Those who can marry often take these rights for granted, but for gay men, lesbians and, transsexuals, these benefits are forever denied.
Alternatives to legal marriage include Holy Unions, civic registries, domestic partnership agreements and civil unions. Holy unions are performed by a church official and provide no legal rights. Civil registries are hosted by individual cities and "registering" may be required to apply for domestic partnership benefits by place of employment. Registration alone however, does not usually provide any additional legal rights. Domestic partnership agreements vary by the attorney who files them, but usually include a will, a living will, a power-of-attorney and a co-resident agreement. These don't always hold up in court, if challenged, but they're a good start.
Russell Brown Interview
Russell Brown is the Senior Art Director and Ethic Advisor for Regis Corporation. Regis Corporation owns a chain of beauty salons across the United States and some salons located in other countries. They own Master Cuts, Cross Cutters, Regis, Mae & Max, etc. Russell Brown owned his own hair salon for eleven years before closing to work for Regis. …