Did you know that disabled people receiving benefits don’t have marriage equality? That’s right, if disabled people get married, we risk losing some or all of our benefits!
Brad and I made a video that will be shown to congress about this issue. It is below. Below the video is the text of what we said.
Veronica: Hi, we’re the Morrises.
Brad: We’re both disabled and we live in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Veronica: How much do you love your spouse? Is your spouse worth a 25% pay cut? Because that’s what I’m getting charged!
When we got married, neither of us were disabled. We were graduate students pursuing advanced degrees at top Universities. Our marriage vows included the phrase “in sickness and in health”, and we took that seriously.
We believe in the celebration of love. But it doesn’t feel like the government does. They are essentially fining us $471 a month because we stay married. Many if not most people in our situation would divorce or not get married in the first place to retain their benefits.
It’s not right that staying married to the love of my life gives us a 25% pay cut. Congress needs to act now to instate marriage equality for disabled people.
Brad: For me, marriage equality is simple. It’s just about what kind of society we think we should live in.
I grew up being told our government valued marriage and that everyone was supposed to be equal. Politicians gave speeches about how important family is for the fabric of society. I learned that speeches don’t mean a lot—you put your money where your mouth is, so we have tax breaks for spouses and children.
But for disabled people, it’s different. Through financial penalties, our government isn’t just telling us that disabled people are unequal, but that we deserve to be punished for wanting to participate in the human experience. That we should not fall in love and get married.
If you care about marriage and you believe disabled people are equal, belief means nothing without action. It’s time for Congress to put its money where its mouth is and remove the marriage penalty for disabled people like us. It’s time for marriage equality.