Civil union is a legally recognized long-term relationship between two people of the same sex. Most countries do not allow same-sex couples to marry. But some countries have civil union laws, which grant such couples many of the same rights and responsibilities that married couples have. For instance, partners in a civil union might be permitted to adopt children, file joint tax returns, or qualify for joint participation in employee benefit plans. Other terms for legally recognized same-sex relationships include domestic partnerships, civil partnerships, and registered partnerships. Civil union differs from civil marriage, the wedding of a man and woman conducted by a judge or other official instead of by a member of the clergy.
Laws regarding same-sex partnerships vary throughout the world. Denmark was the first country to recognize civil unions. Denmark’s Registered Partnership Law was adopted in 1989. It granted registered same-sex couples nearly all of the same rights and responsibilities that married couples had. A number of other countries offer same-sex couples similar recognition. Several other countries recognize civil unions but grant couples more limited rights. Beginning in 2012, same-sex marriage replaced civil unions in Denmark as well as in a number of other countries. See Same-sex marriage.
The United States federal government does not recognize civil unions. However, some U.S. states, cities, and counties have provided legal protections for registered same-sex couples. Hawaii’s Reciprocal Beneficiaries Act, passed in 1997, was the first U.S. partnership law at the state level. The law enabled same-sex couples to register in a reciprocal beneficiary relationship and receive some of the rights commonly associated with marriage. In 2000, Vermont became the first U.S. state to grant civil unions nearly all the legal rights and benefits that married couples have. However, other states did not always honor a state’s civil unions as they would its marriages. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage. Beginning in 2009, same-sex marriage replaced civil unions in Vermont as well as in a number of other states. In 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that same-sex spouses are entitled to receive the same federal benefits as heterosexual spouses. By 2015, more than half of all American states had legalized same-sex marriage. In June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot ban same-sex marriage.
