The proposed Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2007 takes an important step towards increasing fairness in access to health care for federal employees who are in unmarried relationships.  (Click here to read the bill and see who sponsored it.) 

But it falls short in three ways.

First, it falls short of the standard set by other employers. Ninety-five percent of employers that cover domestic partners do so inclusively: their employees’ partners can access health care without regard to gender. Domestic partner benefits were originally invented to recognize family diversity in the workplace, not to appease the valid hunger for same-sex marriage.

Second, it falls short of the needs of federal employees. It is not fair to offer benefits only to federal employees who are married or not allowed to marry. If the federal government sees the value of supporting employees' families, then it should seek to support all true families. Unmarried families exist for myriad reasons. As a whole, they have more in common with the universe of married families than any one married family has in common with any other married family. All people should freely choose whether to marry; no one should be forced into the complex, often costly, legal status of marriage simply by the need for health care.

Third, it falls short of the expectations of the majority of American households. Since 2005, the majority of American households have been headed by unmarried people. The number of unmarried people reporting themselves to the Census as domestic partners is rising quickly, passing 12 million in 2006. Nearly 4.7 million children are being raised by domestic partners. These are families, and they deserve equal access to health care; yet, they are more likely to be uninsured than other families.

The fact is that married households are a shrinking proportion of American society, and the economic and demographic trends behind this fact are not going away. We marry for love and divorce when love is lost; we marry older; we live longer; we cherish our economic independence; we place high value on a variety of relationships; we define our families to include all the people we care for, not just the ones who are government-certified. The American people rightly expect the federal government to reflect the people’s values and to respect the people’s real lives.

Congress has taken a small step by proposing the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act. Congress should amend the bill to include all domestic partners, without gender discrimination.  Click here to tell your Congressperson what you think!