For Love or for Big Bucks

 Gay Marriage Debate is About Money, Too 

By, Richard H. Thaler

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/business/gay-marriage-debate-is-about-money-too.html?ref=samesexmarriage

     In this article, Richard H. Thaler, a professor of economics and behavioral science at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, dives into the controversial question: Are same-sex couples allowed to call themselves "married"? He explains that at the federal level, this issue is not only about the word "marriage", but it is also about money. People who are in domestic partnerships do not qualify for financial benefits that people who are married can obtain. This is because of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which says, “The word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” Thaler believes that the solution to this problem is to have Congress amend the Defense of Marriage Act so that wherever the word ‘marriage’ appears in any federal statute, it should say ‘domestic partnership between two people valid under the laws of the state where it was obtained.’ 

     This would mean that all unions that are called 'marriages' would be called 'domestic partnerships' that would be offered to different-sex couples as well as same-sex couples. Marriage would no longer be regulated by the government at this point and weddings would become private matters such as bar/bat mitzvahs. Thaler also argues that anyone who supports freedom of religion should support this proposal because then religions would have the freedom to decide their own criteria for marriage. The churches would be able to decide who they will and will not marry.   

     I agree with Thaler that same sex couples should be able to be together and receive the same financial benefits that any other couple can claim. Just because their relationship may be two men or to women, doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated the same way a man and a woman are treated. However, I feel that it may be too drastic and controversial to change all 'marriages' to 'domestic partnerships'. Too many religious believers stand by the term 'marriage' and would feel that it is an outrage to remove it. Although it would be nice for gay couples and straight couples to be able to marry and be called the same thing, I do not believe that Thaler's proposal would ever pass. Rather than changing the Marriage Act, more people would support the idea of creating a new act that allows couples of all sexes to receive the same financial support in all aspects of their relationship. It's only fair that gay couples be supported with health insurance, joined tax returns, social security, and citizenship just like married couples, in order to make their relationships as successful as different-sex marriages, even if they are given the name 'domestic partnerships'. What's in a name anyways?