In the fight for marriage equality for same-sex couples, incremental gains have been made in the past week with civil unions bills advancing in both Illinois and Hawaii. Also in the past week, the Wyoming Senate, by a vote of 21-9, passed a constitutional amendment against marriage equality.
A much more satisfying gain toward full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered citizens would be at the federal level. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) must be repealed so that same-sex couples can enjoy hundreds of marriage rights now denied them. For example, in immigration law, same-sex couples, unlike heterosexual married couples, are barred from sponsoring family-based visas for their spouses. For families headed by same-sex couples, many states deny the right of adoption to the non-biological parent/s, leaving them without numerous legal protections.
In Massachusetts, where we enjoy laws permitting same-sex marriage, the extra step of a co-parent adoption is still necessary to give the non-biological parent/s full legal rights with regard to their children.
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