... No. In fact, two states, Connecticut and Georgia, have ruled that they do not have to recognize civil unions performed in Vermont, because their states have no such legal category. 3) ... civil unions and marriage and that's what happens if couples are traveling outside their little state where a civil union is done and if someone is hospitalized. That's not compassion and equality. It's ...

Read More Sunday Times.au Rudd hints civil unions Bill will be overturned The Canberra Times Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has given the strongest hint yet that ACT civil unions legislation will be scuttled by the Federal Government. ... Rudd undecided on same-sex civil unionsABC Online Rudd may veto gay marriage lawsNEWS.com.au Rudd pressed on gay ...

... the lost of Marriage Equality in several states, some within the LGBT community are looking to civil unions as an alternative to marriage. In the weeks since Maine voters handed the gay marriage movement its 27th electoral defeat in ... point to the success of efforts to extend spousal rights and other civil rights protections to same-sex couples, even as the passage of gay marriage ...

Austria has passed a comprehensive civil unions law, but part of the compromise with the country's right wing includes a ... registry's office, where gay couples can marry. Instead, civil partnerships will be registered at the municipal office or the magistrate's ... , the minister for women's affairs who had pushed for civil registry ceremonies, insisted however that the law was an " ...

The Australian Capital Territory, the home of the Australian capital of Canberra, has passed a bill allowing same-sex civil unions. As marriage is a federal matter in Australia, this is the highest recognition of same sex unions that is constitutionally allowed in a state or territory of Australia. However, it does give political momentum to the ...

So Austria's gays were just granted civil union rights! This means they can get a pretty piece of paper, just like heterosexual couples, and involve themselves in their partners' social security claims and inheritance rights and tax filings and pensions and stuff. Then what's the bad news? CONTINUED » Tagged: Austria, Catholic Church, Christoph Schoenborn, Civil Unions, Marriage

Portia de Rossi discussed civil unions vs marriage on The View together. Elisabeth Hasselbeck, typically, struggled with the concept: "Take men and women. Women want all the rights of men, but they're not asking to be called men. Do you think...is the word more important than the rights?" Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

... if you oppose same-sex marriage, why do you think it's OK for gays and lesbians to have to settle for civil unions rather than share the right to use the word "marriage" to define their union ... said..."). Please send your comments to me at mary@maryshawonline.com with "Marriage vs Civil Unions" in the Subject line. Also include your first name (real or fake, as you want ...

... believe that much of the hand-wringing and sometimes hysterical rhetoric about civil unions is a bit of a red herring in that it distracts us from what should be our focus whenever we make laws: ... to a system of laws structured to ensure that all are treated equally. The question of civil unions should not be confused with the sanctification of marriage that religious institutions provide and which ...

... Capital Territory (ACT) has voted for local legally-binding ceremonies of civil unions and twice before the federal government has reversed their decision. So, yet again, they ... seen as pressing down on local control, the less righteous their cause can seem. In time, even those disinclined towards civil equality can tire of making claims that they know in their heart are baseless and cruel. And ...

... to the success of efforts to extend spousal rights and other civil rights protections to same-sex couples, even as the passage of gay ... pledging to fight any legislative efforts to equate same-sex unions with traditional marriages. In theory, though, the Manhattan Declaration would ... ;sexual,'" George said. "In that case, all a civil union scheme is a semantic substitute for marriage, or ...

It’s 10 years since France’s first civil union ceremony was held, and the institution’s popularity is still growing. Just under 150,000 couples signed PACS agreements in 2008, more than five times the amount agreed in the first year of their existence. Click here to view the embedded video. Publish on Life in France Bookmark It

... have tied their own hands. New Jersey's "Civil Union" law - passed earlier this ... a civil union equal to a marriage - in everything but name. By providing that civil unions can only take place between same-sex partners, and that the partners can not be related - ... . By granting gays and lesbians special status in the civil union law, New Jersey has already approved same-sex marriage. ...

... Teresa Sayward. When the state Assembly debated the civil rites bill in 2007, Sayward stunned ... the country provides rights identical in every way except name to marriage. Nor am I aware of any civil unions bill in the New York legislature that would do so. Assemblywoman ... successfully torpedo the Congressional candidacy of another pro-civil rites assemblywoman from northern New York. But I admire ...

... slow to permit same-sex marriages. However, a few states have permitted same-sex civil unions, which are very similar to marriage. Those states are: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, ... With a President in office who is a staunch opponent of same-sex marriage as well as civil union, it is unlikely to allow much room for many triumphs until a more accommodating, or rather liberal, President is in ...