h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Fortunately, some companies - like mine - will provide coverage for "life parnters" as well. We just need to get more companies to follow suit...

The issue with reguard to life partners is fine when the partner gets your benifits, but what about when you're in a disadvantage as a result? For instance with social security benifits. If I lost my job but my spose was still working in a high paid job then I wouldn't be entitled to any benifits. But what about if I lost my job and they said that my flatmate who they thought was my partner should support me? How would I prove that he wasn't?

In the States, it doesn't matter whether your flatmate/spouse/life partner/whoever has a job or not. When you lose your job through no fault of your own, you are entitled to unemployment.

Of course, we are the wrong side of the Big Puddle, so we may do things strangely.

*comes out of her apartments and moves happily through the renovated library, where a couple of bots are still sorting and re-shelving books, to the salon*

Good morning y'all. Look, don't be feeling that you "missed a chance" to discuss a topic. As if our conversations were ever that organised! Say what you've been stimulated to say; it may cause a topic renascence.

I'm going to be rather busy IRL over the next few days, but consider me here and listening. *grabs tea and a cinnamon bun, and heads for the computer lab to do some work on the lchs website*

Here there are several situations where you'd be worse of if you had a partner.

If you are a parent and loose your job you're not expected to be acitvely seeking work if you are a single parent, but if you have a partner you are expected to be actively seeking work.

If you have no other forms of income, inlcuding Jobseekers allowance, you can get income support, but that is a family application rather than an indivdual application.
I don't think these exist at all in the US do they?

We are forced to actively seek gainful employment, regardless of marital status, Z. No staying on the dole for us.

[]
for G7.

GL

Off to bed. Hopefully to sleep. Perchance to dream.

G'night.

I agree that the real issues of gay marriage are economic. Long term partners, regardless of gender, should have legal rights.

Oh, dear. Not this topic....

I've discussed things with many friends of mine, heterosexual and homosexual alike. Science, religion, looking at the issues in various ways. I fear that I may lose some popularity around here for confessing this, but these conversations (with people from both groups) don't generally end with people stating favor of the marriage for everyone. Most of the time we agree that a civil union with the same rights wouldn't be a bad thing, but we've got too many collective personal experiences that tell us that it might not be a good idea in general for the marriage legalization.

A year ago I might've thought differently, but these talks have convinced me for the time being. I would usually think that saying something like this would come off as sounding biggotted and politically incorrect, but after the talks I don't think that any of my homosexual friends would take offense here, so I'm assuming that it's okay. Apologies if it offends anyone.

I've been incredibly lucky with my friends, considering all of this. They get that I can still be friends with them even if my religious beliefs conflict with their lifestyle choices. Still, it's not the type of thing that I enjoy discussing, as I know how unpopular it could make one be in any open-minded group.

What I wouldn't give to have less existing stereotypes about my religion....oh, well. My friends who don't like it just look on it as a Lifestyle Choice that conflicts with their beliefs as well, so it's actually a fair trade.

I've got the feeling that I'm going to be Yikesd and shunned for admitting this stuff.

G7, sure hope you're doin' alright. Keep us posted as to if things get better or not.

*Hides in a corner*

Munchkin
I love physics. Any chance of a place on this site where you have written about it? As Sol is interested would you consider engaging in her queation? 30 years since school so I'm interested in your thoughts.

I get the feeling that that was meant for me....

Not for you Affy - it's a pre-modded post.

And your views are welcome here, whether they agree or not.

Affy, you gave your opinion, which you are perfectly entitled to. I certainly don't consider your post yikesable. Can I presume you make a distinction between a civil union and a marriage because you consider marriage a religious union? That is fine with me, I recognize and respect your right to your faith.

I am not religious in any sense of the word, so to me the two types of formal commitment are interchangeable.

I think that there should be at least the element of choice. Many people choose not to marry for whatever reason, but I think they should still be able to sign some sort of legally binding contract.

For example: two people living together can buy a house, pay a joint mortgage etc, but if half of that relationship dies and fails tomake a will, their relatives have first say over and above the grieving partner regarding the deceased's half of the property.

Ah, I didn't notice that it was pre-modded. Thanks for pointing that one out.

And yeah, I do kinda see a difference between them, primarily because of my religious views. I see marriage as more than just a social union I guess, and I'd had the concepts of "civil unions" between people who weren't married long before I even started considering these issues.

If any of you are familiar with James Gurney's "Dinotopia" book series (and don't use the TV series as a way to judge this guy's work), they deal with that type of thing in some of the books that take place in that world (although I don't think they were written by James Gurney at the time, he gives other authors the permission to use his world as a play ground, so to speak). My concept of the phrase "civil union" probably first came from reading one of these books where it began to discuss life partners. Some people on Dinotopia would become married when they found their life partner, other people would just find incredibly close friends that they could go through life's difficulties with (without any romantic involvement at all), and some people found that they were actually closer to some of the intelligent dinosaurs of the land than people and choose to live and work with one of them for their life. Three or four entirely different systems for having a life partner, and all with roughly the same benefits and responsibilities.

This kind of "civil union" is most probably not the kind of thing that's being aimed at, by when I first learned it it made perfect sense. Who better than a best friend to be a travelling companion through life's difficulties? And since I was probably twelve when I first read those books, the concept of a Dinosaur for a friend wasn't unappealing.

Affy, I respect your opinion, even if I don't agree. I think that when I think of marriage, I am thinking of the legal rights that go with it. For example, you have Bob and Shirley, and Les and Adam. If Bob dies, even without a will, Shirley is recognized as having legal rights to the dispersement of Bob's things. Not so with Steve and Adam. If Adam dies, his long-lost relatives (who kicked him out for being gay) can swoop in and take everything. Les has no vioce has no voice in the matter, and in fact, stands to lose a great deal. Not every gay couple has to deal with this, but quite a few do, and that's where I have to be in favor of it.

Is it the fact that it is called a marriage, which you see as being religiously based, the problem? Would those of you unwilling to support gay marriage be willing to grant gay couples the same legal rights as hetero married couples, as long as we don't call it marriage?

Affy, I just read my post, and that last sounds a bit, well, churlish. I didn't mean it to. I'm not attacking, just clarifying. Sometimes I'm not the most delicate person...

What is the difference between a 'civil union' and a 'marriage'? if I'm being awfully blonde.

And affy, often its is good to have someone who will show another side to your own beliefs. I know it makes me think more if I have someone contradicting me than if I have someone agreeing.

I would like you to say more on why you dislike the word marriage, though understand perfectly if you dont want to.

that should be dislike using the word marriage.