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News & ArtsFriday, October 23, 2009
Hetero R-71: Do It for the (Straight) Seniors
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 12:30 PM
A darling video from the campaign to approve Referendum 71:
1
In my research data we get a lot of old people who live together who are of the same gender. They're not married, and a lot of them are straight.
Do it for them - straight or gay, it's nobody's business what goes on in their bedrooms.
Do it for them - straight or gay, it's nobody's business what goes on in their bedrooms.
2
The right wingers aren't fighting Referendum 71 based on the fact that domestic partnerships would be available to seniors. They're fighting this based on the fact that 93% of the more than 5000 registered domestic partnerships are lgbt. This is a gay rights issue and it doesn't advance us or help the campaign to hide behind senior citizens to make gay rights more palatable to bigots. We demand full equality because anything less is still second class status and if, in the struggle for full equality, the rights of non-lgbt people are expanded, all the better for us all.
3
I support gay marriage and this referendum (MN resident), but the whole video's argument is dependent on this statement from the man: "I just can't afford to do her medical stuff, if we got married. There's no way I could afford that."
How does that make sense? Is their domestic partnership some kind of health insurance loophole? And when Washington state finally does get gay marriage, won't it replace all these domestic partner laws and strip them of their status anyway?
How does that make sense? Is their domestic partnership some kind of health insurance loophole? And when Washington state finally does get gay marriage, won't it replace all these domestic partner laws and strip them of their status anyway?
4
People who live together and can marry, should marry and stop this cohabitating without benefit of clergy.
5
@4 - do they all have to get preggers too? Are you saying my grandma shouldn't have remarried in her 50s to my grandpa?
Why do you hate America, raindrop?
Why do you hate America, raindrop?
6
STUPID IDIOTS
She has good health insurance from a dead husband - still on his pension and health care plan. If they marry, she looses it and now can't afford the meds and service to stay alive.
GET IT NOW /
Good ad, I am touched - gay guy who is pleased to have these folks speak out.
( I want to live by a lake with no other person in sight, God, looks so calm and peaceful and quiet) Skinney dipping anyone?
She has good health insurance from a dead husband - still on his pension and health care plan. If they marry, she looses it and now can't afford the meds and service to stay alive.
GET IT NOW /
Good ad, I am touched - gay guy who is pleased to have these folks speak out.
( I want to live by a lake with no other person in sight, God, looks so calm and peaceful and quiet) Skinney dipping anyone?
7
Also, there is the part where he mentions that it's much easier to visit her in the hospital now -- a facet of domestic partnership that affects senior cohabiting couples disproportionately.
8
For what it's worth, EqualityAcrossAmerica, this is only one of several videos of couples' stories the campaign and the ACLU just put out, and the only one featuring a straight couple.
10
The add was touching and raised some interesting questions, but, about the "visiting her in the hospital," thing....I work in a hospital. We'd _never_ discourage someone from being visited by whomever they wanted. I suppose if the patient couldn't speak for herself, the blood family could make a stink about it, but that would be taken care of if she had a living will/durable power of attorney for health care that assigned the gentleman power to make medical decisions for her if she were incapacitated. I've followed more boyfriends into "patient only, no visitors" parts of the hospital, just by saying, "Look, I'm the one providing emotional and practical support, here - you simply _must_ let me go with him," and I've never met any serious resistance. I do work in a city, though. Maybe it's different in rural hospitals.
12
@ 10-
While that has been my experience with hospitals, even in rural areas, laws like this are not passed for most decent human beings with compassionate hearts. They're passed for the 1/10,000 chance that you'll encounter some type of rabid, right-wing, bible-thumper who creates a gawd-awful mess for a couple in the worse crisis of their lives.
My partner fell from his bike, cracked his skull and was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Morton, WA. Everyone there was completely cool with me making any/all medical decisions for him, since his head-injury rendered him incapable of making his own decisions. We had only a Durable Power of Attorney For Healthcare at the time. But some wing-nut in admitting or the ER, could have made my/our life a living hell of technicalities, had their religion dictated they do so.
I'm thankful for the DP laws, making it a CRIME to pull that kind of crap, rather than just a 'personal conviction' against gays, or straights 'living in sin'. Hence the need for these type of laws on the books.
While that has been my experience with hospitals, even in rural areas, laws like this are not passed for most decent human beings with compassionate hearts. They're passed for the 1/10,000 chance that you'll encounter some type of rabid, right-wing, bible-thumper who creates a gawd-awful mess for a couple in the worse crisis of their lives.
My partner fell from his bike, cracked his skull and was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Morton, WA. Everyone there was completely cool with me making any/all medical decisions for him, since his head-injury rendered him incapable of making his own decisions. We had only a Durable Power of Attorney For Healthcare at the time. But some wing-nut in admitting or the ER, could have made my/our life a living hell of technicalities, had their religion dictated they do so.
I'm thankful for the DP laws, making it a CRIME to pull that kind of crap, rather than just a 'personal conviction' against gays, or straights 'living in sin'. Hence the need for these type of laws on the books.
14
Hey 12: Yeh, for sure - I couldn't agree more that we must legislate protections for gays (and whomever else) against the crazies. No argument. I was only surprised that a hetero couple met, or imagined they might one day meet, resistance to partner involvement during hospitalizations. I've never actually seen or heard of such a thing happening anywhere I've worked. I didn't mean to sound complacent......
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