-> On 08 Apr 09  09:54:42, Richard Webb got back to JOHN FITZGERALD 
-> Re: 3rd parties

If you saw _The Princess Bride_, the Subject line makes sense!  

 RW>   Agreed, and get us sidetracked on these other issues.  WHy
 RW>   do we need to discuss "gay rights" or what constitutes
 RW>   "marriage" and other nonissue bs and allow it to dominate
 RW>   political discourse?...

Marriage is primarily a cultural and religious construct.  It does not 
have any direct place as far as a government is concerned.  

 RW> The last thing i think about is whether my neighbor is gay.
 RW> A nonissue.  IS he a good neighbor?  IF I"m going to hire
 RW> him can he do the job?

I've been quite surprised over some people I found out were gay.  Much 
of what is 'gay' is still often thought of in a stereotypical way.  It's 
changing, but slowly. 
 
 RW> not my problem.  IF he and his partner live in such a manner they
 RW> should have access to some of the things which only benefit
 RW> heterosexual married couples. 

There are times when there's a marriage penalty. It goes back and 
forth on additional or lesser rights a married couple has. 

 RW> My lady and I are not legally married for a variety of
 RW> reasons, but could be considered common law in most states.

Here's a list of states that recognize it.  Note that in some, the law 
has been changed away from it relatively recently.  

Alabama
Colorado
District of Columbia
Georgia (if created before 1/1/97)
Idaho (if created before 1/1/96)
Iowa
Kansas
Montana
New Hampshire (for inheritance purposes only)
Ohio (if created before 10/10/91)
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania (if created before 1/1/05)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Utah


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