one called the sinner who gets violated and murdered. Gay activists hold Shepard as an icon to inspire new resolve to change the legal climate. To lawmakers who have resisted passing hate-crime legislation, he is just one more irritant to explain away or ignore. What the Law Says We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…with certain unalienable Rights…among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…it is their right…to throw off such Government… (Jefferson par. 2)In most countries, married couples exercise certain rights. These rights may be civil (such as the right not to have a spouse testify against one in a court of law), social (such as adoption rights), or economic (such as the right to file a joint tax return). They vary widely from country to country. These rights may include, but aren’t limited to (see Fig.1): the right to joint custody of children; the right to adopt children; rights to inherit one another's property; spousal immigration rights, including the right to extend one's citizenship to one's spouse and children; rights to power of attorney; co-ownership of property; execution of living wills and/or medical decision-making power in cases of incapacitation; rights to share insurance and pension benefits; and the right to receive and dispose of a spouse's body in the event of death (Partnership). Governments that have created registries for same-sex couples have approached the issue in terms of equal protection and non-discrimination, and have avoided infringing on the rights of religious organizations to control their own policies with regard to same-sex unions. Legislators, policymakers, and human rights advocates have begun to address...
