同性家庭子女生活较贫困 法律关系无保障

Children growing up in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families are more likely to live in poverty and may be denied legal ties to one of their parents, a report released on Tuesday showed.

A lack of federal recognition of same-sex marriages means such families face higher tax burdens and unequal access to health insurance and government safety net programs, said the report entitled "All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families."

The report was released online and authored by groups advocating for gay rights including Movement Advancement Project, Family Equality Council and Center for American Progress.

"The reality is if you look at today's modern families, they come in all shapes and sizes," said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of Family Equality Council.

"The laws and policies we have in place haven't kept pace with that changing reality," she said.

An estimated two million children are being raised in such households, the report said. They live in 96 percent of US counties in racially and ethnically diverse families, it said.

Their children are as happy, healthy and well-adjusted as their peers raised by heterosexual parents, it said.

But such families are more likely to live in poverty than married heterosexual households, the report said.

In 31 states, it is very challenging for same-sex parents to establish legal ties for their children to both parents, Chrisler said. Thus a child could be left vulnerable if a parent dies or the relationship dissolves.

For example, Naz Meftah and Lydia Banuelos were legally married in California and are parents to three young children.

Banuelos is not recognized legally as their parent, cannot sign medical releases for them at the doctor and is not listed on their birth certificates.

The couple participated in the release of the report.

"It's not just sentimental and heart breaking. It has a real impact," Meftah told the reporters. "We are legally married and Lydia is a stranger to her own kids by law."

本周二发布的最新报告显示，生活在女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和变性人家庭的孩子更容易生活贫困，而且与其中一位家长的法律关系还可能不被认可。

报告指出，由于联邦政府尚未承认同性婚姻，致使此类家庭面临更高的税收负担，加入健康保险和政府安全网计划的机会也不平等。报告名为《所有的孩子都重要：法律和社会不平等如何伤害同性家庭》。

该报告由倡导同性恋权利的团体“运动促进项目”、“家庭平等委员会”和“美国进步中心”共同撰写，并在网上发表。

“家庭平等委员会”执行董事珍妮弗•克里斯勒说：“事实上，当今的现代家庭形态和大小各异。”

她说：“现实不断变化，但目前的法律和政策还跟不上。”

报告估计，全美大约两百万儿童生活在这类家庭中，遍布96%的美国郡县的各个族裔。

他们与异性恋家庭的孩子一样快乐健康地生活，非常适应生活环境。

但报告指出，这种家庭与已婚异性恋家庭相比趋于贫困。

克里斯勒指出，在美国的31个州，同性父母双方难以与子女建立法律关系。如果双亲中有一人去世或者关系瓦解，孩子就会非常无助。

例如，纳兹•梅夫塔哈和莉迪亚•巴纽艾洛斯在加州正式登记结婚，养育有三个年幼的子女。

但法律不承认巴纽艾洛斯是其父母，因此她无法在医院为孩子签医疗单，而且名字不能写在孩子的出生证明上。

这对夫妇参与了报告的发布。

梅夫塔哈告诉记者：“这不仅让人悲伤和心碎，还有切实的影响。我们正式注册结婚，但在法律上讲，莉迪亚对自己的孩子来说却是陌生人。”