The Reds and the Blues of Marriage by Another Name

Married With Children ran for 10 seasons, but perhaps Mr. Belvedere had more to offer in terms of moral education. Seems that Amehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifricans, Red, White or Blue have not learned the value of marriage at all, and they are certainly not getting the rule that you should be married when you have children. According to , a publication of the Anglican Church, the state of marriage in the United States is in crisis, even in "Red States" where the whole "Gay thing" is a non-issue.

STATS FROM THE ARTICLE
While this is not exactly groundbreaking news, the stats were cool.

States Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage
Massachusetts

States Legalizing Civil Unions for Same-Sex Couples
Connecticut
Vermont
New Jersey
New Hampshire*

Domestic Partnerships for Same-Sex Couples
California
Oregon
Washington
Hawaii

Twenty-Seven states currently have constitutional bans on Same-Sex Marriage, or have constitutionally defined marriage as being "between one-man and one-woman."

Marriage Rates by State
So-Called "Red States": between 5 and 7 percent, annually
Examples given were Arkansas, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah
So-Called "Blue States": between 2.4 and 2.8 percent
Examples given were Pennsylvania**, New Jersey, Delaware and Connecticut.

Cohabitation Outside of Marriage by State
"Reds"
Alabama - 6%
Mississippi - 8%
Kansas - 8%
Arkansas - 8%
"Blues"
Vermont - 14%
Maine - 13%
Oregon - 12%
Washington - 12%

"However, there are moral chinks in the armor of the Red States, which have the highest divorce rates and the highest percentages of babies born out-of-wedlock. Half of the babies born in Mississippi and Louisiana are to unwed parents - which is double the rate of New Hampshire."

And, "...Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are tied for the lowest divorce rates at 11 divorces per 1,000 married couples per year, while Arkansas and Oklahoma are more than twice as high at 25 divorces each per 1,000, and West Virginia, at 23."


*Note that the article called New Hampshire a "Blue State," but it is historically swing state. In the past 6 elections, New Hampshire has gone Republican three times. The three times it went Blue it was by a margin of less than 2 percent.
**Pennsylvania is also, historically, a swing state.

Items missed by this article are the important distinctions between Marriage, Civil Union and Domestic Partnership - all of which are equally weighted according to VirtueOnline

Rights guaranteed to couples in Civil Unions, Domestic Partnerships or Registered Partnership are defined by the state in which they are granted. In ALL cases, they are only a fraction of those extended to Married couples, and these unions are NOT recognized outside of the granting state.

Examples of rights not yet included the definitions of unions in any state:

Countless Inheritance Laws - i.e. Protection from being disinherited and election or waiver of community property.

Rights to Bereavement Leave

Laws Protecting the Rights of Surviving Spouses - i.e. "Homestead" Protection Against Creditors and Tax Reassessment Upon Death

Laws Protecting Social Security and Workers Compensation Benefits for Surviving Spouses - i.e. benefits for the entire family, increased Social Security Payments, and Social Security Death Benefits

Pension and Tax Laws protecting Surviving Spouses - i.e. IRA and 401K roll-over, and Unlimited Marital Deduction which allows transfer of property to a spouse upon death without the gift or estate taxes applied.

Burial Rights - i.e. protection of plots and family cemeteries

Countless laws protecting the Decision-Making Rights of Surviving Spouses in Burial Arrangements

Law Protecting the Benefits of Surviving Spouses of Veterans, Firefighters and Police Officers

Death is not the only time married couple reap the benefits of getting hitched. There are also laws which govern a spouses responsibility to protect one another in marriage and in divorce, and any children involved in the family. These rights are not protected in any other type of union.

So, perhaps VirtueOnline needs to do some research before stating that Civil Union or Domestic Partnership is marriage by another name. Yes, there is the initial tax breaks, but that does not mean that those participating in these unions are protected by the thousands of laws that make a marriage legally binding.