A comment I made today to friends on my Facebook page, about my first-time visit to a new dentist today, now that I have healthcare coverage under the ACA — this comment follows on what Dahlia Lithwick says in her Slate article that I excerpted earlier today:
Here's an example of the quandaries created for LGBT citizens by the Supremes' lack of moral fortitude in simply knocking down all bans on marriage equality nationwide as unconstitutional. Today, I went to the dentist for the first time in many months (thank you, Affordable Care Act, for coverage!). The form I filled out as a new patient asked me who has a right to review my records, whom to call in an emergency, etc. Steve is that person for me, of course.
But in the section of the form that asks his relationship to me, I honestly did not know if I am legally permitted — given the stay on same-sex marriage in Arkansas — to list him as my husband. So I left the slot blank (and, at one point, put "friend"). If the state Supremes had not stayed same-sex marriage, I would have no shadow of doubt about the legal status of our marriage in May. As things now stand, we continue to live in limbo and not to know how medical providers and others will be permitted to treat us if we register as spouses.
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