ABSTRACT
The most recent phase of the gay rights movement is now twenty-five years old. A continuous part of that struggle has been the effort on the part of those who identify as gay and lesbian to acquire the same privileges, rights and immunities in their partner and parenting relationships as their heterosexual counterparts are given by law and custom. 1 The chief examples of such privileges accorded to legally married couples include:
the right to inherit from a spouse who dies without a will
the right to consult with doctors and make crucial medical decisions in the event of a spouse’s critical illness or mental incompetence
immunity from having to testify against a spouse in a criminal proceeding
the right of residency for a foreign spouse of a U.S. citizen
the right to sue for emotional harm from wrongful damage sustained by one’s spouse
the right to visit one’s spouse in government-run institutions, such as prisons and hospitals
the right to Social Security survivor’s benefits
the right of an employee to include a legally married spouse on his or her health insurance coverage
the option to reduce the couple’s tax liability by filing joint returns
other organizational benefits such as married student housing, reduced tuition fees, and access to an organization’s facilities.
