Every now and then, I come across something that I think my readers will find interesting… so much so that I want to put it here so everyone can get access to it. It’s far easier for me to say “hey, did you hear…read…see, etc.” and then when people say “well, no, where can I find it?” I can just tell them it’s on this here website. This is one of those times.
Each week, The Moth features true stories, told live, without notes. It’s available for free on ITunes, or by checking out The Moth website. “The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization, was founded in New York in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate in New York the feeling of sultry summer evenings on his native St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, where he and a small circle of friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales on his friend Wanda’s porch.”
The story I want to share with you was recorded earlier this year by Dan Kennedy, who is a regular announcer on the podcast and is also the author of Rock On: An Office Power Ballad. You can download it on ITunes and take it with you, or turn up your speakers a tad and give yourself a little more than 16 minutes to hear this through. It’s called And How Does That Make You Feel?
Later this week, I’ll share my thoughts. For now, please listen and enjoy.
Birds flying high, You know how I feel
Back in September, I blogged about the conflict that exists with the rights of married same gender spouses to file a joint bankruptcy petition, and the conflict posted by what I have no problem calling the politically and legislatively ill-conceived Defense of Marriage Act. I felt then that it was – to get a bit personal here - another betrayal by the Clinton Administration (the first being “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell”).
And just a few weeks ago, I met with a debtor contemplating bankruptcy who wanted to file a joint bankruptcy petition with his same-sex spouse. I advised him that he had two choices: one, is that he could focus on getting the relief from the debt that he had and work towards getting his discharge and getting on with his life. That meant separate petitions, separate cases, separate docket numbers.
Or the other: he and his husband could hunker down, prepare for a long (and not an altogether inexpensive) legal battle that may – or may not – end up at the U.S. Supreme Court – and he could revel in proving a point (although I can think of few bankruptcy debtors who by the time they arrive at the steps of any US Bankruptcy Court actually feel that they need to prove a point… other than the one that is rather obvious). Ultimately, same sex married couples have not enjoyed the benefit of filing a joint bankruptcy petition because the Defense of Marriage Act precluded such joint filings by same sex spouses.
But today, I’m feeling good. (more…)
Tags: Commentary - Legal, Consumer Rights, Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Joint Debtors
Posted in Bankruptcy, Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Consumer Rights | 1 Comment »