Choose a final resting place for a deceased partner. Take bereavement or sick leave to care for a partner or child. Obtain wrongful death benefits for a surviving partner and children. Apply for immigration and residency for partners from other countries. Visit a partner or child in the hospital and other public institutions.
Marriage is an important personal choice and a basic human right.
The decision to get married belongs to the couple in love, not the state. Many lesbian, gay men and transgender people have children, but are denied the right to raise those children within a marital relationship. Marriage is best understood as a relationship of emotional and financial interdependence between two people in love who make a legal and public commitment to each other. In certain cities and companies, there is limited recognition of relationships between unmarried partners, including same-sex couples. No domestic partnership plan, however, can provide the same responsibilities, benefits, and protections that marriage does.