The following piece of information comes from a website called "Human Rights Campaign - Working for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights" (
http://www.hrc.org/)
Many same-sex couples want the right to legally marry because they are in love — either they just met the love of their lives, or more likely, they have spent the last 10,
20 or 50 years with that person — and they want to honor their relationship in the
greatest way our society has to offer, by making a public commitment to stand
together in good times and bad, through all the joys and challenges family life brings.
Many parents want the right to marry because they know it offers children a vital
safety net and guarantees protections that unmarried parents cannot provide.
And still other people — both gay and straight — are fighting for the right of
same-sex couples to marry because they recognize that it is simply not fair to deny
some families the protections all other families are eligible to enjoy.
Currently in the United States, same-sex couples in long-term, committed relationships
pay higher taxes and are denied basic protections and rights granted to
married heterosexual couples.
Among them:
>> Hospital visitation. Married couples have the automatic right to visit
each other in the hospital and make medical decisions. Same-sex couples can be
denied the right to visit a sick or injured loved one in the hospital.
>> Social Security benefits. Married people receive Social Security payments
upon the death of a spouse. Despite paying payroll taxes, gay and lesbian
partners receive no Social Security survivor benefits — resulting in an average
annual income loss of $5,528 upon the death of a partner.
>> Immigration. Americans in binational relationships are not permitted to
petition for their same-sex partners to immigrate. As a result, they are often
forced to separate or move to another country.
>> Health insurance. Many public and private employers provide medical
coverage to the spouses of their employees, but most employers do not provide
coverage to the life partners of gay and lesbian employees. Gay employees who
do receive health coverage for their partners must pay federal income taxes on
the value of the insurance.
>> Estate taxes. A married person automatically inherits all the property of
his or her deceased spouse without paying estate taxes. A gay or lesbian taxpayer
is forced to pay estate taxes on property inherited from a deceased partner.
>> Retirement savings. While a married person can roll a deceased
spouse’s 401(k) funds into an IRA without paying taxes, a gay or lesbian
American who inherits a 401(k) can end up paying up to 70 percent of it in
taxes and penalties.
>> Family leave. Married workers are legally entitled to unpaid leave from
their jobs to care for an ill spouse. Gay and lesbian workers are not entitled to
family leave to care for their partners.
>> Nursing homes. Married couples have a legal right to live together in
nursing homes. Because they are not legal spouses, elderly gay or lesbian couples
do not have the right to spend their last days living together in nursing
homes.
>> Home protection. Laws protect married seniors from being forced to sell
their homes to pay high nursing home bills; gay and lesbian seniors have no
such protection.
>> Pensions. After the death of a worker, most pension plans pay survivor
benefits only to a legal spouse of the participant. Gay and lesbian partners are
excluded from such pension benefits.[/url]