What do you mean when you say that people suffer because they can’t get married?

Couples who cannot marry are harmed in many ways.  For example, in Maine only married couples:

• Are protected from certain legal and financial harms when one partner dies. Only a spouse can automatically inherit when no will exists, inherit without tax penalties, or take a homestead allowance
• Are treated as an economic unit - can file taxes jointly, are required to financially support each other, or transfer property to each other without paying a tax
• Are regarded as each other’s closest confidants and are protected from disclosing confidences during legal proceedings.  By the same token, married public officials are required to disclose spouse’s conflicts of interest.