Maps of relationship non-recognition laws often obscure non-recognition of different-sex unmarried couples.

In the process of planning one of my law school classes, I was perusing the websites with maps of the United States showing the status of relationship recognition or non-recognition across the country. There are so many different types of laws that it's a challenge to accurately portray each state with all its nuances. HRC and NGLTF each have useful, easy-to-print one-page non-recognition maps.

Civil unions in Illinois good news for same-sex couples there who need to divorce

It's a growing problem that will only grow more. Same-sex couples from around the country, who have travelled to places that allow them to marry, go home, later split up, and find out they cannot divorce. Family law practitioners specializing in LGBT families are working on creative solutions that allow those couples to go their separate ways without further legal entanglement.When Illinois

British gay activists urge both marriage for same-sex couples and civil partnerships for different-sex couples

Gay activists in Britain are urging William and Kate to announce their support for marriage for same-sex couples. But at the same time they are advocating access to civil partnership for different-sex couples. At the moment, only same-sex couples can enter civil partnerships. Truncated news coverage has described the marriage equality plea without noting that advocates also back different-sex

MD Delegate Tiffany Alston had a good idea for a bad reason

When I first heard that Maryland Delegate Tiffany Alston wanted to replace marriage with civil unions for all I was hopeful she had a principled reason and that it was an idea that might catch on. I'm still waiting for a state to change the name of the status it grants couples, leaving "marriage" as a religious term or a generic term couples use for themselves. But it soon became clear Del.

Gov. Abercrombie to sign civil union bill at 7pm Eastern tonight; different-sex couples included

The modern era of the movement for access to marriage for same-sex couples began in Hawaii in 1993. Of that there is no doubt. That year the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Hawaii state constitution. The court sent the case back to the trial court and instructed the state to justify the exclusion by proving

Illinois civil union law signed today -- more equality yet more injustice

Illinois will become the 12th jurisdiction in the country to provide formal recognition of same-sex couples in a status that confers the state-based rights and responsibilities of marriage. Governor Quinn signs the bill into law later today, and it becomes effective June 1. (To recap -- marriage is available in Connecticut, DC, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont; civil union is

Illinois legislature passes civil unions: different-sex couples also eligible

In yesterday's post on the DADT repeal recommendations, I noted that the report opposed creating a "same-sex relationship" status for gay servicemembers, in large part because it would appear unjust and unequal to differentiate between same-sex and different-sex committed couples. Well the Illinois Senate has just approved civil unions there, and the governor will sign the bill, and when it

Hawaii civil union bill creates equal rights for same-sex and different-sex couples

The Hawaii legislature took everyone by surprise last week when it approved the creation of civil unions in the state. The gay press generally reported the development as approval of civil unions for same-sex couples, but that's not what the legislation does; it approves civil unions for any two unrelated adults who are not in another civil union, a marriage, or a reciprocal beneficiary