same-sex civil unions

(adjective)

also referred to as a civil partnership; a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in several, mostly developed, countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights, benefits, and responsibilities similar (in some countries, identical) to opposite-sex civil marriage.

Related Terms

Examples of same-sex civil unions in the following topics:

  • The Movement for Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights

    • In response to same sex couples' attempts to gain state marriage licenses, the U.S.
    • Nonetheless, by the early 2000s, many states began to consider legalizing same-sex marriage.
    • Other states have passed laws allowing for same-sex civil unions.
    • Civil unions provide the legal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples, but not the title of marriage.
    • Challenges to bans on same-sex marriage contend that laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are discriminatory.

  • The Decline of the Traditional Family

    • One parent households, cohabitation, same sex families, and voluntary childless couples are increasingly common.
    • As of 2009, only two states in the United States recognized marriages between same-sex partners, Massachusetts and Iowa, where same-sex marriage was formally allowed as of May 17, 2004 and April 2009, respectively.
    • Three additional states allow same-sex civil unions, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Vermont.
    • Between May 2004 and December 2006, 7,341 same-sex couples married in Massachusetts.
    • Summarize the prevalence of single parents, cohabitation, same-sex couples, and unmarried individuals

  • LGBTQ Civil Rights

    • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) people have attained many civil protections, but are still subject to discrimination.
    • Since the late-1960s, LGBTQ activists have achieved many successes in the struggle to secure civil rights for LGBTQ people.
    • Notably, in the past decade many states have legalized same-sex marriages and civil unions, the federal government overturned a ban on open LGBTQ military service members known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), and most states have passed anti-discrimination laws that prevent discrimination in housing, employment, and education on the basis of sexual orientation.

  • New Developments in Families

    • Andersson et al. examined precisely this issue in Norway and Sweden, where same-sex marriages or civil unions have been legally recognized since the mid-1990s.
    • Andersson et al. found several ways in which lesbian/gay unions differ from heterosexual unions in these countries:
    • the average same-sex couple is older than the average heterosexual couple
    • female same-sex couples are more likely to divorce than are male same-sex couples
    • One question often raised about same-sex unions is how it influences any children raised in these households.

  • The Nature of Marriage

    • It is believed that same-sex unions were celebrated in Ancient Greece and Rome, some regions of China, such as Fujian, and at certain times in ancient European history.
    • In some jurisdictions, such as Brazil, New Zealand, Uruguay, France and many U.S. states, civil unions are also open to opposite-sex couples.
    • Same-sex is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or gender identity.
    • A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage.
    • In some jurisdictions, such as Brazil, New Zealand, Uruguay, France and the U.S. states of Hawaii and Illinois, civil unions are also open to opposite-sex couples.

  • Marriage Equality and the Courts

    • During Barack Obama’s second term in office, courts began to counter efforts by conservatives to outlaw same-sex marriage.
    • These decisions seem to allow legal challenges in all the states that persist in trying to block same-sex unions.
    • Windsor (2013) was a landmark civil rights case in which the United States Supreme Court held that restricting U.S. federal interpretation of "marriage" and "spouse" to apply only to heterosexual unions, by Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
    • Obergefell requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions; this legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States and its possessions and territories.
    • The White House was illuminated in rainbow colors on the evening of the Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling.

  • Legislative Change

    • The Civil Rights Act of 1957, primarily a voting rights bill, was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War.
    • The act remains a landmark piece of civil rights legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
    • Just one year prior, the same Congress had passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibited wage differentials based on sex.
    • The prohibition on sex discrimination was added to the Civil Rights Act by Howard W.
    • Historians speculate that Smith was trying to embarrass northern Democrats who opposed civil rights for women because the clause was opposed by labor unions.

  • Families and Inequality

    • An example of such restrictions would be a requirement to marry someone from the same tribe.
    • Conversely, there are people who have religious ceremonies that are not recognized by civil authorities.
    • They teach that unmarried people should not have sex, which they refer to as fornication.
    • About 10-15% of women and 20-25% of men in the U.S. engage in extramarital sex.
    • For the most part, religious traditions in the world reserve marriage to heterosexual unions but there are exceptions including the Unitarian Universalists and Metropolitan Community Church.

  • The John F. Kennedy Administration

    • Kennedy's presidency is known for his New Frontier policies, containment policy toward the Soviet Union, support for civil rights, and expansion of the space program.
    • In his 1963 State of the Union address, he proposed substantial tax reform and a reduction in income tax rates.
    • Kennedy wanted to dismantle the selection of immigrants based on country of origin and saw this as an extension of his civil rights policies.
    • Kennedy also made several motions to support African-American civil rights as well as the rights of other marginalized groups, such as women.
    • On June 10, 1963, Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, a federal law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act and aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex.

  • Divorce and Its Legal Ramifications

    • For same-sex couples, divorce law is in its infancy and is less than clear on how such unions may be legally dissolved.
    • For example, if a same-sex couple is married in a state that recognizes gay marriage but returns to reside in a state that does not, they might find themselves in a situation where their own state, in failing to recognize their union will also fail to enable them to divorce.
    • Although marriage was previously defined as a legal union between one man and one woman in the United States, over the past decades several states have begun to consider adopting, or have adopted, legislation which legalizes same-sex marriage.
    • For same-sex couples, divorce law is in its infancy and is less than clear on how such unions may be legally dissolved.
    • For example, if a same-sex couple is married in a state that recognizes gay marriage but returns to reside in a state that does not, they might find themselves in a situation where their own state, in failing to recognize their union, will also fail to enable them to divorce.