Same-sex couples are denied hundreds of rights
accorded to heterosexual partnerships. Gay or Lesbian partners can't take advantage
of spousal benefits under Social Security and Medicare, and employers aren't required to extend same-sex "spouses"
benefits such as health care. Homosexuals aren't allowed to
make medical decisions for terminally ill partners or even to visit them as they
lay dying. In addition to the difficulties they face adopting children,
same-sex couples cannot enter into key legal agreements such as leases.
Recently, the Vermont Supreme Court issued a ruling in support
of gay marriage, saying, "We hold that the state is constitutionally required to
extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections that flow from
marriage under Vermont law."
