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Gay Marriage Civil Unions Legal Facts About Civil Unions And Gay Marriage
 


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Facts - Books - News    U.S. Facts Of Law:


Gay Marriage Civil Unions

Legal Facts About Civil Unions
And Gay Marriage

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 top of this page.

 

 

 

Civil Union Best Sellers from Amazon.com

Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads
by Gary Greenberg, Jeannie Hayden
Amazon Price: $10.20
Customer Review: A friend of our passed this along to my husband and then went out and bought himself a new copy. Now my husband is going to buy a copy for another friend of ours. Every dad I know really enjoys this book. It is written with a retro vibe and with a se...
 
Conscious Loving: The Journey to Co-Commitment
by Gay Hendricks, Kathlyn Hendricks
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Customer Review: This book is the best guide to communication in relationship that I have come accross. It is invariably the book that I see most people taking notes from on our retreats at Cloona Health Retreat, but I suggest you don't wait until you have a lull in ...
 
The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family
by Dan Savage
Amazon Price: $10.88
Customer Review: Excellent perspective on marriage as a whole. Homos and heteros alike can benefit tremendously from this book. While it reads as a fun novel, this book truly could be regarded with the same respect as a text book. It dissects many of the underlying i...
 
Being the Strong Man a Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom on Being a Man
by Elliott Katz
Amazon Price: $9.32
Customer Review: I received a recommendation on Being the Strong Man a Woman Wants by Elliott Katz. I opened it and as I began reading, I saw that none other than Dr. Robert Glover, the author of No More Mr. Nice Guy had written the foreword. The book is excellent....
 
Undefended Love
by Marlena S. Lyons, Jett Psaris
Amazon Price: $12.21
Customer Review: My heartfelt thanks to the authors of this book for Chapter 7, Moving Beyond the Impulse to REACT. The lessons I learned in this chapter about loving unconditionally saved my marriage--not only saved it, but improved it 100%.
I heartily recomm...
 

Newsfeed display by CaRP

Civil Union News
GN News

Lambda Legal Files Hawaii Challenge For Gay Couples On Top Magazine
On Top MagazineLambda Legal Files Hawaii Challenge For Gay CouplesOn Top MagazineLambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii ACLU threatened it would file the lawsuit if Governor Linda Lingle vetoed a civil unions Hawaii lawsuit seeks equal rights for gay couplesThe Associated PressHawaii gay couples file lawsuit for equal rightsPinkNews.co.ukall 107 news articles raquo

The Record: Marriage Waits NorthJersey.com
PinkNews.co.ukThe Record: Marriage waitsNorthJersey.comBut the court split 4 3 on whether the unions should be called marriage, leaving that decision to the Legislature. It opted for civil unions. New Jersey Supreme Court Declines Gay Marriage CaseNew York TimesNJ Supreme Court rejects gay marriage caseWashington PostGay Marriage in NJ: Back to Square OneNBC New YorkExaminer.com OneNewsNow Philadelphia Inquirerall 172 news articles raquo

Peru Jumps On South American Equality Bandwagon With Proposed Civil Union Law...
Dallas VoicePeru jumps on South American equality bandwagon with proposed civil union lawDallas VoiceA congressman from the ruling party in Peru will introduce a civil union bill in the legislature, according to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio. Legislator Trying to Forestall Gay Marriage With Civil Unions Bill in PeruGayapolisall 2 news articles raquo

Target Boycott Movement Grows Following Donation To Support QuotAntigayquot C...
Target Boycott Movement Grows Following Donation to Support quotAntigayquot CandidateCBS NewsPERIOD oh but then have a civil union thats ok.Nutcase by reallycranky July 28, 2010 7:59 PM EDT It39s not just that Emmer39s against gay marriage. and more raquo

Jersey Juncture Metro Weekly
Jersey JunctureMetro WeeklyLambda Legal39s deputy legal director, Hayley Gorenberg, likewise said in a statement, 3939Our plaintiffs and the New Jersey Legislature39s own Civil Union and more raquo

 

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