It is disturbing and demoralizing to be treated as a second-class citizen and worker.

Under current law, the Federal Government cannot offer basic benefits like health insurance, life insurance, dental or vision insurance to domestic partners of our gay and lesbian Federal employees.

We've had a researcher from the engineering school leave the State with an NSF grant that totaled more than it would have cost to implement the domestic partnership benefits State-wide in Wisconsin because of the indignity of the unequal…

Marriage by another name is of concern to me and I think the majority of Americans.

That would be very welcome.

Simply put, extending benefits to same-sex partners is a good, practical, bottom-line business decision.

Because of the Defense of Marriage Act, even those same-sex couples who are afforded the right to marry in certain States would not have those marriages recognized currently at the Federal level.

I want to make very clear that this bill contains strong antifraud provisions, requiring employees to file an affidavit of eligibility in order to extend benefits to their domestic partners.

Being treated so unfairly now because of who I love is more than a matter of fairness; it is an issue of civil rights.

This issue is hard only because we make it so.

LGBT Americans are not demanding so-called special rights, as some claim, through this or any other bill.

You see, the issue we are here to address is not about personal belief, and it is not the definition of marriage.