After nearly 7 years of marriage the ladies are calling it quits.  Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Melissa Ethridge officially split from her longtime partner Tammy Lynn Michaels last week.  The couple entered their domestic partnership in California in 2003 because same-sex marriage was, and still is, banned in the state.  As domestic partners, Ethridge and Micheals were not recognized as spouses under state or federal law.

Domestic partnerships provide certain legal protections to people who live together but who are not allowed to marry.  These protections include, but are not limited to, property ownership and division, visitation rights, and support obligations.  Fortunately for Ethridge and Michaels their domestic partnership afforded them the same community property and spousal support rights as any other married couple. 

In New York, domestic partnerships have been available since 1997.  To register for a domestic partnership, both parties must be over the age of 18, unmarried, and not in another domestic partnership.  They also must have lived together for an extended period of time and have a close personal relationship.  Under New York law, domestic partners have the right to hospital visits, the right to serve as the sole beneficiary of a deceased partner's assets, the right to obtain healthcare under a partner, and so on. 

While domestic partnerships have their benefits, they still do not provide the same rights as marriage.  In my opinion, it is unacceptable that marriage is not available to everyone in this day and age.  As progressive as we are as a nation, this is one area where we have not yet evolved.  Same-sex marriage remains a hotly contested issue throughout the U.S. and New York is no exception.  The city does recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states; and a recent poll indicated that New Yorkers were in favor of legislating the institution.  The same-sex marriage debate raises Constitutional, economic, and moral issues all of which must eventually be addressed.  Until that time same-sex couples must settle for domestic partnerships, which provide unequal rights.  Limited rights do not seem to promote equality for all, but until the country resolves this issue I guess we have to work with what we've got.