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A civil union generally refers to a
legal status similar to
marriage. It
was created by some states and countries to allow
homosexual or lesbian (same
sex)
couples to join into a legally sanctioned
union affording the benefits normally accorded
heterosexual marriages. It provides a solution
to some in a community who oppose actual gay marriage. It has also been used
by some heterosexual couples not wishing to enter
into a traditional marriage but preferring a less
ridged institution similar to common law marriage.
Although eastern states such as
Massachusetts have been in recent news for adapting
liberal gay marriage laws, San Francisco, California
has a large homosexual population and is a leader in
adapting legislation legalizing gay marriage, and
divorce, rights. This area of CA is
responsible for many bills and much debate over this
issue.
Civil unions exist with different
features. Some are very similar to marriage
while others are simply a registration process.
They may include all the rights granted married
couples including the taking of
vows or they may include only portions of the
rights of marriage. Each jurisdiction
constructs their civil union laws as they see
appropriate with little guidance to sameness unlike
the case with marriage.
In the United States same sex
marriage or civil unions have been established in
California, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and
New Jersey. Canada, Australia, Iceland, many
European countries and a hand full of others have
all passed civil union or same sex marriage laws
permitting such unions. A number of countries
have passed rules pertaining to unregistered same
sex unions usually referred to a domestic
partnerships.
Some of these jurisdictions such
as Massachusetts and the Netherlands have given same
sex marriage the same rights and status as
heterosexual marriage.
Constitution amendments banning
same sex or gay marriage and same sex civil unions have
passed in twenty states. Laws defining
marriage as an institution between two persons of
the opposite sex have been passed in Forty three
states. A United States Senate bill to propose
a constitutional amendment that would abolish same
sex marriage in the United States was narrowly
defeated in the Senate in 2006.
More articles
on this issue can be found using the links at the
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