Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Rights Lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans still face extreme
forms of prejudice in many areas of life and struggle for the
most basic civil rights, including the fundamental right to
marry and have families. Marriage as an institution comes with
innumerable protections which many of us simply take for
granted, from the ability to visit one's loved ones in the
hospital to tax and inheritance benefits. While an ever-
increasing number of states have passed laws allowing for gay
marriage or civil unions, a number of other states approved
constitutional amendments restricting marriage only to
heterosexual couples. Though these amendments were sold to the
public as simply banning gay people from marriage, their
ramifications were broader still. The amendment that passed in
Michigan, for example, has already been used as a reason to
strip lesbian and gay state employees of domestic-partner
health-insurance benefits. In May 2004, an amendment to the US
Constit