With the deadline for filing taxes today, members of the gay community in State College and across the country are reminded of the inequalities they face.
Gay couples typically pay higher taxes because they do not receive the same tax benefits that go along with marriage, according to The Associated Press.
Ricardo Torres (senior-energy, business and finance), who was involved with the pride commitment ceremony held by the Penn State Coalition of LGBTA Graduate Students last month, said he thinks same-sex couples should be allowed the same rights as straight couples when it comes to taxes.
"On the whole issue of rights that a same-sex couple is afforded versus a straight couple, taxes are just one of the big issues economically," he said. "But there are more than 1,200 federal benefits tied to marriage."
In 1997, nine states and Washington, D.C., began offering domestic partnerships and civil unions that offer some or all of the benefits of marriage, according to The Associated Press.
Pennsylvania is not among them.
However, state protections do not apply to federal taxes because of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act in which the government defines marriage as being allowed exclusively between a man and woman.
At tax time, same-sex couples not only encounter higher bills, they also must go through additional tax filing processes, especially in states that do provide some joint tax benefits to gay couples.
In these states, couples can file their state taxes together, but they have to file their federal tax returns as individuals.
State College Mayor Bill Welch, who presided over the pride commitment ceremony, said marriage is a civil contract laid out in Pennsylvania law. He said he believes if gay and lesbian marriages become legal, they will be given the same benefits as any other married couple.
"I think anyone should be able to be included in the contract whether it is boys with girls, boys with boys or girls with girls," he said.
A representative from Penn State Orthodox Christian Fellowship, whose members protested the pride commitment ceremony, declined to comment last night.
Torres said he believes church and state are not being kept separate in this case.
"One of the things that gets lost in the argument is that there is a division between church and government and that makes the argument more clouded," he said. "The religion aspect should be left out of it -- all we want are equal rights."
