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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
HANNAH WISE/KANSAN
The Scheweda-Stokopf family from left, Evan, Hayley, Ken, Maddie and Tristen. The children are Ken's from a previous marriage. He and his ex-wife are still friendly, and the kids think it is great because they essentially have three parents involved in their lives.
Back to reality
MARRIAGE FROM PAGE 1A
After about a year of dating, Evan and Ken traveled to Florida. Evan said he brought Ken out to a bridge leading into a wooded area by the beach with the sunset in the backdrop. When Ken turned, Evan was down on one knee proposing.
A year later, Evan was accepted to a school in Chicago, and they broke up for about a month.
"We got to the point where we could drink an entire bottle of wine while we talked." Evan said. "I ended up giving up the school and moving back, because apparently crying and drinking wine over Skype isn't a healthy relationship."
After Evan moved back to Kansas he began the couple's application to be married in Iowa.
"Two weeks in advance we called up our five straight buddies and drove to Iowa." Evan said about their courthouse marriage. "His (Ken's) best friend actually got certified, ordained, and married us right there on the steps."
kansas does not recognize Evan and Ken's marriage. The Kansas legislature passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. The state does not recognize same-sex marriages, even if they are performed elsewhere.
Because marriage is not specifically addressed in the Constitution, it has been deemed a state government issue, not a federal issue so far. Until the Supreme Court rules otherwise, states are free to define marriage as they see fit.
A large portion of United States judicial history is centered around the rights and powers invested in state governments compared to the powers of the federal government.
The Tenth Amendment states,"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved
to the states respectively, or to the people?
The state does recognize that the men hyphenated their last names. Many same-sex couples, like Ken and Evan, have found ways to work around the state ban on same-sex marriage. Kansas state laws deny rights and many tax exemptions to same-sex couples because as far as the state is concerned, the couples are not legally married.
According to Stephen McAllister, the Kansas solicitor general, if one spouse dies, the surviving spouse will receive Social Security benefits. Same-sex couples and people who are living together but not legally married do not receive the same benefits. The same rule applies to federal taxes, landownership and contracts.
Evan just bought a new home for the family in Olathe. Kansas does not recognize his marriage, so he
had to write Ken into a living-will as the inheritor of the house instead of listing Ken as a joint tenant on the mortgage. When people have joint tenant status they are able to inherit property automatically.
"It's an additional $300 to make that happen for something that straight couples get free," Evan said.
From the beginning of the American legal system, laws were directed toward land-owning men only. Laws then moved to focusing on married and non-married as two different statuses to define individuals, and those two statuses are what most laws are currently based on.
"For most states it was just assumed that we were talking about a traditional marriage and that is how local laws were geared," McAllister said.
The desire for same-sex marriages has changed the playing field. Milton Wendland, a professor of women and
gender studies, said that throughout many communities people are looking at why marriage has to be the defining trait for how people are organized.
He referenced the Human Rights Campaign's survey for major corporations about their business practices. The survey asks the companies if they have non-discrimination policies or if they offer partner benefits.
"Most of these companies are saying, 'Yes, we do,' said Wendland. "We want to attract the best candidates for our jobs and that means offering these things."
McAllister said many aspects of the legal system are tied to marriage because same-sex marriage has become openly acceptable only in the last few decades. The American legal system is still using precedents and laws set from the earliest days of the nation.
A Nation Divided
Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, domestic partnership and other legal rights for same-sex couples.
Constitutional amendment bans same-sex marriage.
State law bans same-sex marriage.
Domestic partnerships are allowed.
Civil unions are allowed.
Same-sex marriage is legal.
There is no law regarding same-sex marriage.
Source: LA Times
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