EQUALITY VENTURA COUNTY PROJECT 
Many lesbian and gay couples want the right to civil marriage because they are parents and know civil marriage offers their children a vital safety net. Both gay and straight allies are fighting for the right of same-sex couples to civil marriage because they recognize it is not fair to deny gay families the protections all other families are eligible to receive.
Comparing civil marriage to domestic partner benefits (DBP) is like comparing diamonds to rhinestones. One is the real deal; the other is not. Consider couples eligible for civil marriage may have their marriage performed in any state and have it recognized in every other state in the nation and every country in the world. DPB does not carry across state or national lines. In short, DPB and civil unions are not separate but equal – they are separate and unequal. America tried separate before -- it failed! The struggle for civil marriage equality for same-sex couples is not unlike the fight for interracial marriage in the landmark US Supreme Court decision ending miscegenation laws in 1967.
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 couples. Among the more than 1,400 rights secured by civil marriage (many at the Federal level):
* 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 workers receive no Social Security survivor benefits – resulting in an average annual income loss of $5,528 upon the death of a partner.
* 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.
* Immigration rights. Bi-national families are commonly broken up or forced to leave the country to stay together. The reason: U.S. immigration law does not permit American citizens to petition for their same-sex partners to immigrate.
* 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.
Equality Ventura County is currently targeting outreach and education to three groups:
Faith Outreach Committee Vision Statement:
We believe that if we can truly listen to one another's stories, with open minds, open hearts and begin to understand the basis for one another's views, that we will find places of commonality that outweigh our differences. And we believe that someday, we will come to understand one another.
We believe that if we can truly listen to one another's stories, with open minds, open hearts and begin to understand the basis for one another's views, that we will find places of commonality that outweigh our differences. And we believe that someday, we will come to understand one another.
LGBT Outreach Committee Vision Statement:
By providing educational and recreational opportunities, Equality Ventura County’s LGBT Committee seeds to empower, enlighten, and bring together the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population of Ventura County.
Senior Citizen Outreach Committee Vision Statement:
Successful outreach to Ventura County seniors will have the effect of closing some of the generational gap that exists regarding LGBT issues for this population and bring about an improved understanding of the issues faced by their children, grandchildren, friends and extended family members.
By providing educational and recreational opportunities, Equality Ventura County’s LGBT Committee seeds to empower, enlighten, and bring together the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population of Ventura County.
Senior Citizen Outreach Committee Vision Statement:
Successful outreach to Ventura County seniors will have the effect of closing some of the generational gap that exists regarding LGBT issues for this population and bring about an improved understanding of the issues faced by their children, grandchildren, friends and extended family members.
For additional information about the EQUALITY VENTURA PROJECT and how to get involved or to be added to the mailing list contact:
Funding to support Equality Ventura Project provided generously by:
Social Jusice Fund of Ventura County
Find about SJF of Ventura County HERE