Strange Behavior with MenuItem Click Event

I have a handler for a MenuItem.Click event. I expected the sender
parameter to be a _reference_ to the actual menu item I added, but the
GetHashCode() method applied to the item I add and again to the sender
object return different values. Can anyone confirm if this behavior
is by design, and if so, shed some light on why it's implemented this
way. In my work with delegates, I've always assumed they were
references, so I need to know if/when this is not the case.

Thanks,
Marvin