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So I decided to check out @joebiden and @KamalaHarris' plan for marriage equality, and I realize that it would still not allow every disabled person to marry - I would be one of those people.
For reference this is what the page says:
"Reform the SSI program so that it doesn’t limit beneficiaries’ freedom to marry, save, or live where they choose. Biden will work with Congress and the disability community to ...
"Reform the SSI program so that it doesn’t limit beneficiaries’ freedom to marry, save, or live where they choose. Biden will work with Congress and the disability community to ...
... eliminate the SSI marriage penalty and “in-kind support and maintenance” provision and raise the asset limits associated with SSI that have not been increased since 1984."
About a year ago I was approached by multiple people that I now know to have worked on the Biden campaign. They reached out to me to learn about the work I was doing on marriage equality.
I very enthusiastically shared everything I could think of with them about the work I've been doing for almost 20 years. I thought I was gaining an ally. Only to find out that they turned around and gave all that info to the campaign, excluding to mention any of my specific work.
This is why I get angry about this stuff. What they ended up coming up with was only addressing SSI.
SSI is just one of a plethora of programs that disabled people face penalties from if they get married.
SSI is just one of a plethora of programs that disabled people face penalties from if they get married.
It doesn't address those living on the adult disabled children program of SSDI who are basically labeled the "burden of their parents" and once they get married they become the "burden of their spouse." These people would still not be able to get married.
This doesn't address the issue with programs like Medicaid, which is the only program offering long-term support services like homecare. Medicaid is based on how much income you make, and how much income your spouse makes.
So even if you get SSI, if you also need Medicaid for homecare, you still won't be able to get married.
Because the people who gave this info to Biden haven't been the ones working on this issue, they don't understand it the way those of us who have and therefore they have given insufficient information to solve this issue. This is not marriage equality.
There can be no marriage equality until ALL PEOPLE who are legally consenting adults have the right to get married without penalty or prevention of any kind.
