Following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it is evident that same-sex couples and their families will not gain access to the same resources and relief given to their heterosexual counterparts. This obvious inequality at a time of destitute and intense suffering rattles the very soul of our movement for full equality, and represents in undeniable clarity the reason our community has pushed so hard to advance the civil rights of same-sex couples.

Not since the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic has the need for spousal benefits been more apparent. When AIDS hit, same-sex couples had little to no representation under federal and state law. Even basic rights, from visitation privileges and the ability to make medical decisions on behalf of sick partners to property rights and Social Security benefits, were not recognized.

Our rights have since expanded in some parts of the United States. The GLBT community fought back, organizing the strongest push for gay and lesbian rights since Stonewall. The thousands affected by AIDS painted vivid pictures for politicians, lawmakers and the mainstream community, illustrating – in primary colors – the need for basic protections for same-sex couples.

California, for example, has the most progressive domestic partnership law in the country, outside of Massachusetts, which has full marriage equality. Both provide all the rights and privileges of marriage granted at the state level.

This Tuesday our state Assembly made history, passing the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (AB 849). Making it through both the state Senate and Assembly, the bill now goes to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desk for approval. If signed into law, this bill would grant same-sex couples full marriage equality in the state of California.

Other states have not fared as well as us Californians. The states hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina have laws written into their state constitutions designed to limit rights of same-sex couples and GLBT families.

Louisiana has a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and prevents the state from recognizing any legal status for common-law relationships, domestic partnerships or civil unions. Mississippi and Alabama both have state-level Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMAs), which also deny rights to gay and lesbian couples.

Commentary from those at ground zero talks about the humbling effect the hurricane has had on the population. Everything has been reduced to nothing, they say, in effect making everyone the same.

As beautifully simple as this may seem, the fact remains that we are not all equal. Our inequality has been written into the very fabric of our society through laws separating our community from the rest. Like AIDS, Hurricane Katrina’s devastation illustrates just how unequal our families truly are.

At the federal level, the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from allocating relief in the form of family benefits to GLBT victims. In regard to same-sex couples in which one partner has died due to Katrina, DOMA prevents the surviving partner from receiving Social Security benefits at both the state and federal level.

If the deceased was the birth or adopted parent, children could be taken away from the surviving parent and placed with blood relatives or in foster homes.

If property is in the name of the deceased partner, all insurance payouts would go to the estate or the closet blood relative instead of the surviving partner. Medical decisions, hospital visitation rights and/or funeral and burial rights are also not guaranteed.

GLBTs in California cannot afford to be complacent. Yes, we do currently enjoy expansive protections under our domestic partnership laws. However, our opponents are already working on two competing discriminatory amendments to the California Constitution, both of which aim to ban same-sex marriage in California and roll back our domestic partnership rights. With opponents already out gathering signatures for the June 2006 ballot, these propositions threaten the very core of what it means to be equal in this country – the right to ensure the protection of our partners and families. We must not let this initiative pass.

As aid pours into the Katrina relief effort, we ask you, do you know where your dollar is going – or more importantly, where it is not going? Send money to organizations that support GLBT families. For a list of GLBT-friendly relief organizations, see page 14.