo; gay people; and a candidate mdash; Barack Obama mdash; 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./p pJoe 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 mdash; harm that can cost her her children, her home, and her last hours with her partner./p pMy friends, Jane the Plumber is counting on us. She is counting on us to go to the polls on election day mdash; and she is counting on us to vote for Obama. She has a lot at stake. Letrsquo;s not let her mdash; or ourselves mdash; down./p

Full post as published by Independent Gay Forum on October 25, 2008 (boomark / email).