Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Will You Marry Me, Dad?


Oh, the things we did for love ... and equality:

The Daily News reports:
A Pennsylvania couple’s bid to enter into a same-sex marriage has hit an unusual snag — because the pair are technically parent and child. Nino Esposito, 78, adopted his partner Drew Bosee, 68, three years ago — before same-sex nuptials were legal — in order to gain inheritance rights and other benefits afforded to straight couples. “We thought it was never going to come to Pennsylvania in our lifetime,” said Bosee, a former freelance writer. But the legal maneuver has backfired now that the long-time partners, together since 1970, want to get married. While same-sex couples can wed, parents and children cannot. And an Allegheny County judge has refused a petition by the Pittsburgh couple to dissolve the adoption, leaving them no clear path to marriage bliss. “It’s sort of ironic that by doing the adoption, we thought we were getting ahead of the game,” Bosee said. “But instead of being a help, it’s become a roadblock, a hindrance, to what we should be allowed to do now.” Esposito and Bosee were revising their wills in 2012 when they started to seriously consider pursuing an adoption.

It was a common practice for gay couples looking for a way to access the same benefits marriage affords straight couples. But Allegheny County Judge Lawrence O’Toole ruled that state law barred him from doing the same. In a June opinion, O'Toole suggested a higher court was the proper venue to reverse the adoption, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. O’Toole noted that he was “sensitive to the situation Mr. Esposito and Mr. Bosee found themselves,” and added that he “welcomes direction from our appellate courts.” Esposito and Bosee have filed an appeal to the state Superior Court. Arguments are expected to get underway in early December.
Now get this thing sorted out and let them marry. What a travesty that they're being punished again on top of already being discriminated against in the first place.

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