I agree...both gay/lesbian people and heterosexual domestic partners should be taken care of here. I, too, hope that these people receive the same compensation that married people are getting.

In fact, I believe that the laws should be changed all around, to protect such couples in a multitude of situations.

Case in point...although nowhere near the magnitude of the 9/11 tragedies...a couple of years before Mike and I were married, but living together, he had a heart attack. I was working as a cook at Applebee's at the time, in fact, was at work when the call came from the hospital. They were nice at first, but once it looked like Mike wasn't going to die, they started getting up my ass to return to work. And I did, but I asked for fewer hours.

The worst thing was when they were ready to release Mike from the hospital...I was supposed to work that night, but I called and told them I would not be able to come in, and I told them why...I had to bring him home, there was no one else to do it, and it wasn't like he could get home on his own.

Yet they gave me all sorts of shit about it...and punished me afterwards by doing stuff like cutting all the kitchen staff but me (including the dishwasher), after I asked for a lighter schedule, since I had to take care of Mike once he got home.

If I had been married to him at the time, I could have busted them...I would have been covered under the Family & Medical Leave Act. But since we were just *shacking up* in the eyes of the law, I could do nothing. I ended up walking out on that job. I could ill afford to do so, but they were torturing me so much, and I felt I had no other recourse.

So yes...domestic partners of any gender/sexual preference should have the same rights as married couples...legally, health insurance-wise, and everything else. Just because some people don't have that little piece of paper doesn't make the union any less *real*.

There was an officer here in Tampa who was murdered in the line of duty last year. She had lived with her partner for several years and they even had a union ceremony, but obviously weren't "legally" married. She was denied spousal benefits and the pension plan went to the officer's parents instead. It was a heartbreaking case to watch, and I'm glad somebody is finally getting it right.

You're too early! Come back at May 30, 2002 10:56 AM to see this post.

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