Married couples receive more than a thousand federal benefits that are not offered to couples in civil unions, said Ron Wheeler a member of the panel that discussed same-sex marriage Friday.
"For example, inheritance rights," he said. "You can't share your partner's social security benefits after they die under the terms of a civil union, whereas in marriage you can."
Alpha Kappa Delta put together a panel called, "Religion, Civil Liberties and the Politics of Gay Marriage" with three members of the UNM community: Wheeler, a criminal defense attorney and the chairman of the Coalition for Equality in New Mexico; Kevin LaPoint, a graduate student from the Department of Sociology and Robert Keller from the Aquinas Newman Center.
Wheeler began the panel discussion by defining two separate forms of marriage.
"There's religious sacrament of marriage, which takes place in a church of some kind, and then there's the civil state law entity of marriage," Wheeler said. "When I use the term 'marriage,' I'm referring to the second use of the phrase."
Wheeler listed several other instances in which marriage had legal perks that civil unions did not, like retirement benefits and joint-income tax returns. Spouses are protected in marriage with alimony rights, adoption and child-bearing rights.
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LaPoint, a graduate student in the Sociology Department, brought up religious arguments against same-sex marriages.
"The battle isn't really between homosexuals and heterosexuals. It's between homosexuals and conservative Christians," he said.
LaPoint said most of the public opinion about homosexuality has come from the pulpit, and same-sex marriage is discussed as frequently as abortion before congregations.
Keller said in the realm of Roman Catholicism, gay marriage would be a moot point, just as divorce is. He said the church isn't innately against homosexuality, though.
"Are there gay Catholics?" he said. "Yes. Are there gay Catholics in good standing with the church? Yes, of course. So I think the church would be willing to support civil unions."
Wheeler said he would be satisfied with civil unions if they offered all the federal benefits legal marriage has.
"I think that would be a pretty happy place for both parties," he said. "It would be a nice compromise."
Wheeler also said he couldn't see such a compromise happening in the near future.
"The politics of gay marriage are too much of a hot issue," he said. "This ban is just another election-year tactic to take the public eye away from things like the war, the economy, the job issue. It's not about saving the sanctity of marriage."
Audience members participated in a question-and-answer session after the discussion.
"We have to get informed about all sides of the issue," said Adriana Villar, a UNM student and member of Basic Rights New Mexico. "It's like Audre Lorde said, 'Our silence will not protect us.' Being quiet won't protect us, so it's good that a public institution like the University is taking responsibility and allowing different voices to speak on the issue."
