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Ref. I Failed? Just Get A Lawyer And Pretend!

November 14, 2006

David Harsanyi, a Denver Post columnist who once referred to the outcome of a transgender workplace discrimination case as “government-backed blackmail,” is now focusing on same-sex couples in his latest article, and shelling out advice amid the failure of Referendum I.

The guidance? Just get a lawyer. Or if you can’t afford one, then just pretend that you’re entitled to legal rights.
From the column:

“Last week, a woman I’ve known for most of my adult life died,” she wrote. “She was a lesbian. Her partner of 35 years had to call her parents here to bury her. My friend could not bury her life companion because they were not married – they were lesbians.”

…

Secondly, the letter writer, and so many others, simply misunderstand social conservatives. I’ve come to know many evangelicals, and they do not view their opposition to gay marriage as a form of intolerance. It’s precisely the opposite. They see it as a defense of children, family and the common good.

And here comes one solution…that might not even work:

But Douglas Joffe, a Denver lawyer who deals with civil unions among many other issues, says there are other ways for gay couples to create sort of a de facto civil union.
…

Joffe stresses that each situation is different, so see a lawyer.

“Even if you have everything, there is no guarantee you won’t have to fight,” he goes on. “But at least, with the paperwork, you’ll have a much better chance of success.”

But what if same-sex couples can’t afford a lawyer?

No, it’s not perfect. It’s probably not cheap. And it’s definitely undeserved.

So, I would modestly add another suggestion. Just because the state tells you you’re not married doesn’t mean you shouldn’t act or feel married.

You know, say things in public like … “My handsome husband and I went to see so and so,” or … “My wife! Isn’t she just soooo beautiful?”

But pretending doesn’t offer much comfort to individuals like this letter writer in the Rocky Mountain News, who asks honestly if she is a second-class citizen in Colorado:

I have asked myself several times if I am a second-class citizen, if I am a good person, a moral person because of whom I love, and what I am. I did not choose to be denied basic fundamental legal rights, I did not choose to be oppressed day to day, and I did not chose to be apparently immoral.

But, the truth is, I am not immoral, I have faith and a spiritual life. I am a legal citizen of the United States, born and raised in Colorado, and I will not rest easy at night until I know my rights as a citizen will be accounted for.