Thursday, September 18, 2008

Why Marriage Matters: Gay Seniors

Sorry folks, been away too long.  Moved back to LA, and am settling in nicely.  Gosh, the weather's great.  What was also great?  Same sex marriage being legal in California!  That is until those nasty, bitter conservo wackos decided to propose de-legalizing same sex marriage.  I consider this akin to George Wallace standing on the steps of an Arkansas school declaring, Over my dead body!  

Read this article on LGBT seniors, and tell me why their social security isn't in place, why they are taxed on death and in life unfairly, why, why why?!

It ain't right.

For those who can afford it, there are gay-specific retirement communities and free service centers dotted around the nation, mostly in urban areas. But most regular nursing homes give shared-room preference to their married clients, and only a few states require employers to give leave for employees caring for same-sex partners. Inside care centers, advocates tell stories of social workers using gloves to treat only their gay patients, or those patients being shuffled around from room to room to avoid harassment from other residents. In rare cases, social workers say that couples have gone to the extent of agreeing not to visit each other, for fear the staff will treat them differently. And many patients revert back into the closet to protect themselves. "If you can imagine a situation where you're 80 years old, with no kids, a partner passed, no cousins or relatives and not one service that will provide you help with an emoticon of respect, that's what most LGBT seniors in this country face right now," says Michael Adams, SAGE's executive director. - http://www.newsweek.com/id/159509/