On Tax Day, a step toward equality
When Arthur Patton-Hock was honored for 25 years of service to Harvard during a reception in 2010, he was treated no differently than any of the other faculty and staff members with whom he shared the honor. He brought his family, introduced his husband to co-workers at the Charles Warren Center and the American Civilization/American Studies Program (he is administrative director for both), and was thanked by President Drew Faust for his commitment. “I was touched,” said his husband, Kevin Patton-Hock, a full-time parent to the couple’s two sons, 11 and 13. “I thought it was really nice, and just a beautiful thing to see everyone treated the same.” But as a gay married couple, there was always one day where the Patton-Hocks were not treated just like every other Harvard family: Tax Day, when they faced additional federal taxes on their health coverage that heterosexual married couples do not. “Harvard’s been a...