Yesterday I took the youngest two out to do some errands with me around the area. I took them up to pay our property taxes. Writing that check stunk! I mean I get the pay our taxes or they take our house thing. I get the part that our taxes helps pay for the running of our government.
However, why should we be forking over taxes for a government that doesn't treat us as equals?
I am not advocating a revolt. Really. I am advocating EQUALITY! If we are expected to be full monetary participants in our government why should I not expect to be allowed full participant status? Should my marriage not be recognized so that we can be ful participants?

Our oldest child is currently in college, while our second to the oldest is preparing to enter college in the fall. Both of them are going to be going to college with very little paid out of our pockets thanks to the state's inability to recognize us. K makes very little taxable income, she does bring money into the house, but it isn't taxable. Also, please do not get onto the kick that she should be working... that is a whole other subject that I will go three rounds about.

Back to the subject. Since the do not recognize us, when the children fill out their financial aid forms they do not have anywhere to place the money I bring into the home. I do not "qualify" as a stepmother and therefore there is no place for my income on the paperwork. Now what this does is lower the expected family contribution amount - significantly I do believe. To zero in fact. Now with L getting ready to go they each will actually have their financial aid amount increased because there will be 4 college students from our home. R, M, K, and L. M has lived with us almost 2 years now and falls under K for financial aid reasons.

Without the recognition there are loopholes we fit through. I do not feel unethical going through those loopholes since there are so many benefits we aren't afforded because of the lack of recognition as well. There have been portions of time that K has had to go without health insurance because I am not able to cover her. We have been fortunate that those spans of time have not be so significant that she has become ill, but there have been times where she should have gone to the doctor and didn't because she wasn't covered at that time.

There are reasons people give for not recognizing our marriage, and I understand that marriage isn't for everyone. However, why should those people have any say in me having the right to have my marriage acknowledged just like every other person who chose to marry?