What is the difference between Gay Civil Unions and Gay Marriage?

[ShaneGR]

If a state recognizes a civil union, but doesn't agree to marriage, is there a difference? What are the similitaries?

[Q3JR4]

1. Part of it depends

on the rights they grant in the civil union. Some states give just the basics (hospital visitation, etc), while others give all of the state level marriage rights without the name 'marriage'. The major difference is that states that don't have civil unions don't have to recognize the piece of paper with the two individual's names on it.

During an emergency, powers of attorney for finances and healthcare don't get looked at. Some hospital administrators have never had to work with "civil unions" so wouldn't recognize that union from another state as legally binding.

On the other hand if the two people are married, that conveys an entire different set of connotations. Everybody knows what marriage is.

This post does not only contain information, but I ranted a little too. Hope it helps nonetheless.

[Atman]

2. Separate but equal?

Does that ring a bell? You've got equal rights or you don't. These people aren't convicted felons (who actually have MORE rights, in most cases), or in need of quarantine. Why do you deserve special rights that your neighbor is not entitled to, simply because of whom they decide to share their life with?

You cannot have a constitution saying we're all EQUAL, and laws that say, "Except the homos." Doesn't work.

Beyond the philosophical..."marriage" is a church thing. All marriages are "civil unions." But not all civil unions are marriages, until they have been blessed by the church.

[dsc]

3. In a nut shell

In all cases now, civil unions are not transferable or portable. That is a civil union in Vermont isn't valid in Massachusetts. Marriages usually are, but under DOMA aren't for same sex ones.

Any other difference gets down to definition. Vermont had nearly every right that Vermont confers married people confered to civil unions. California and Hawaii have somewhat fewer rights confered to their domestic partners. In theory, civil unions could be precisely equal if the states defined them that way and the feds confered rights. Currently that isn't accurate.

[library_max]

4. The neck cord quotient of the issue on the right

depends heavily on biblical interpretations of the word "marriage" as a Christian sacrament, despite the fact that many marriages are purely civil and/or between two non-Christians. Supporting civil unions defuses a lot of that passion. The right has a lot of conservative Christians convinced that the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision or any other recognition of same sex marriage will force their churches to approve and perform gay marriages. This is nonsense, of course, but so is the still-prevalent belief that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11.

As for the separate-but-unequal argument, if the civil unions law or decision is written in such a way that it is clear that all legal rights and privileges pertaining to marriages will also pertain equally to civil unions, there's no problem. Once that's established, there will be plenty of churches happy to perform same-sex marriages. There are such churches now, in fact - the problem is that those marriages are not recognized as a matter of law. Civil unions, if done right, will rectify that problem.

[FreeState]

5. Here is a good comparison from HRC

Here is a good comparison from HRC:

"Comparing marriage to civil unions is a bit like comparing diamonds to rhinestones. One is, quite simply, the real deal; the other is not. Consider:

Couples eligible to marry may have their marriage performed in any state and have it recognized in every other state in the nation and every country in the world.

Couples who are joined in a civil union in Vermont (the only state that offers civil unions) have no guarantee that its protections will even travel with them to neighboring New York or New Hampshire – let alone California or any other state.
.... (more"

http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Center&CONTENTID=16762&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm