http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/IndyCitizen/ en-us <p>peacetoyou,</p> <p>I agree with you mostly that it is unfortunate that <b>privacy issues</b> show up on the ballot, especially like issues concerning a woman's right to choose. That clearly is the business between spouses and doctor.&nbsp; Domestic partnership, or pairage, is slightly different though.&nbsp; We had a case here in Portland, Oregon last year where two men had been living together as partners for 49 years when one fell to prostrate cancer.&nbsp; The hospital denied visitation by his partner because he wasn't <i>family</i>.&nbsp; It was a rather sad end to a sad story.</p> <p>Also, Oregon has documented 136 cases in the past three&nbsp;years&nbsp;of gay or lesbian citizens being fired from a job or turned down for rental housing JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE GAY.&nbsp; If gay people were legally recognized as a couple this would never be an issue.&nbsp; Legal recognition seems to be the only remedy in this situation.</p> <p>Hopefully one day in the future discussions like this won't be necessary.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/IndyCitizen//#c_240581 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/IndyCitizen//#c_240581 <p>peacetoyou,</p> <p>I agree with you mostly that it is unfortunate that <b>privacy issues</b> show up on the ballot, especially like issues concerning a woman's right to choose. That clearly is the business between spouses and doctor.&nbsp; Domestic partnership, or pairage, is slightly different though.&nbsp; We had a case here in Portland, Oregon last year where two men had been living together as partners for 49 years when one fell to prostrate cancer.&nbsp; The hospital denied visitation by his partner because he wasn't <i>family</i>.&nbsp; It was a rather sad end to a sad story.</p> <p>Also, Oregon has documented 136 cases in the past three&nbsp;years&nbsp;of gay or lesbian citizens being fired from a job or turned down for rental housing JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE GAY.&nbsp; If gay people were legally recognized as a couple this would never be an issue.&nbsp; Legal recognition seems to be the only remedy in this situation.</p> <p>Hopefully one day in the future discussions like this won't be necessary.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Wow there are at least 4 other&nbsp;progressives in Tehachapi, LOL.</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/IndyCitizen//#c_253199 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/IndyCitizen//#c_253199 <p>Wow there are at least 4 other&nbsp;progressives in Tehachapi, LOL.</p> <p>There will be a day in history when we look back on the &quot;gay bashing&quot; days as we do with the &quot;segregation of races.&quot;--in disbelief it happened in our lifetime.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/IndyCitizen//#c_254008 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/IndyCitizen//#c_254008 <p>There will be a day in history when we look back on the &quot;gay bashing&quot; days as we do with the &quot;segregation of races.&quot;--in disbelief it happened in our lifetime.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>