We urge the South Dakota Senate to defeat this gratuitous and cruel slap at its gay and lesbian citizens and at the traditional American value of equality for all. Lesbians and gay men pay taxes, work for a living, care for one another and raise children. They buy homes together and hope to grow old together.
Marriage is a civil relationship with important legal, economic and emotional consequences.
It serves to identify our primary relationships other than blood relationships, a fact that becomes most important in times of crisis. Married people are permitted to visit their husbands and wives in the intensive care units of hospitals. Marital status usually determines whether a person can take unpaid sick leave to care for a critically ill partner. It can determine inheritance. Married people can usually pool their incomes to qualify for home loans.