Tag Archives: civil unions

In an interview published in Italy today, Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church could consider supporting some forms of civil unions, but not same-sex marriage. The Pope reiterated the church’s longstanding teaching that “marriage is between a man and a woman.” However, he said, “We have to look at different cases and evaluate them in their variety.” For instance, …

In its first session of 2014, yesterday the Chilean Senate advanced its civil unions bill. The Santiago Times reports: Senators voted in favor of the Life Partner Agreement (AVP) late Tuesday evening with 28 votes in favor, six against and two abstentions. The bill will now pass to a constitutional assembly before returning to Congress on Jan. 20. The country’s …

From the EU Observer: Workers in civil partnerships are entitled to the same benefits as married couples, the European Court of Justice has ruled, in a case that could have a profound impact on employment contracts and welfare regimes across the bloc. In a judgement on Thursday (12 December), the Luxembourg-based court found that denying equal rights to benefits amounted …

On Sunday the voters of Croatia approved a ban on same-sex marriage in a Catholic Church-sponsored national referendum that was strongly opposed by both the president and the prime minister. In a revenge move, yesterday the government declared that it will put forward a civil unions bill. The outcome was a major victory for the Roman Catholic Church, and a …

Israel’s Yesh Atid Party yesterday introduced a civil unions bill that would grant same-sex couples all the rights of marriage. The bill also ends the requirement that straight couples be married in a religious ceremony. The New York Times reports: American Jewish leaders have strongly urged the adoption of a civil marriage law, fearing that many of their constituents would …

Thailand’s federal government says it is ready to put forth a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. But not in name. “We will put forward the same-sex civil-union bill in Parliament,” Naras Savestanan, director general of the Rights and Liberties Protection Department, announced yesterday with the chair of the House committee on justice and human rights, Viroon Phuensaen, by his side. …

Croatian Public Administration Minister Arsen Bauk has announced that the government will draw up a law recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples. Same-sex couples will enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of any other married couple, such as inheritance from a deceased partner, social security benefits and tax deductions, but their union will ”not be called ‘marriage,” but “life partnership,” …

Colombia saw its first legal civil union yesterday. Or maybe it was a marriage. Nobody is sure. The newly legalized couple cheered the ceremony as a marriage, although experts cautioned that a high court ruling that deemed the union legal did not make it the equivalent of marriage. “We are civilly married,” Gonzalo Ruiz, 44, told The Associated Press just …

The federal government yesterday clarified that added benefits being granted now that DOMA has been (partially) overturned will not be available unless the couple is legally married. The Office of Personnel Management made that announcement in a series of memos to federal benefits administrators and insurance carriers, saying couples who are not legally married “will remain ineligible for most federal …

Back in April the small town of Bisbee, Arizona legalized civil unions for same-sex couples over the loud protests of the state Attorney General.  On Friday a lesbian couple became the first to file. Kathy Sowden and Deborah Grier went to Bisbee City Hall to file the papers to recognize their 21 year relationship as a formal civil union. The …

On Monday the national legislature of Costa Rica approved a bill that some claim “accidentally” legalizes civil unions or marriage for gay couples. Most had expected the president to veto the bill and that it would be rewritten.  But she has signed it. Via Google Translate: Chinchilla signed the law that was not raised to give rights to homosexuals, but …

Lawmakers in Costa Rica are arguing over who’s to blame after a bill that appears to have legalized civil unions was approved yesterday. According to Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion, a project to ‘reinforce the quality of life in the country’s youth’ also contained clauses about changing the Family Code to include same-sex unions. The bill, which 45 MPs approved …

Last night the Tucson City Council unanimously approved civil unions for same-sex couples. No state law should be violated as long as the city does not include rights that are reserved for married couples, said City Attorney Mike Rankin. Since 2003, when the city established a domestic-partnership registry, it has had an increased number of domestic partnership applications. Councilman Paul …

Colorado House Speaker Mark Ferrandino and his partner were joined in a civil union ceremony at the state capitol on Saturday. Via Advocate: Ferrandino and Wertsch had a wedding ceremony with friends and family in 2006, so the Speaker wasn’t expecting Saturday’s ceremony to be especially momentous. “I didn’t think it would be,” says Ferrandino. “But yesterday, as we signed …

Colorado’s first civil unions took place moments after midnight local time.  Photos are going up on Twitter and we’ll excuse the sideways shots because folks are understandably excited.

In an interview with a Utah radio station, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) suggested that legalizing civil unions would be a great way to ward off the national advent of same-sex marriage. “I’ll say this, I do believe this could be solved greatly by a civil-union law that would give gay people the same rights as married people,” said Hatch, who …

Encouraged by the actions of the small town of Bisbee, the Phoenix suburb of Tempe last night began considering civil unions. Tempe Councilman Kolby Granville called the Bisbee vote momentous. On Wednesday, Granville, a Democrat, told The Arizona Republic that he asked for the council executive session on civil unions. He wants Tempe to be the first Valley city to …

Yesterday I reported that the city council of the small town of Bisbee, Arizona had legalized civil unions over the objections of and a threatened lawsuit from the state Attorney General Tom Horne. Here’s some video from the public comments that preceded that vote. (Via JMG reader Homer)

The small Arizona town of Bisbee (population 6000) legalized civil unions last night. At least, they say they did. The City Council pushed aside legal warnings from the state’s attorney general and a conservative advocacy group and voted 5-2 to become first city in the state to offer civil-union certificates for all couples that would extend to same-sex partners some …