> But surely the idea of a civil union is to confer those legal rights
> on couples in a recognised civil union? So the question is, what's the
> difference, in law, between a civil union and a marriage?
>
> Bill Bartlett
> Bracknell Tas
Dennis' link explains the differences but a few are that marriage establishes legal kinship, civil unions don't. A married US citizen can sponsor an immigrant spouse for citizenship, civil unions don't allow this. You can't file a joint federal tax form with a civil union. Civil unions do nothing about Social Security, veterans benefits, family medical leave, etc. A marriage license is inexpensive but trying to legally contract most of those rights would cost thousands of dollars. Family members cannot easily contest benefits conferred by marriage but they can easily challenge civil union contracts for power of attorney, medical power of attorney, etc. Why do you seem so unwilling to believe that civil unions do not equal marriage in the US? A marriage license, like a drivers license, fishing license, or business license cannot be denied because of race, gender, sexual orientation, age blah,blah, blah
John Thornton