Civil Union: A legal union of a same-sex couple, sanctioned by a civil authority. New Jersey, Illinois, Rhode Island, Delaware and Hawaii are the U.S. state with civil unions, though this changes all the time. For the most up to date information, check this page (PDF). Civil unions were legal in Vermont and Connecticut at a time, before both states approved legal gay marriage. Civil unions are not equal to marriage, though they provide some (but not all) rights of marriage. Civil unions are not sanctioned by the federal government and couples with civil unions receive no federal benefits.
Many same-sex couples, while they see civil unions as progress, still "hold out" for legal marriage before planning a wedding because they don't see much meaning in a separate and unequal institution.
Comment (0) | Subscribe to this Blog | Contact Us | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink | Copyright 2010 14 Stories
Comments
Post has no comments.