Our midwife, Barbara Herrera, is on the news and in the papers these days because her partner Sarah is fighting to get marriage benefits now that they’re legally married.

A few things I love about this case:

1. it underscores the real difference between marriage and a civil union (they have both now, but marriage gives better benefits);
2. the county originally granted marriage benefits, but then revoked them citing an “administrative error”;
3. as the U-T article points out, “There are 1,138 federal provisions and several hundred state provisions where marriage is a factor in determining benefits, rights and responsibilities,” again deflating the “separate but equal” argument.

Gooooo, team!