Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships: Comparison to Marriage
Civil unions and domestic partner benefits may appear to provide
virtually the same rights as marriage. However, there are
critical distinctions between marriage and civil unions or
domestic partner benefits. In 1997, the General Accounting
Office a memorandum describing the 1,049 federal laws in which
rights are contingent upon marital status. Under the current
federal definition of marriage, same-sex couples are barred from
federal benefits heterosexual couples receive in the areas of
taxation, social security, immigration, and veteran’s benefits.
The privileges of marriage are uniformly recognized across
jurisdictions. Conversely, the protections of civil unions and
domestic partner benefits do not travel with couples, but are
only selectively recognized. The inability to assert rights in a
consistent fashion across jurisdictions is one of the largest
distinctions between marriage and the existing alternatives for
same-sex couples. Sign from Ra