Do you think people who are cohabiting/living together and married should have e

1. 63

   alexandriaruthkposted 12 years ago

   Do you think people who are cohabiting/living together and married should have equal rights?
   
   In terms of benefits, it seems that some people only get married because couples can mutually support each according i. e, health insurance and other support which they can't do if they are just cohabiting.
   
   Do you think married and unmarried couples should have equal rights?

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2. 0

   JThomp42posted 12 years ago

   No. It would be too confusing. Nothing is guaranteed in life, so you could break up in a few months. Then what?

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   1. 71

      dashingscorpioposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      With a divorce rate hovering over 50% one can't exactly say marriage is forever either. :-) I believe it's up to employers to decide if they want to offer domestic partner benefits. Marriage is a personal choice not a requirement.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Agreed. But, Relationships can be infatuation and fly by night situations. With marriage at least it is considered a life changing situation by insurance Co.

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3. 72

   lburmasterposted 12 years ago

   Not entirely. Marriage is a giant step that should be restored in society's view and respected. Marriage used to have meaning, it was a bond between two people. Now it is just trampled on. Unmarried couples do not deserve the respect of a married couple. They have done nothing to earn that respect.

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      dashingscorpioposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      "Unmarried couples do not deserve the respect of a married couple. They have done nothing to earn that respect." I think respect should not be based upon one's "marital status" but rather how they conduct themselves as a couple.

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      lburmasterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      And getting married is a sign of how they conduct themselves.

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      algarveviewposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Getting married shouldn't earn anybody respect, being true to each other, loving each other and living life in a right way, should... I know a lot of marriages that are a disgrace to the institution of marriage...

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   4. 71

      dashingscorpioposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      How much respect did you have for the Kim Kardashian And Chris Humphries marriage? Saying, "I do" says very little about one's character. Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell have lived together for 30 years! Do they deserve less respect than Kim & Chr

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   5. 72

      lburmasterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't know they were married and celebrities should never be an idol for marriage. And yes, 30 years earns much more respect. Two individuals remaining together for 30 years is a beautiful thing that should be seen more often.

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4. 0

   Garifaliaposted 12 years ago

   I'm really slow and you'll have to bear with me a bit. If a couple is living together for two years or more or married for that length of time, why shouldn't they have equal rights? I'm confused about why this is an issue. Isn't true that all sound people choose to live with another at their own free will? If they share expenses, good and bad health, heartache and happiness, why shouldn't they have equal rights?

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This is not the way it works in the United States. What happens if you break up? Have everything redone when you meet someone else?

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      Garifaliaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Obviously you mean that there should be paper work to fill out about insurance and health benefits, etc. You're absolutely right about short term relationships. Perhaps there should be a policiy about a length of time the couple has been together.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I Totally agree.

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5. 74

   algarveviewposted 12 years ago

   I think so, after all it is the same as a marriage. Some people can claim, what if people break up in a few months, but the same can happen in a marriage, people can get divorced in months or even weeks (I've heard of that). I lived together for 4 years before getting married and I am now married for 8 years and nothing changed when I got married apart from the celebration and the honeymoon, so same situation, same benefits... That's my view on it...

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6. 81

   austinhealyposted 12 years ago

   They do in some countries (Europe for example) And why not ? Marriage is not much more than a piece of paper, and in case of failure, extremely costly and sometimes bitter to undo. The commitment is not the marriage in itself, but the will and desire to live together as a couple.

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7. 66

   nina64posted 12 years ago

   This is a sticky subject!!!!! My opinion is that marriage is a legal and binding contract between two people; and all that they create and obtain during those years of marriage is theirs together. But two people just living together is just that; they are playing house without the benefit and legal ramifications of marriage. They can just walk away at any time and leave their partner with all the bills and emotional baggage. To me, that is not fair!!!! Either partner is left to suffer and has to start all over again. All this can be prevented with the benefit of marriage. Don't get me wrong, marriage has its share of good and bad too. Married people have more reasons to stay because they have so much more invested in their relationship. But couples living together shouldn't have equal rights when it comes to health insurance etc It seems as if they are taking away the sacred meaning out of marriage and all that it stands for.Why not just go ahead and get married so that they can get the necessary health insurance and other benefits.

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   swagata misraposted 12 years ago

   According  me "No" ,
   both situations are not equal..so providing equal rights is not so wise.
   (People may differ in views ..no issues! ).
   Let me explain why:
   
   -With marriage comes a sense of security not just financial but moral.. this is sort of dubious in a live-in relationship..
   -Trust on one another is strengthened by marriage there's a 'belief/trust' that your partner accepts you for life..but you can just 'hope' for loyalty  in a live in relationship,because if the live in partners would have been so confident of their relationship..they would have married each other and not just live-in .

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      dashingscorpioposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      With a divorce rate of 50% it's all about (hope). Just because there are more hoops to jump through to end a marriage does not make it more secure. Married people cheat separate just like live-in couples do. Security is a state of mind.

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9. 60

   Sunny2o0oposted 12 years ago

   It depends what you mean by "rights."  If you're asking if I think a cohabiting couple should have the same right not to be harassed by their neighbors as a married couple, or not to be discriminated against in terms of where they live, then yes, I would say that married and cohabiting couples should have the same rights.
   
   If when you say "rights," you mean the ability to file a joint tax return, enjoy social security or spousal benefits after the death of one partner, or have one partner's employee-provided health insurance cover the other person, than my answer is no.  Marriage confers a set of legal benefits that cohabitation does not.  When you are providing a legal benefit, it is not unreasonable to ask the people who will be receiving it to either fill out or fulfill the legal requirements necessary to obtain it.
   
   Marriage provides a paper trail, which makes it easy to determine who is entitled to what.  Do sham marriages occur?  Absolutely.  But you'll be adding a whole new layer of fraud if you start saying that people who cohabitate are entitled to the same benefits as marriage couples.  What's to stop roommates of the opposite sex from filing joint tax returns, or applying for "cohabitation" status when it comes to health insurance?

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