To the Editor:
This letter is in response to the article on " Traditional Marriage can't be redefined by alternative lifestyles." [RI?Catholic, Oct. 2, ‘The Quiet Corner’] I am in agreement with Fr. Kiley's premise that marriage should be defined as the union between a man and a woman. Unfortunately, as he alludes to in his article, only couples in a lawful marriage have rights that are protected by the federal government.
Those couples in a civil union or domestic partnership are not afforded those rights. Areas affected by this include Social Security benefits, veteran's benefits, health insurance, Medicaid, hospital visitation, estate taxes, retirement savings, pensions, and immigration laws. The federal government guarantees 1,049 rights and protections to U.S. couples in marriage only. No wonder gay couples want desperately to be able to marry like heterosexual couples can.
It is my hope that as the Church pushes for a Federal Marriage Ammendment, they put an equal amount of effort into gaining constitutional benefits for same-sex couples. In my heart I know Jesus would not condone them being treated as inferior citizens and he would want the Church to promote and defend their basic rights as U.S. citizens.
Robert Midura
Warwick
